- Filippo Galli (bass)
Filippo Galli (
1783 –Paris ,June 3 ,1853 ) was an Italianopera singer who began his career as a tenor in 1801 but went on to become one of the most acclaimed basses of the Bel Canto era, with a voice known for its wide range, extreme agility, and expressivity, and a remarkable gift for actingEarly life
Born in
Rome , Galli was a marginal buffo tenor, appearing in Naples, Bologna, Parma, and Turin, primarily in the works of Nasolini, Generali, and Zingarelli. It is said that following an illness in 1810, his voice changed markedly into that of bass', but this may have been a cover story for his technical transition into the bass repertoire upon the advice of the composerGiovanni Paisiello or singer Luigi Marchesi.Career as bass
His new career took rise in 1812: his meeting with Rossini allowed him to sing "L'inganno felice" on August 1 at the Teatro San Moisè, Venice (in the role of Tarabotto). After his creation of Polidoro in Pietro Generali's "
La Vedova stravagante ", he appeared in a new opera by Rossini—"La pietra del paragone " (September 26, 1812). His performance in the "Sigillara" aria was the hit of the immensely successful opera.His collaboration with Rossini increased: May 22, 1813 he sang the Mustafà in the premiere of "
L'italiana in Algeri " at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice. Rossini then composed numerous other bass parts specifically for Galli: August 14, 1814, "Il turco in Italia " at la Scala; May 31, 1817 (again at la Scala), the very difficult role of Fernando in "La gazza ladra "; December 3, 1820, the title role in "Maometto II" at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples; and February 3, 1823, Assur in "Semiramide " at the Teatro alla Fenice, Venice.Galli also created the role of Enrico (Henry) VIII in Donizetti's "
Anna Bolena " at the Teatro Carcano, Milan.Repertoire
This is an alphabetical list of Filippo Galli's roles (with their respective operas and composers), appended as sources permit:
*Adolfo, in
Carlo Coccia 's "La donna selvaggia "
*Adolfo, inCarlo Evasio Soliva 's "La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria"
*Assur, inGioacchino Rossini 's "Semiramide "
*Batone, inGioacchino Rossini 's "L'inganno felice"
*Conte Asdrubale, inGioacchino Rossini 's "La pietra del paragone "
*Dandini, inStefano Pavesi 's "Agatina ovvero La virtù premiata"
*Dandini, inGioacchino Rossini 's "La Cenerentola "
*Don Giovanni, inWolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's "Don Giovanni "
*Duca d'Ordowo, inGioacchino Rossini 's "Torvaldo e Dorliska "
*Elpino, inGioacchino Rossini 's "Il vero omaggio "
*Enrico VIII, inGaetano Donizetti 's "Anna Bolena "
*Fernando Villabella, inGioacchino Rossini 's "La gazza ladra "
*Figaro, inWolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's "Le nozze di Figaro "
*Gabriel, inFrançois-Adrien Boieldieu 's "La dama bianca"
*Geronimo, inDomenico Cimarosa 's "Il matrimonio segreto "
*Giove, inVittorio Trento 's "Andromeda"
*Gondair, inGiovanni Pacini 's "Gli arabi nelle Gallie "
*Ircano, inGioacchino Rossini 's "Ricciardo e Zoraide "
*"Maometto II", byGioacchino Rossini
*Mercurio, inPietro Casella 's "Paride "
*Mustafà, inGioacchino Rossini 's "L'italiana in Algeri "
*Oroveso, inVincenzo Bellini 's "Norma"
*Papageno, inWolfgang Amadeus Mozart 's "Die Zauberflöte"
*Podesta di Firenze, inGiovanni Pacini 's "Isabella ed Enrico' '
*Polidoro, in Pietro Generali's "La vedova stravagante"
*Richard, inJoseph Weigl 's "La famiglia svizzera"
*Selim, inGioacchino Rossini 's "Il turco in Italia '
*Teodoro, inGiovanni Pacini 's "Il Barone di Dolsheim "ources
*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), "The Oxford Dictionary of Opera", 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
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