Description

ALESSANDRO BONCI (CESENA, 10 FEBRUARY, 1870 – VISERBA, RIMINI, 9 AUGUST, 1940)

 

 

 

 

He was an Italian lyric tenor known internationally for his association with the bel canto repertoire. He sang at many famous theatres, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Milan’s La Scala and London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. A native of Cesena, Romagna, Bonci started out as an apprentice shoemaker. He secured a music scholarship to the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, working for five years with Carlo Pedrotti (the teacher of the heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno) and then Felice Coen. He also had private singing lessons in Paris with the retired baritone Enrico Delle Sedie. Alessandro Bonci made his debut in Parma in 1896, singing the role of Fenton in Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff at the Teatro Regio. Before the end of his first season he was engaged to sing at La Scala, Milan, where he debuted in Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani. Appearances elsewhere in Europe followed, including at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He first sang at Covent Garden in 1900 and he would return there in 1903 and 1907-08. On December 3, 1906, Bonci made his American debut with the Manhattan Opera Company in New York City; again the opera was I Puritani. He stayed two seasons with the company, becoming a popular competitor to Enrico Caruso, who was the rival Metropolitan Opera’s major drawcard. Bonci himself joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1908 and, in 1914, the Chicago Opera. He also made a transcontinental tour of America in 1910-11, giving song recitals. Bonci served in the Italian army during World War I, returning to America to tour for three seasons after the end of the conflict. He appeared again at the Metropolitan Opera, and sang in Chicago during the 1920-21 season. In 1922 and 1923 he served as the principal tenor of the Teatro Costanzi in Rome and conducted master classes across the United States the following year. After 1925, Bonci entered into partial retirement, devoting himself primarily to teaching in Milan. He still sang occasionally in public as late as 1935. He died in Viserba, Rimini, in 1940, at the age of 70.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1896 Roma Teatro Quirino Rigoletto (Duca)

1896 Milano  Teatro Lirico Mignon (Guglielmo)

1896 Milano  Teatro Lirico Sonnambula (Elvino)

1897 Genova Teatro Carlo Felice Puritani (Arturo)

1897 Milano Teatro La Scala Puritani (Arturo)

1897 Firenze Teatro della Pergola Puritani (Arturo)

1897 Fano Teatro della Fortuna Puritani (Arturo)

1898 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1898 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1898 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Pescatori di Perle (Nadir)

1899 Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1899 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Mefistofele (Faust)

1900 Lisbona  Teatro San Carlos Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1900 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1900 Londra Covent Garden Boheme (Rodolfo)

1901 Palermo Teatro Massimo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1902 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Boheme (Rodolfo)

1902 Madrid  Teatro Reale Boheme (Rodolfo)

1903 Londra  Covent Garden Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1903 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1905 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1905 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Mefistofele (Faust)

1905  Berlino  Teatro dell’Opera Italiana Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1905 Lisbona  Teatro San Carlos Pescatori di Perle (Nadir)

1907 New York  Manhattan Opera House Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1907 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1907 Philadelphia  Academy of Music  Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1908 Londra  Teatro Covent Garden Pescatori di Perle (Nadir)

1908 Philadelphia Teatro Metropolitan Tosca (Cavaradossi)

1908 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Traviata (Alfredo)

1909 New York  Academy of Music Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1909 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Colon Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1909 New York  New Manhattan Theater  Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1910 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1910 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Colon Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 Montevideo  Teatro Urquiza Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 San Paolo  Teatro Municipal Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 San Paulo  Teatro Municipal Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1911 Rio de Janeiro  Teatro Lirico Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1913 Parma  Teatro Regio Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Genova  Teatro Carlo Felice Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Colon Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1915 Torino  Teatro Regio Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1915 Milano  Teatro Dal Verme  Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1915 Genova  Teatro Carlo Felice Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1915 Parma  Teatro Regio Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1916 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1918 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1918 Verona Teatro Ristori Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Milano Teatro Lirico Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Fabriano  Teatro Gentile Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Chicago  Civic Opera House Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1922  Milano  Teatro Dal Verme Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1923 Roma  Teatro Costanzi  Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1924 Firenze  Teatro Verdi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1926 Roma  Teatro Adriano Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1927 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1927 Milano  Teatro Carcano Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Fedora (Giordano): Amor ti vieta A1408 38321 Columbia, New York 1912-10-09
2. Bohème (Puccini): Che gelida manina A5449 36458 Columbia, New York 1912-10-09
3. Rigoletto (Verdi): Questa o quella A1286 38320 Columbia, New York 1912-10-09
4. Manon (Massenet): Ah, dispar vision H1103 36461 Columbia, New York 1912-10-09
5. Elisir d’amore (Donizetti): Una furtiva lagrima (ends on low note) A5449 36460 Columbia, New York 1912-10-09
6. Fanciulla del West (Puccini): Ch’ella mi creda H59 38555 Columbia, New York 1913-01-14
7. Luisa Miller (Verdi): Quando le sere A1287 38557 Columbia, New York 1913-01-14
8. Rigoletto (Verdi): La donna è mobile A1286 38563 Columbia, New York 1913-01-17
9. Manon (Massenet): Chiudo gli occhi H59 38562 Columbia, New York 1913-01-17
10. Favorita (Donizetti): Una vergine A1287 38561 Columbia, New York 1913-01-17
11. Gioconda (Ponchielli): Cielo e mar A5479 36534 Columbia, New York 1913-01-18?
12. Faust (Gounod): Salve dimora H1103 36535 Columbia, New York 1913-01-18?
13. Aida (Verdi): Celeste Aida 83003 2102 Edison, New York 1913-01-20
14. Tosca (Puccini): E lucevan le stelle A1316 38587 Columbia, New York 1913-01-22
15. Tosca (Puccini): Recondita armonia A1316 38596 Columbia, New York 1913-01-27
16. Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Vesti la giubba A1377 38666 Columbia, New York 1913-02-27
17. Africana (Meyerbeer): O paradiso A5468 36657 Columbia, New York 1913-02-27
18. Favorita (Donizetti): Spirto gentil A5468 36656 Columbia, New York 1913-02-27