Beniamino Gigli

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Beniamino Gigli

Beniamino Gigli [ ˈdʒiʎːi ] (born March 20, 1890 in Recanati , † November 30, 1957 in Rome ) was an Italian opera singer and film actor . In Germany, the spelling of his first name was "Benjamino". Gigli was one of the greatest tenors of his time and was considered the legitimate successor to Enrico Caruso .

Life

The son of a shoemaker from Recanati in the Marche region learned to sing in the local church choir. He earned his first money as a shop assistant. He also played the saxophone and eventually found a teacher who gave him singing lessons on credit. When he was called up for military service during the Libyan War of 1912, a superior made sure that he could do his service in a hospital instead of the risky war effort and put him in contact with the famous tenor Alessandro Bonci . By the summer of 1914, Gigli received training at the important Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Beniamino Gigli then won first prize in a singing competition in Parma . His operatic debut followed on October 15, 1914 in Rovigo with the role of Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda , which was also recorded as a record in November 1918. In 1915 he sang the role of Faust in Arrigo Boitos Mefistofele in Naples . Beniamino Gigli became famous in 1918 when he sang for the first time at La Scala in Milan under Arturo Toscanini . After his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 26, 1920, he made a name for himself with his interpretations of a very broad spectrum of Italian operas . However, he made a particular impression on the audience with his interpretation of the role of Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier .

In 1932 Beniamino Gigli left the Met and returned to Italy, where he also appeared in feature films from the mid-1930s. The fact that Benito Mussolini held him in high esteem as a singer caused criticism, but did no permanent damage to his fame. After retiring from the stage during the Second World War , he appeared again in 1945 with great success. In the last years of his life, Gigli mainly gave concerts; Opera appearances became rarer. In 1955 he withdrew completely and wrote his memoirs. In 1957, Beniamino Gigli died in Rome of pneumonia . He was buried in his hometown of Recanati with the greatest sympathy of the Italian people.

Filmography (selection)

  • 1935: Don't forget mine
  • 1936: Forget Me Not
  • 1936: You are my luck
  • 1936: Ave Maria
  • 1937: The voice of the heart
  • 1937: Solo per te
  • 1937: mother song
  • 1938: You own my heart
  • 1938: Three women around Verdi (Giuseppe Verdi)
  • 1939: The Singing Gate
  • 1940: dream music
  • 1941: mother (mamma)
  • 1941: Vertigine
  • 1941: tragedy of a love
  • 1942: Bajazzo (I pagliacci)
  • 1943: La Bajazzo
  • 1943: Attention, admission (Silenzio, si gira!)
  • 1948: Delicacies ( compilation film )
  • 1950: Night taxi (Taxi di notte)

Autobiography

  • Confidenze. Istituto per l'Enciclopedia de Carlo. Rome 1942; 3rd expanded edition 1943
  • Memory. Mondadori. Milan 1957
  • And the stars flashed: the story of my life. Publisher of the Star Books. Hamburg 1957 <German translation of the English edition>

biography

Web links

Commons : Beniamino Gigli  - album with pictures, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Gigli, Beniamino
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gigli, benjamino
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer and film actor
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1890
PLACE OF BIRTH Recanati
DATE OF DEATH November 30, 1957
Place of death Rome