Afro Poli

Afro Poli (December 22, 1902, Pisa - February 22, 1988, Rome) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Life and career

Poli began his vocal studies when he joined the "Società Corale Pisana" in 1925, where he was a pupil of Bruno Pizzi. He made his stage debut in 1927 at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa, as Germont. He then went to Milan to further his studies with Gino Neri, and later joined the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma in 1930.

He was a leading baritone at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan from 1937 to 1955, where he sang in a wide repertoire from Mozart to verismo, including; "Le nozze di Figaro", "Cosi fan tutte", "Il barbiere di Siviglia", "Lucia di Lammermoor", "Rigoletto", "Simon Boccanegra", "L'amico Fritz", "Manon Lescaut", "La bohème", "Tosca", "Adriana Lecouvreur", as well as Italian version of operas such as; "Les pecheurs de perles", "Manon", "Werther", etc.

With the La Scala company, he made guest appearances in Berlin and Munich in 1946. He also appeared in Paris, London, Madrid, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, etc. He was a guest at the Holland Festival and the Wexford Festival in the 1950s.

He was also very active on Italian Radio and Television (RAI), notably in a production of "Madama Butterfly", in 1956, opposite two then unknown beginners, Anna Moffo and Renato Cioni, which has been recently released on DVD. He can also be heard on disc in complete recordings of "L'elisir d'amore", "Don Pasquale", and "Pagliacci".

Poli enjoyed a long career singing until 1969, he then turned to teaching, first in Ankara, and later in Melbourne, and gave an ultimate performance in Adelaide, as Rodolfo in "La sonnambula" in 1978.

ources

* [http://www.operissimo.com Operissimo.com]