Tomás Alcaide

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tomás Alcaide

Tomás de Aquino Carmelo Alcaide (born February 16, 1901 in Estremoz , Portugal , † November 9, 1967 in Lisbon , Portugal) was a Portuguese opera singer ( tenor ). He is still considered to be the most important opera singer in Portugal in the twentieth century.

Life

Tomás Alcaide was born in Estremoz. Between 1912 and 1920 he was a cadet at the Colégio Militar in Lisbon with the aim of pursuing a career in the military. In 1920 he changed the subject and studied medicine first in Coimbra , then in Lisbon, but did not graduate. During student singing competitions his exceptionally lyrical voice was noticed and he was advised to have his voice trained. In Lisbon he first studied singing with Francisco Coutinho and Eugenia Mantelli. From 1924 he lived in Italy , mainly financial reasons drove him there. He continued his training with Alberto Sardi and Fernando Ferrari.

His stay in Milan marked the beginning of a world career that has remained unique for a Portuguese tenor of this kind to this day. He had his first engagements in theaters and operas in Portugal, in Lisbon, but also in Porto , Coimbra and Faro . Its Italian premiere took place at the Teatro Carcaro in Milan. From 1930 appearances in Rome followed . This was followed by global guest performances and appearances, for example in Naples , Venice , Paris , Vienna , Zurich , Helsinki , Boston , Chicago , New York , Monte Carlo , Prague , Brussels , Buenos Aires , Rio de Janeiro , Salzburg , Toulouse , Nice , Vichy , Narbonne , Riga , Seville , Madrid , Barcelona , Lausanne , Bologna , Palermo , São Paulo , Bergamo , Geneva , Bordeaux . He also sang in world-famous opera houses, for example in Lisbon at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos , in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colón , in Salzburg at the Salzburg Festival in 1931. He made his debut at La Scala in Milan on March 8, 1930.

Alcaide's repertoire included the classical works of opera, both in terms of composers and pieces. However, Portuguese or Spanish opera composers were rarely there. The most famous roles he sung in major operatic pieces include the operas Rigoletto , La Bohème , Mignon , Werther , Roméo et Juliette , Cavalleria rusticana , La traviata , Lucia di Lammermoor , Madama Butterfly and Tosca . The number of composers he sang included world famous names such as Engelbert Humperdinck , Giuseppe Verdi , Gaetano Donizetti , Gioachino Rossini , Jules Massenet , Georges Bizet , Charles Gounod , Pietro Mascagni . He also sang one of the most famous pieces in opera history, “ La donna è mobile ” and immortalized it on record. The most famous singer with whom he sang was Claudia Muzio . In Portugal he became known to a mass audience through the radio, all stations in the country broadcast his foreign and guest appearances because a Portuguese sang there.

In 1935 the Mussolini government wanted to force him, as an artist permanently active in Italy, to give up his citizenship and become Italian. However, Alcaide firmly refused and was expelled from the country. From 1936 he lived in Latin America, especially in Brazil and Argentina, and had to put his career on hold, as he was no longer given the opportunity to perform in many European countries due to the war and the political circumstances and did not return to Europe until 1942, initially to his homeland Portugal. However, it was not until 1947 that he resumed his career as a lyric tenor and began a second, short career in Europe until his resignation as a singer in 1952.

In Brazil he met the dancer Asta Rose, whom he also married. His brother was the playwright and columnist Roberto Augusto Carmelo Alcaide (1903 to 1979), but who was always overshadowed by his world-famous brother.

For the record label "Columbia Records" numerous records and sound carriers were made, also sold abroad.

Tomás Alcaide died unexpectedly on November 9, 1967 in Lisbon at the age of 66. The previous evening he had seen masks for a comeback performance.

His autobiography was published in 1961. Alcaide was - with interruptions - about twenty-two years on the operatic stages of the world. In addition to Portuguese, Alcaide sang in Spanish, French, English, Italian and German. He was gifted with languages ​​and had learned all the languages ​​he sang and spoke them fluently and without accents.

Honors from the state and society

In Portugal streets are named after him, for example in Estremoz, Linda-a-Velha and Lisbon. A plaque for Alcaide hangs in Washington, DC Cathedral , donated and affixed by American fans and Portuguese people living there as well as Americans of Portuguese descent to commemorate his appearances in the USA . In 2001 a commemorative stamp for Alcaide was issued on the 100th birthday. On the corresponding cover of the commemorative stamp he can be seen in the role and disguise as Rigoletto. The city of Estremoz made him an honorary citizen posthumously. In 1997 the city of Estremoz donated a singing competition for opera tenors in Portugal and abroad, which bears his name and is intended to promote the next generation of lyric tenors ( Concurso International cantor Tomás Alcaide ). A statue in his hometown commemorates one of her greatest sons. The statue erected in 1987 was made by the sculptor Domingos Soares Branco . In 1962 the Portuguese state awarded him the hitherto unique title of “Master of Portuguese Opera”. He was also appointed director of the Companhia Portuguesa de Opera .

Fonts

  • Um cantor no palco e na vida (A singer on the stage as in life). Autobiography. 1961.

Trivia

  • Throughout his life he was mainly interested in sports and art in his free time.
  • Alcaide was also better known in Germany than his compatriot Francisco d'Andrade , who worked in Berlin and was even painted by Max Slevogt , although Alcaide had rarely performed in Germany.

Filmography

Awards (selection)

swell

personal data
SURNAME Alcaide, Tomás
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Alcaide, Tomás de Aquino Carmelo (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Portuguese opera singer (tenor)
DATE OF BIRTH February 16, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Estremoz , Portugal
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1967
Place of death Lisbon , Portugal