Gaetano Fraschini

Gaetano Fraschini, scroll picture, lithograph by Eduard Kaiser , 1851

Gaetano Fraschini (born December 16, 1817 in Pavia , † May 23, 1887 in Naples ) was an Italian opera singer ( tenor ).

Life

Fraschini first studied medicine, but soon devoted himself to singing under Moretti's direction. The success of his first public production in the Chapel of Pavia was such that he was immediately engaged by the local opera entrepreneur to sing Alamir in Belisarius .

For the next ten years he sang in Vienna, Bologna, Milan and Naples, from 1850 also in Lisbon, Madrid, London, and finally from 1863 onwards at the Italian Opera in Paris, where, regardless of his advanced age , he sang through the melting and strength of Voice, through expressive phrasing as well as through an imposing appearance and noble playing knew how to entice the audience.

A large number of tenor roles were created by him, some of which were written for him, such as those in Giovanni Pacini's Saffo (1840), Donizetti's Caterina Cornaro (1844) and Verdi's Masked Ball (1859). At the end of the 1860s, a hearing problem forced him to leave the stage. He was Verdi's favorite singer .

The Teatro Fraschini in Pavia is named after him.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Fraschini, Cajetan . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 4th part. Typogr.-literar.-artist publishing house. Establishment (L. C. Zamarski, C. Dittmarsch & Comp.), Vienna 1858, p. 345 ( digitized version ).

Web links

Commons : Gaetano Fraschini  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Gaetano Fraschini at Operissimo  on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
• Istituzione Teatro Gaetano Fraschini (Italian)
• Klassika (portrait of Gaetano Fraschini)