Bonaldo Giaiotti

Bonaldo Giaiotti (December 25, 1932) is an Italian operatic bass, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Born in Udine, he studied in his native city and later in Milan with Alfredo Starno, where he made his debut at the Teatro Nuovo in 1957. After singing with success in various opera houses in Italy, he made his American debut in Cincinnati, as Basilio in "Il barbiere di Siviglia", in 1959.

The following year, on October 24, 1960, he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, and remained with the company for 25 years, singing some 30 roles in over 300 performances, most often as Raimondo in "Lucia di Lammermoor", Ramfis in "Aida", Timur in "Turandot". Other roles included; Padre Guardiano in "La forza del destino", Phillip II in "Don Carlo", Ferrando in "Il trovatore, "Miller in "Luisa Miller", Zaccaria in "Nabucco, "Giorgio in "I puritani", Alvise in "La Gioconda", etc.

He also made several guest appearances in other major opera houses, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Palais Garnier in Paris, the Vienna State Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Zurich Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, etc. From 1963 until 1995, he was a regular guest at the Arena di Verona Festival, notably as Verdi's "Attila" in 1985. Surprisingly, he did not make his debut at La Scala in Milan until 1986, as Count Rodolfo in "La sonnambula".

Giaiotti did sing a few non Italian roles as well, notably the High Priest in Karl Goldmark's "Die Königin von Saba" (in 1991 in Teatro Regio), Cléomer in Massenet's "Esclarmonde" (January 1993, in Teatro Massimo), Alvise in "La Gioconda" by Ponchielli (in Teatro dell'Opera di Roma), then also Cardinal de Brogni in Halevy's "La Juive", the Anabaptist in Meyerbeer's "Le Prophète".

His evenly produced, beautiful and sonorous voice made him one of the leading basso-cantante of his generation.

elected recordings

* 1965 - Puccini - "Turandot" - Birgit Nilsson, Franco Corelli, Renata Scotto, Bonaldo Giaiotti - Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli - EMI

* 1969 - Verdi - "Il trovatore" - Leontyne Price, Placido Domingo, Fiorenza Cossotto, Sherrill Milnes, Bonaldo Giaiotti - Ambrosian Opera Chorus, Philarmonia Orchestra, Zubin Mehta - RCA

* 1975 - Verdi - "Luisa Miller" - Montserrat Caballé, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Anna Reynolds, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Richard Van Allan - London Opera Chorus, National Philarmonic Orchestra, Peter Maag - DECCA

* 1976 - Verdi - "La forza del destino" - Leontyne Price, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, Fiorenza Cossotto, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Gabriel Bacquier - John Alldis Choir, London Symphony Orchestra, James Levine - RCA

References and Sources

* [http://www.operissimo.com Operissimo Concertissimo database]
* [http://www.bonaldogiaiotti.it/ Professional Web-page of Bonaldo Giaiotti]