Giuseppe Taddei

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Giuseppe Taddei (born June 26, 1916 in Genoa , † June 2, 2010 in Rome ) was an Italian opera singer ( baritone ). His work spanned more than half a century; he sang around 150 roles.

Life

Taddei was trained in Genoa by Giuseppina Lusso and made his debut at the age of 20 at the Rome Opera House as Heerrufer in Wagner's Lohengrin under Tullio Serafin , who was one of his great patrons. After initial successes on Italian stages, his career was abruptly interrupted by the Second World War. During the war he was active in the Italian resistance and fought as a partisan in the Alps, where he became a German prisoner of war. After the end of the World War he continued his career at the Vienna State Opera , his inaugural role was Rigoletto . Since that time he has been a particular favorite of the Viennese opera audience and was a guest at the Vienna State Opera for decades until 1990. In 1948 he appeared for the first time at the Salzburg Festival as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart under Herbert von Karajan .

After a successful guest appearance in London, a glamorous career followed in his Italian homeland. He celebrated triumphs at the opera houses of Rome, Naples, Turin, at the Teatro La Fenice and above all at La Scala in Milan . He also sang successfully at the Festival in the Arena of Verona and at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence . He achieved great success in guest appearances in London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro and at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires . He did not come to the Metropolitan Opera in New York until 1985, but his debut there as Falstaff was an unparalleled triumph.

Taddei was still performing again and again in his 80s and presented himself to the audience as a ninety-year-old. Giuseppe Taddei died on June 2, 2010 in his apartment in Rome.

Voice and repertoire

Giuseppe Taddei had an exceptionally expressive baritone voice of great richness and verve. He had a special ability to characterize vocally and dramatically. Due to his exuberant stage temperament and his acting ability, combined with his vocal qualities, Taddei is one of the great singer actors of the opera. In addition to the great Italian baritone roles , especially from Verdi's operas, his repertoire also included some works by Mozart and roles by Richard Wagner , as long as these were sung in the national language in Italy.

meaning

Jürgen Kesting called him a "central singer" among the baritons of the 20th century. The Viennese singing expert Gottfried Cervenka particularly valued the singer because of his "exciting, energetic" singing. Taddei worked with almost all the great conductors and fellow singers of his time.

Complete recordings (selection)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Taddei, Giuseppe
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer (baritone)
DATE OF BIRTH June 26, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Genoa
DATE OF DEATH June 2, 2010
Place of death Rome