Arrigo Pola

Arrigo Pola (born July 5, 1919 in Finale Emilia near Modena , † November 3, 1999 in Modena) was an Italian opera singer ( tenor ) and singing teacher, who was best known as the teacher of Luciano Pavarotti . As a tenor, Pola sang as partner of the sopranos Maria Caniglia , Victoria de los Ángeles , Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas, among others . He was a professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and from 1957 to 1965 director of the "Fujiwara Opera Company" in Tokyo.

Life

Arrigo Pola was born on July 5, 1919 in Finale near Modena (Reggio-Emilia) in Italy. His family moved to Modena in 1925. There the young Arrigo Pola went to elementary school in the mornings and worked in a bar in the afternoons to supplement his family's finances. This was followed by training as a musician (trumpeter) at the Liceo Musicale "Orazio Vecchi". There his tenor voice was discovered and he studied opera singing in the class of Mercedes Aicardi . In 1940 he won the national opera singing competition together with the young bass Cesare Siepi and the mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri . After he was drafted into the Italian army, he played the trumpet and sang with the "Raul Oskar Iotti Band". From 1943 he continued his studies with Professor Bertazzoni and Professor Barbieri continued and studied operatic roles with the young pianist and conductor Leone Magiera one, the future husband and accompanist of Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti .

On June 21, 1945 Pola made her debut with great success at the Teatro Communale in Modena as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca by Giacomo Puccini . He then sang Pinkerton (one of his star roles) in Madama Butterfly with Mafalda Favero , Alfredo in La traviata with Margarita Carosio and the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto , together with Tito Gobbi .

In 1947 Arrigo Pola made his debut at La Scala in Milan as Faust in Faust by Charles Gounod , alongside Renata Tebaldi as Margarethe and Cesare Siepi as Méphistophélès, under the direction of Antonino Votto .

A rapid career followed with important commitments, such as the world premiere of the Messa da Requiem by Gaetano Donizetti under the direction of Gianandrea Gavazzeni , anniversary performances of La Fiamma by Ottorino Respighi at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires , Anniversary performances of Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea at the Teatro Municipale of Reggio Calabria (with Maria Caniglia) and anniversary performances of La Gioconda by Amilcare Ponchielli in his star role as Enzo Grimaldi.

The 1951 at the Teatro Reggio di Parma produced La traviata by Giuseppe Verdi on the 50th anniversary of his death with Maria Callas as Violetta and Arrigo Pola as Alfredo brought him great success, but also conflicts with “La Divina” and her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini , which was his Career in Italy hurt.

In the summer of 1951 he sang the role of Enzo Grimaldi in a series of La Gioconda performances in the Caracalla Baths in Rome, in between a gala performance for the Italian government and the official state guest, the President of the Philippines. Arrigo Pola was invited to an audience the next day and received two lucrative offers, as first tenor at the opera or as professor at the Conservatory in Manila . Together with his wife, he decided to accept the Filipino offer and he and his family moved to Manila, where he stayed for three years.

In Manila he sang in Il trovatore by Verdi, La Bohème by Puccini, Manon by Massenet, Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni and Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. He also gave many concerts, including music by Filipino composers (so-called tagalog kundiman - traditional songs). He has also made guest appearances and taught in Hong Kong and Tokyo .

Between 1954 and 1957 he was back in Modena, where he taught and tried to assert himself again as a tenor in Italy. This proved difficult because of the scandal with Meneghini in Parma in 1951. In 1954 Pola received a visit from a baker named Fernando Pavarotti and his 19 year old son Luciano. The baker wanted to know whether the tenor voice of his son, who sang with him in the Rossini chorale , was sufficient for training as a professional opera singer. As Arrigo Pola later reported, he knew after about 15 minutes of audition that he was facing a super talent. He spontaneously decided to help the destitute boy and his family and gave the young Luciano free lessons almost every day until he traveled to Japan with the family in 1957. Luciano Pavarotti later said, also in front of the camera for the TV film Pavarotti and the Italian Tenor : "If it had not been for my dear teacher Arrigo Pola, I would not be what I am today." (If it weren't for my dear teacher Arrigo Pola, I would not be who I am today).

In 1957, Arrigo Pola was appointed professor at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (now Tokyo University of the Arts - Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku) ​​on condition that he mastered the Japanese language. He accepted the call and moved to Japan with his wife. He secured the further education of the young Pavarotti with the pianist and répétiteur Ettore Campogalliani , but remained in contact as a mentor with Luciano Pavarotti and was later a juror at the Pavarotti International Vocal Competition .

Pola worked until 1965 as a professor and then as dean in the department of European singing at Tokyo National University of the Fine Arts and Music . In addition, he was artistic director of the Fujiwara Opera Company from 1957 to 1965 and continued to appear as a tenor in opera productions and concerts in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.

In the first black and white film adaptation of Madama Butterfly by the Japanese radio and television company NHK , he took on the role of Pinkerton. For his services to culture in Japan, he received from Tennō Hirohito the highest award that a foreigner living in Japan could get.

Discography

• "Il Mito Dell Opera" Bongiovanni; CD, 2008; Label: phantom; Anita Cerquetti and Arrigo Pola
• "Arrigo Pola. Famous Tenor Arias"; CD, 1993; Label: ZYX-MUSIC; Arrigo Pola, Kioko Tzukada; Orchestra of Tokyo National University of Arts, Dir. Franco Capuana

literature

• Daniele Rubboli: Arrigo Pola. Il maestro di Pavarotti. Pacini Fazzi, Lucca 1995, ISBN 88-7246-198-7 . (Biography, ital.)

Filmography

• Pavarotti and the Italian Tenor. DECCA VHS 1995 with Luciano Pavarotti, Leone Magiera, Arrigo Pola, Rossini Chorale, Polygram Video

Web links

• The Pavarotti Story