Description

MARIO CHAMLEE (LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, MAY 29, 1892 – LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, NOVEMBER 13, 1966)

 

 

 

 

His real name was Archer Cholmondeley. He began his studies in science at the University of Southern California before turning to singing, which he studied under Achille Alberti in Los Angeles. He made his debut in 1916 in Los Angeles as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. After further vocal training with Sibella and Dellera in New York, he embarked on a tour with the Aborn Opera Company in 1917, adopting the stage name Mario Rodolfi. His partner on this tour was the soprano Ruth Miller (1892–1983), who performed under the name Francesca Milena. The two married in 1919.

From 1917 to 1919, he served as a soldier in World War I. Upon returning to the United States, he sang with the Scotti Opera Company during the 1919–20 season. In 1920, he was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making his debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca. He was active at the Met during the 1920–21 season and again from 1927–28. During this time, he also performed in San Francisco (1927 and 1931) and appeared annually at the Ravinia Summer Opera in Chicago from 1921 to 1931.

From 1928 to 1936, he performed extensively in Europe, primarily at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, but also in Brussels, Liège, Lille, Bordeaux, Nice, the Vienna Volksoper, and the German Theatre in Prague. In 1933, he appeared at the Chicago Opera. From 1936 to 1939, he returned to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he sang in the premieres of R. Hageman’s Caponsacchi (1937) and G. Menotti’s Amelia Goes to the Ball (1938).

In 1940, he retired from the stage and, alongside his wife, dedicated himself to teaching voice in Los Angeles.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

Il duca di Mantova 6/5/1920, B. F. Pinkerton 4/4/1922, 12/12/1922, Il duca di Mantova 2/6/1923, Uin-San-Lui 11/27/1923, Rodolfo 2/26/1924, B. F. Pinkerton 1/13/1925, Il duca di Mantova 6/5/1926, B. F. Pinkerton 3/8/1927, Hoffmann 2/14/1928, Jeník 12/22/1936, L’amante 3/3/1938, 3/8/1938, 1/11/1939 (in Filadelfia)

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

E’en as the Flower From the Poem, The Passion Flower (Blackburn) 10224A E18063-E18065 Brunswick, New York City, 23 February 1926

Élégie (Massenet) 10003 2980 Brunswick, New York City, 1920

Élégie (Massenet) 50155 XE27474 Brunswick, New York City, 4 May 1928

Elisir d’amore (Donizetti) Una furtiva lagrima (on the label as Mario Rodolfi) 7102 6143-1 Lyric, New York City, 1917

Elisir d’amore (Donizetti) Una furtiva lagrima 50030 X9928 Brunswick, New York City, 15 February 1923

Faust (Gounod) Laisse-moi (w. Easton) 50157 XE28460-A Brunswick, New York City, 8 October 1928

Faust (Gounod) Salut, demeure 50030 X10114-X10115 Brunswick, New York City, 15 March 1923

For you alone (Geehl) 10000 11477 Brunswick, New York City, May 1921

For you alone (Geehl) 15161 E23572-E23573 Brunswick, New York City, 1927

Forgotten (Cowles) 10223 E17998-E18000 Brunswick, New York City, 1926

Forza del destino (Verdi) Solenne in quest’ora (on the label as Mario Rodolfi, and John Charles Thomas as Enrico Martini) 7106 Lyric, New York City, 1917

Forza del destino (Verdi) Solenne in quest’ora (w. Bonelli) 50142 XE27552-A Brunswick, New York City, 15 May 1928

Fra Diavolo (Auber) On yonder rock reclining 10227 E17914-E17917 Brunswick, New York City, 1926

Fra Diavolo (Auber) On yonder rock reclining 10227 E17916 Brunswick, New York City, 1927

Gioconda (Ponchielli) Cielo e mar 15056 10361-10362 Brunswick, New York City, April 1923

Give me one rose to remember (Grey) 10201 15753-15756 Brunswick, New York City, April 1925

Goin’ home (Dvořák-Fisher) 10212 XE17361-XE17363 Brunswick, New York City, 1925