Giovanni Martinelli

Giovanni Martinelli (22 October, 1885, Montagnana – 2 February, 1969, New York City) was an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, one of the most famous tenors of the 20th century.

Biography and Career

Martinelli grew up in Northern Italy, and after service as a clarinetist in a military band, he studied with Giuseppe Mandolini in Milan, and made his professional debut at the Teatro Dal Verme, as Ernani in 1910. The role of Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West became his passport role, he sang it for his debut in Rome (under Toscanini), Brescia, Naples, Genoa, all in 1911, as well as in Monte Carlo and La Scala, in 1912. Cavaradossi in Tosca, was his debut role at the Royal Opera House in London, and for his first US engagement in Philadelphia, in 1913.

Martinelli's New York Metropolitan Opera debut took place on November 20, 1913, as Rodolfo in La Bohème, he would remain a mainstay of the company for 32 seasons, singing there in 926 performances, of 36 roles, most often as Radames in Aida, Otello, Manrico in Il trovatore, Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino, Calaf in Turandot, and Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West, but also as Arnold in Guglielmo Tell, Eleazar in La Juive, Enzo in La Gioconda, Don Jose in Carmen, Vasco de Gama in L'Africaine, Canio in Pagliacci, Pollione in Norma. Martinelli also appeared in Boston, San Francisco and Chicago, often trying out new roles beforesinging them at the Met.

On the international scene, Martinelli appeared in Paris, Buenos Aires,and in 1937, returned to London to sing at Covent Garden, in much acclaimed performances of Otello and Calaf. He retired from the stage in 1950, although he gave one final performance at the age of 82, as the Emperor Altoum, in Turandot, in Seattle.

Widely regarded as the successor to the great tenor Enrico Caruso,as a dramatic tenor. His brilliant, forward projection and broad phrasing were best suited to heroic roles than to lyrical roles, in which his manner could be overly forceful.

In private life, he was something of a playboy, with a charming manner and a leonine mane of hair.

Recordings

Martinelli made a large number of recordings by the acoustic and electrical processes. Some of these recordings feature other great Met singers of Martinelli's day, including the soprano Rosa Ponselle, the baritones Giuseppe De Luca and Lawrence Tibbett and the bass Ezio Pinza. Transcription recordings were made of some of his live performances, including a 1935 concert of Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" with Arturo Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (which also featured Elisabeth Rethberg, Marion Telva, and Ezio Pinza (broadcast by CBS), and a 1939 performance of Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" by the Metropolitan Opera (broadcast by NBC). Some of these live performances have been issued on LP and CD.

Sources

* D. Hamilton (ed.),"The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera" (Simon and Schuster, New York 1987). ISBN 0-671-16732-X
* Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition), "Guide de l’opéra", Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995). ISBN 2-213-01563-6

External links

* [http://www.giovannimartinelli.net New official Italian Website] (English version to follow)