Riccardo Stracciari

Riccardo Stracciari (June 26, 1875, Casalecchio di Reno - October 10, 1955, Rome) was an Italian baritone particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially Rossini's Figaro. He was one of the finest baritones active prior to World War One and during the inter-war period.

Life and career

Born near Bologna, Italy, Stracciari first sang in an operetta chorus during 1894. He then entered the Bologna Conservatory, undertaking vocal studies with Ulisse Masetti. He made his professional debut in 1899, at the Teatro Communale in Bologna, in Pesori's sacred work "La risurrezione di Christo". The following year he made his operatic debut as Marcello in Puccini's "La bohème" in Rovigo. After appearing in various Italian opera houses, he made his debut at Italy's leading operatic venue, La Scala, Milan, in 1904.

Stracciari's career quickly became international, with debuts at the Royal Opera House in London in 1905, followed by the Metropolitan Opera on December 1, 1906, as Germont in "La traviata". During his two seasons at the Met, his roles included: Ashton, Rigoletto, Amonasro, Valentin, Marcello, Pinkerton, and di Luna. He also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the San Francisco Opera, the Paris Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.

He retired from the stage in 1944. He is above all associated with Rossini's Figaro, in "Il barbiere di Siviglia", which he sang an estimated 1000 times throughout his career, and "Rigoletto". He made complete recordings of these two operas in 1928, opposite Mercedes Capsir and Dino Borgioli, both recordings of particular historical value as illustrations of singing of that period. Stracciari also recorded a large number of operatic arias and duets.

Stracciari sang in a period rich in exceptional voices. But despite the high quality of the competition which he faced, he was widely considered to be one of the very best Italian baritones of his era, owing to the sheer beauty of his voice during its prime, his imposing interpretive style, and his outstanding vocal technique. America's greatest soprano, Rosa Ponselle, was a particular admirer of Stracciari's singing.

He was also a distinguished teacher at the music conservatories of both Naples and Rome. Among his most famous students were Raffaele Arié, Paolo Silveri, Giulio Fioravanti and Boris Christoff.

Recordings/Discography

*Verdi, "Rigoletto":Riccardo Stracciari (Rigoletto); Mercedes Capsir (Gilda); Dino Borgioli (Mantua); Ernesto Dominici (Sparafucile); Anna Masetti Bassi (Maddalena); Diulio Baronte (Monterone); Aristide Baracchi (Marullo); Ida Mannarini (Giovanna/Contessa). (La Scala Milan soloists chorus and orchestra.) Conductor: Lorenzo Molajoli; Chorus Master: Vittore Veneziani. (Columbia records, 30 sides, C-GQX 10028-42.) [Darrell 1936, 494.]
*Rossini, "Il barbiere di Siviglia":Riccardo Stracciari (Figaro); Mercedes Capsir (Rosina); Dino Borgioli (Almaviva); Vincenzo Bettoni (Basilio); Salvatore Baccaloni (Bartolo); Cesira Ferrari (Berta); Attilio Bordonali (Fiorello); Aristide Baracchi (Ufficiale). (La Scala Milan soloists chorus and orchestra.) Conductor: Lorenzo Molajoli; Chorus Master: Vittore Veneziani. (Columbia Records, 31 sides, D14564-79.) [Darrell 1936, 390.]

Notes

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, (French edition of work by H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack), "Guide de l’opéra", Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995). ISBN 2-213-01563-6
* R. D. Darrell, "The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music" (New York 1936).
* M. Scott, "The Record of Singing", Volume 2, (Duckworth, London, 1977)