- Giangiacomo Guelfi
Giangiacomo Guelfi (born on
December 21 ,1924 ) is an Italian operaticbaritone , particularly associated withVerdi andPuccini roles.Born in
Rome , Italy, Guelfi studied law before turning to vocal studies in Florence with the great baritoneTitta Ruffo . He made his stage debut in Spoleto, as Rigoletto in 1950.He made his debut in 1952 at the
Teatro alla Scala in Milan, also appearing in Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, and becoming a regular guest at theArena di Verona . Outside Italy he appeared in Berlin, Lisbon, London, Cairo. He made his American debut in 1954 at theLyric Opera of Chicago , and at theMetropolitan Opera of New York in 1970, he also appeared in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro.He took part in the creation of contemporary works notably Lazzaro in
Pizzetti 's "La figlia di Jorio", Naples, 1954.However he was mostly known for his Verdi portrayals in opera such as; "
Nabucco ", "I due Foscari ", "Attila", "Macbeth", "Il trovatore ", "I vespri siciliani ", "La forza del destino ", "Aida ", etc. He was also appreciated inverismo operas such as; "Cavalleria rusticana ", "Andrea Chenier ", "Tosca ", "La fanciulla del west ", etc.Guelfi had a large, powerful and exciting voice and was an extrovert performer but was able to adapt these attributes to more classical works such as "
Guglielmo Tell ", "Lucia di Lammermoor ", "La favorite ", "L'Africaine ", andSpontini 's "Agnes von Hohenstaufen".ources
* "Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique", R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), ISBN 2-213-01563-6
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