- Evan Gorga
Evangelista Gennaro Gorga (
February 6 ,1865 –December 5 ,1957 ) was an Italianlyric tenor . He is best known for originating the role of Rodolfo in the original production ofGiacomo Puccini 's "La bohème " at theTeatro Regio Torino in 1896.Early life
Evan Gorga was born in Brocco (now
Broccostella ),Italy in the province of Caserta (nowFrosinone ). His father, Pietro Gorga, was a small land owner, while his mother, Matilde De Santis, was the daughter of a local nobleman. The family lived in a house that stood in what is now the historical center of Broccostella.Education and career
As a teenager and a young man, Gorga studied voice with a teacher with the surname Franceschetti. In 1894, he made his professional opera debut in the title role of
Verdi 's "Ernani " when called in to replace the scheduled performer, Francisco Tamagno, who was sick. In 1895, he performed the role of Wilhelm Meister inAmbroise Thomas 's "Mignon ", Le Chevalier des Grieux inJules Massenet 's "Manon ", and Fritz Kobus inPietro Mascagni 's "L'amico Fritz ", all at theTeatro Comunale di Cagliari . He also performed in a production ofVerdi 's "I Lombardi alla prima crociata " at theTeatro Costanzi inRome in September 1895.In 1896, Gorga became a part of music history when he originated the role of Rodolfo in the original production of
Giacomo Puccini 's "La bohème " at theTeatro Regio Torino .That same year he also played the role of Faust inBoito 's "Mefistofele ".In 1897, Gorga sang several roles at the
Teatro La Fenice inVenice including originating the role of Marcello inLeoncavallo 's "La bohème" which is based onHenry Murger 's "Scènes de la vie de Bohème ".Over the next couple years, Gorga reprised the role of Rodolfo in Puccini's "La bohème" with several companies, including the
Teatro Piccinni inBari ,Teatro San Carlo inNaples and performances inGenoa . He gave performances of the title role inGounod 's "Faust " with several companies and was the tenor soloist is a production ofLorenzo Perosi 'soratorio "La risurrezione di Lazzaro " at theTeatro dell'Aquila inFermo .In January of 1899, Gorga once again reprised the role of Rodolfo in Puccini's "La bohème" at the
Teatro Drammatico inVerona . And although he received excellent critical reviews, this was his last performance. It is unclear as to why he gave up such a successful opera career at the young age of 34.Personal life
Gorga was a collecter of
antiques and artistic works. Among the large quantity of pieces he collected was a vast array ofmusical instruments . Unfortunately, due to financial difficulties suffered during theGreat Depression andWorld War II , Gorga had to sell about a half of this collection. In 1949 he left a collection of about 3.000 pieces, made up of mostly musical instruments but also a few paintings and other forms of art, to the State ofItaly that is now on display at theGalleria Borghese inRome . It is the largest collection of any kind ever given to the museum and makes up the bulk of the museum's entire musical instrument collection. Although technically a gift under a 1949 law, the Italian government agreed to pay Gorga's debts and to give him a life allowance in return for the collection. [ [http://www.galleriaborghese.it/nuove/estrumenti.htm National Museum of Musical Instruments ] ] [http://davidson.weizmann.ac.il/upload/(FILE)1167921594.pdf]ources
* [http://www.operissimo.com Operissimo.com]
*The "
New Grove Dictionary of Opera ", edited by Stanley Sadie (1992), 5,448 pages, ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5*"The Oxford Dictionary of Opera", by John Warrack and Ewan West (1992), 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
*"Opera: A Concise History", by Leslie Orrey and Rodney Milne, World of Art, Thames & Hudson
References
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