Antonio Paoli
Antonio Emilio Paoli y Marcano (born April 14, 1871 in Ponce , † August 24, 1946 in San Juan ) was a Puerto Rican opera singer (tenor).
Life
Paoli's musical talent was encouraged by his parents. Since these died when he was twelve years old, he grew up with his sister, the singer Amalia Paoli in Spain. This brought him scholarships to train at the Real Monasterio del Escorial (from 1882) and to study singing in Italy at the Academia de Canto La Scala (1897). He made his debut at the Paris Opera in 1899 in Rossini's opera Guillaume Tell .
A steep career as an opera singer followed. Paoli performed at opera houses in Europe, Asia, Africa and America and was considered a serious competitor to Enrico Caruso . In 1905 Tsar Nicholas II appointed him Kammersänger. In 1907 he sang before Pope Pius X in the Sistine Chapel , and Kaiser Wilhelm II appointed him Imperial Court Singer. In the same year he was the first opera singer to record a complete opera, the Bajazzo by Ruggiero Leoncavallo . In 1910 he was engaged as the first tenor at La Scala in Milan , and he also appeared as a guest at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.
In 1914, Paoli lost his vote. As a result of bad financial investments, he was penniless in a short time and therefore tried his hand at a professional boxer in England; he had to give up this career after an injury. In 1917 he returned to the opera stage with a performance of Samson et Dalila at the Constanzi Theater in Rome - contrary to the expectations of his contemporaries with great success.
New concert tours followed through Italy, South America and the USA and appearances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music , the Manhattan Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera House in Philadelphia. Until 1927 he lived mostly in New York, then he returned to Puerto Rico. He taught there at the Paoli Academy of his sister Amalie and had his last stage appearance in San Juan in 1928 with Verdi's Othello . As a singer, he last appeared in a concert on the first anniversary of the death of his sister Amalia in 1942. In 1946 he died of cancer.
Web links
- Forgotten Opera Singers - Antonio Paoli
- History of the Tenor - Paoli, Antonio
- La web de las Biografías - Paoli y Marcano, Antonio
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Paoli, Antonio |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Marcano, Antonio Emilio Paoli y (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Puerto Rican opera singer (tenor) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 14, 1871 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ponce |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 24, 1946 |
| Place of death | San Juan |