Leone Giraldoni

Leone Giraldoni (born circa 1824, Paris; died September 19, 1897, Moscow) was a celebrated Italian operatic baritone. He created the title roles of Donizetti's "Il duca d'Alba" (1882) and Verdi's "Simon Boccanegra" (1857) as well as the role of Renato in Verdi's "Un ballo in maschera" (1859).

Giraldoni studied in Florence with Luigi Ronzi and made his début as the High Priest in Pacini's "Saffò" (Lodi, 1847). He made his La Scala début as Il Conte di Luna in "Il trovatore" (1850), and during his long career sang throughout Europe. His final performance was in Filippo Marchetti's "Don Giovanni d'Austria" at Rome's Teatro Costanzi in 1885. After his retirement he taught voice and singing, first in Milan, and from 1891 at the Moscow Conservatory. [H. Rosenthal, and J. Warrack, "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera", 2nd Edition, Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 195] .

Contemporary accounts describe his voice as warm and even. He was considered an effective actor, with a noble and dignified stage presence and beautiful phrasing, qualities which made him one of Verdi's favourite baritones. [ Gaspare Vetro, "Dizionario della musica e dei musicisti dei territori del Ducato di Parma e Piacenza", [http://www.lacasadellamusica.it/ferrarini/biografie1.htm#g Istituzione Casa della Musica] , Parma, 2002.] Giraldoni was married to the celebrated soprano and violinist Carolina Ferni. Their son, Eugenio Giraldoni, was also a famous baritone who created the role of Scarpia in Puccini's "Tosca.

Leone Giraldoni was the author of two works on singing:
*"Guida teorico-pratica ad uso dell'artista-cantante", Bologna, 1864 (with a revised and expanded edition published in 1884)
*"Compendium, Metodo analitico, filosofico e fisiologico per la educazione della voce", Milan, Ricordi, 1889.

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