Description

FRANCO CARDINALI (PALERMO, 23 NOVEMBER, 1853 –MILANO, 26 OCTOBER, 1917)

 

 

 

 

He initially studied mathematics, demonstrating remarkable talent in this field, before deciding to pursue singing at the Palermo Conservatory, where his teachers were Antonino Capelli and P. Platania. In 1879, he made his stage debut in Rimini as Alvaro in Verdi’s La forza del destino.

In 1880, he achieved his first major successes in Trieste (as Pollione in Norma) and in Lucca (as Alfredo in La Traviata). At the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, he performed as Pollione in Norma (1880), Radames in Aida (1882), and Alvaro in La forza del destino (1887). In 1881, he appeared in Carlos Gomes’s Il Guarany at both the Teatro Castello in Milan and the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo.

In 1882, he sang at the Teatro Real in Madrid, performing among other roles Lohengrin. Between 1882 and 1883, he enjoyed great success at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, appearing as Alim in Massenet’s Le Roi de Lahore, as the title role in Verdi’s Ernani, as Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra, and as Pollione in Norma.

He also performed in North America during the 1884–85 season, where his roles included Manrico in Il Trovatore, Ernani, the Duke in Rigoletto, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Raoul in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots. In 1883, he appeared as a guest at La Scala in Milan as Enzo in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda; in 1884 as Radames in Aida; and in 1890 as Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra and as Ernani. That same year, he sang the title role in the premiere of Massenet’s Le Cid.

In 1887, he appeared in Messina as Manrico in Verdi’s Il Trovatore and in the popular opera Jone by Errico Petrella. The following year, he made a guest appearance in Buenos Aires, and on September 27, 1889, he created the role of Americo in the world premiere of Carlos Gomes’s Lo Schiavo at the Teatro Imperial in Rio de Janeiro.

In 1889, he made his first appearance at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo as Otello in Verdi’s Otello—a role that became his signature and brought him renown across major opera houses. Other notable roles in his extensive repertoire included Raoul in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, Eleazar in Halévy’s La Juive, Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, and Don José in Carmen.

Franco Cardinali was widely regarded as one of the foremost Italian heroic tenors of his generation and was frequently compared to the great Francesco Tamagno.

 

 

GIUSEPPE RUSSITANO (PALERMO, 1865 -?)

 

 

 

He made his debut in Alessandria in Verdi’s Aida, probably in 1885. In 1889, he appeared at the Politeama Pacini in Catania as Don José in Carmen, sharing the role with Dante Del Papa. In 1890, he sang Fernando in La Favorita at the Teatro Brunetti in Bologna. Up to 1894, he appeared in smaller Italian opera houses.

His American debut, which was unsuccessful, took place in 1894 at the opera house of Philadelphia in Carmen with Mario Ancona and Zélie de Lussan. That same year, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as the Duke in Rigoletto alongside Victor Maurel and Nellie Melba, remaining with the company until 1896. During his time at the Met, he appeared in various operas and concerts, including Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, Lucia di Lammermoor, Faust, La Navarraise, and Les Huguenots. As a member of the Met, he also toured Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, and Detroit.

The following year, he went to Moscow, where he performed with Mattia Battistini and Regina Pacini in Rigoletto and sang again with Battistini in Andrea Chénier. In 1899, Russitano appeared in Poland, performing at the Imperial Theatre of Warsaw in Verdi’s Otello with Giovanni Lunardi and Nina Rosini. Together with Salomea Kruszelnicka and Mattia Battistini, he also sang in Un Ballo in Maschera.

He probably continued to perform publicly until around 1905. After his retirement, he taught singing in Italy, where one of his pupils was the baritone Pedro Terol. In 1902, he made a single published recording in Milan.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1887 Lodi  Teatro Gaffurio Ruy Blas  (Ruy Blas)

1888  Napoli  Teatro Bellini Ruy Blas  (Ruy Blas)

1889 Livorno  Politeama Puritani (Arturo)

1889  Catania  Politeama Pacini Norma (Pollione)

1899 Ferrara  Teatro Comunale Mefistofele (Faust)

1890  Bologna  Teatro Brunetti Favorita (Fernando)

1890 Genova  Politeama Genovese Traviata (Alfredo)

1891  Macerata  Teatro Lauro Rossi Carmen (Don Jose)

1891 Rovigo  Teatro Sociale Carmen (Don Jose)

1891 Rovigo  Teatro Sociale Cavalleria rusticana (Turiddu)

1892 Cadice Teatro Principal Ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

1892 Catania  Teatro Bellini Carmen (Don Jose)

1893  Trieste  Anfiteatro Fenice Carmen (Don Jose)

1893 Como Teatro Sociale Gioconda (Enzo)

1893  Trieste  Anfiteatro Fenice Rigoletto (Duca)

1894 Como Teatro Sociale Trovatore (Manrico)

1894 Como  Teatro Sociale Ugonotti (Raoul)

1894  L’Aquila  Teatro Comunale Carmen (Don Jose)

1894 Osimo  Teatro Nuova Fenice Carmen (Don Jose)

1895 Boston  Opera House Pagliacci (Canio)

1896  Chicago  Civic Opera House Traviata (Alfredo)

1897  Mosca  Teatro Imperiale Rigoletto (Duca)

1899 Varsavia Teatro Imperiale Ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

1899 Varsavia Teatro Imperiale Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 Varsavia  Teatro Imperiale Otello (Otello)

1899 Catania  Politeama Pacini Carmen (Don Jose)

1900 Varsavia  Teatro Imperiale Carmen (Don Jose)

1900  Varsavia  Teatro Imperiale Trovatore (Manrico)

1903 Lodz  Teatro Nazionale Trovatore (Manrico)

1903  Lodz  Teatro Nazionale Ugonotti (Raoul)

 

 

SALVATORE SCIARRETTI

 

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1906 Taranto Paisiello Politeama Boheme (Rodolfo)

1906 Avellino Comunale Sonnambula (Elvino)

 

 

FRANCO TAFURO (LECCE, 1891 – ? 1943)

 

 

 

He studied singing in Lecce under the pedagogue Alceste Geranda and made his debut in 1912 at the Teatro Biondo in Palermo in Ruy Blas. During the following two decades, he had a significant career, appearing primarily at leading Italian theaters. From 1921 to 1934, he appeared almost annually at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari. In 1924, he made a guest appearance at the Teatro Municipal in São Paulo, Brazil. That same year, he sang at the Teatro alla Scala as Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele. In 1930, he returned to La Scala, this time as Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana. In 1937, he again appeared there as Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and as Amenofi in Rossini’s Mosè, performing alongside Tancredi Pasero, Lina Pagliughi, and Gina Cigna.

At the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, he appeared in 1928 as Dimitri in Alfano’s Risurrezione and in 1929 as Osaka in Mascagni’s Iris. In 1934, at the Teatro Regio in Parma, he sang the title role in Pizzetti’s Fra Gherardo. At the Teatro Verdi in Pisa, he appeared in 1937 in the contemporary opera Maristella by G. Pietri.

His stage repertoire included Radames in Aida, Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, De Grieux in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West, and Alfredo in La Traviata. He died during the Second World War. In 1930, he made three recordings for Excelsius.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1912 Palermo Teatro Biondo Ruy Blas (Ruy Blas)

1924 San Paolo Teatro Municipal Rigoletto (Duca)

1924 Milano Teatro Alla Scala Mefistofele (Faust)

1928 Rome Teatro Dell’Opera Risurrezione (Dimitri)

1930 Milano Teatro Alla Scala Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1937 Milano Teatro Alla Scala Un ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

 

 

LUIGI SIMONETTA-RANGONI

 

 

 

He belonged to the group of tenors (Nicola Fasciolo, Andrea Maggi) who made records but never appeared on the opera stage. He probably participated in concert performances.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Franco Cardinali Amor ti chiedo (Cimmino) 20566 Edison cylinders, Napoli (?), January 1909

Franco Cardinali La tua stella (Mascagni) 20567 Edison cylinders, Napoli (?), January 1909

Giuseppe Russitano Otello (Verdi): Esultate 52282 5516a G&T, Milano 1902-12

Salvatore Sciarretti Rigoletto (Verdi): La donna è mobile 1724 A533 Columbia, New York 1904?

Salvatore Sciarretti Carmela (de Curtis) 1723, A529 Columbia, New York 1904?

Franco Tafuro Manon Lescaut (Puccini): Pazzo io son 25M/1031 M 7234 Excelsius, Milano 1930

Franco Tafuro Andrea Chénier (Giordano): Improvviso, pt 1 M7231 25M/1208 Excelsius, Milano 1930

Franco Tafuro Andrea Chénier (Giordano): Improvviso, pt 2 M7231 25M/1209 Excelsius, Milano 1930

Luigi Simonetta-Rangoni Don Pasquale (Donizetti): Com’e gentil 7-52106 DA421 Gramophone, Milano 1917-02-25

Luigi Simonetta-Rangoni Caro mio ben (Giordani) 7-52121 DA422 Gramophone, Milano 1917-03-05

Luigi Simonetta-Rangoni Quando te vidi (Wolf-Ferrari); Io dei salute (Wolf-Ferrari) 7-52130 DA420 Gramophone, Milano 1919-04-29

Luigi Simonetta-Rangoni Nebbie (Respighi) 7-52129 DA420 Gramophone, Milano 1919-05-02