Carlo Meliciani

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Carlo Meliciani ( January 27, 1929 in San Leo di Arezzo – January 6, 2022 in Empoli ) was an Italian opera singer ( baritone ).

Life

Education and Beginnings

Carlo Meliciani was born to Giuseppe and Consiglia Meliciano, nee Peruzzi . He began studying singing very early with technical lessons from Lidia Bizelli and solfeggio lessons from Tommaso Stendardi, the musical director of the "Società Corale Guido Monaco" and the Liceo Musicale of the city of Arezzo . After giving the first concerts organized by the “Guido Monaco” choir, he went to Rome to audition for Beniamino Gigli , who offered to teach him, an offer that Meliciani could not accept, since at that time he was still pursued regular, non-artistic work. Gigli advised him to follow for further studiesMilan to take lessons from Piero Biasini (1899-1973) and from the famous Italian baritone Carlo Tagliabue (1898-1978). With Tagliabue, he particularly refined his singing technique and acquired vocal security.

In March 1954 he won an opera competition organized by the RAI and in June of the same year he also won the AsLiCo singing competition, a competition for young opera singers, in which he also made his stage debut as Tonio in I Pagliacci . In December 1954, at the age of 25, he made his debut in the role of Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo . In 1956 he undertook a tour of England with an Italian opera company.

Career at La Scala in Milan

In the 1959/60 season he was engaged at La Scala in Milan , where he made his debut in April 1960 as Chancellor Ping in Turandot . At the Scala in Milan he sang numerous large and later smaller roles until the early 1980s. In May 1961 he sang Enrico in a Lucia di Lammermoor festival performance in honor of Queen Elizabeth II , with Antonino Votto conducting and partnered by Joan Sutherland (Lucia) and Gianni Raimondi (Edgardo). In 1962 he sang the role of Alfonso XI in a performance of La Favorita in honor of French President Charles de Gaulle at La Scala in Milan, with Giulietta Simionato (Eleonora) and Gianni Raimondi (Fernando) as partners.

At the opening of the 1965/66 season he sang Don Carlo in La forza del destino . In the 1969/70 season he had great success as Don Carlo in Ernani alongside Plácido Domingo and Raina Kabaivanska .

He also took part in two premieres at La Scala, Il Calzare d'Argento by Ildebrando Pizzetti in March 1961 (with Giuseppe Di Stefano and Rosanna Carteri ) and Il Buon soldo Sveijk by Guido Turchi in April 1962. His last appearances at La Scala had Meliciano in the 1982/83 season.

Guest performances

Meliciani made regular guest appearances at the major Italian opera houses. He appeared at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste , the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari , the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (1961 as Rigoletto ), the Teatro Comunale di Firenze (1965 as Rigoletto) and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. He also had regular appearances at opera houses in the Italian provinces.

In 1960/61 he sang Rigoletto in the Baths of Caracalla , and in 1973 Paolo in Simone Boccanegra in the Arena di Verona . In 1961 he appeared at the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona . He has also made guest appearances at the Greek National Opera in Athens, at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon (as Ping in Turandot , alongside Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli ) and in Switzerland .

In 1962 he sang at the Mexico City Opera House . In 1968 he made his US debut as Amonasro in Aida at the Philadelphia Opera House , where he also appeared in 1970 (as Rigoletto, opposite Roberta Peters as Gilda) and 1971 (again as Amonasro, with Richard Tucker as Radamès). In 1970 he was heard at the Connecticut Opera in Hartford .

late years

In 1985 he sang a small role in a production by Andrea Chénier at the Teatro Margherita in Genoa . After completing his singing career, he devoted himself to training young singers. His students include the baritones Giuseppe Riva and Luca Salsi .

Carlo Meliciani died in Empoli in January 2022 at the age of 92.

Repertoire, voice and sound recordings

Meliciani was one of the most popular and highly esteemed Italian baritones, especially in the 1960s. He had an individually timbred, voluminous, but nevertheless light baritone voice, which was characterized by a secure technique and generous phrasing.

His repertoire included roles such as Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) , Tonio (Pagliacci) , Figaro ( Il barbiere di Siviglia ) , Alfonso XI (La Favorita) , the Verdi roles Amonasro (Aida) , Giorgio Germont ( La Traviata ) , Nabucco , Count Luna ( Il trovatore ) and Rigoletto, but also Scarpia in Tosca and Carlo Gérard in Andrea Chénier . Towards the end of his career he sang numerous character roles.

His voice has been preserved through several radio recordings and live recordings.

literature

web links

itemizations

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Danilo Boaretto: Carlo Meliciani, in memoria . Obituary. Retrieved January 10, 2022
  2. ↑ TURANDOT . Cast archive of La Scala in Milan. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR . Cast archive of La Scala in Milan. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  4. ↑ LA FORZA DEL DESTINO . Cast archive of La Scala in Milan. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  5. ↑ ERNANI . Cast archive of La Scala in Milan. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  6. ↑ CARLO MELICIANI . Cast archive of La Scala in Milan. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  7. ↑ Musica in lutto, è morto Carlo Meliciani . Toscanamedianews on January 9, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
personal data
SURNAME Meliciani, Carlo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer (baritone)
BIRTH DATE January 27, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Arezzo
DATE OF DEATH January 6, 2022
PLACE OF DEATH Empoli