- Luigi Lablache
Luigi Lablache (
6 December 1794 -23 January 1858 ) was an Italian bass singer of French and Irish heritage, born inNaples . He was most noted for his comic performances, with a powerful bass voice, a wide range, and adept acting: "Leporello" in "Don Giovanni " was one of his signature roles.Lablache studied initially at Naples, and had a professional career as a boy alto before he became a bass. He sang in 1809 in a Requiem commemorating Haydn's death.On
15 August 1821 he made his debut at "La Scala " as "Dandini" in "La Cenerentola ".He sang Mozart's "
Requiem " at both Beethoven's (1827) and Chopin's (1849) funerals and was the soloist, singing a "Lachrymosa", at Bellini's funeral in 1835.He appeared in the title role of the premiere of "Don Pasquale " in 1843.He taught voice to Princess, later Queen,Victoria of the United Kingdom .The
actor Stewart Granger was his grandson.Biography
The son of Nicholas Lablache, merchant, of Marseilles, by an Irish lady, was born at Naples 6 Dec. 1794. He was educated from 1806 at the Conservatorio della Pietà de' Turchini, where Gentili taught him the elements of music, and Valesi instructed him in singing, while at the same time he studied the violin and violoncello. His voice was a beautiful contralto, and just before it broke he sang the solos in the requiem of Mozart on the death of Haydn in 1809. Before long he became possessed of a magnificent bass, which gradually increased in volume until at the age of twenty it attained a compass of two octaves from E flat below to E flat above the bass stave. In 1812, when only eighteen, he was engaged at the San Carlo Theatre, Naples, and appeared in "La Molinara" of
Valentino Fioravanti . Two years later he marriedTeresa Pinotti , the daughter of an actor. In 1817, atLa Scala in Milan, he took the part of Dandini in "La Cenerentola ". The opera "Elisa e Claudio" was now (1821) written for him bySaverio Mercadante ; his position was assured, and his reputation spread throughout Europe. wrote a cycle of three songs in Italian for Lablache, marvellous exercises in Rossinian pastiche; they are among the last songs he ever wrote.He died at Naples 23 Jan. 1858, and was buried at Maison-Lafitte, Paris. In 1813 he married the singer Teresa Pinotti; they had thirteen children, several of them, notably
Frederick Lablache , likewise singers. His eldest daughter, Francesca (Cecchina), married the pianistSigismond Thalberg in 1843.References
*DNB
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