Description

PIERO ORSATTI

 

 

 

Piero Orsatti was an Italian tenor and baritone active between 1910 and the mid-1920s, whose career developed both in Italy and briefly in the United States.

He made his debut as a tenor in 1910 at the Teatro Sociale in Desio, singing Alfredo in La Traviata. The following year (1911) he appeared at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan in La Dolores by Tomás Bretón, in the role of Clamino. His early career took an interesting international turn: in 1912 he appeared at the Metropolitan Theatre in *Philadelphia as Alfredo in La Traviata, and in 1913 he was again heard there in Lucia di Lammermoor (Normanno), La Bohème (Parpignol), and Conchita by Riccardo Zandonai. That same year he also sang Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor in Baltimore.

After his American engagements, Orsatti seems to have returned to Italy and re-trained as a baritone. In 1918 he appeared at the Politeama in Piacenza, performing Cavalleria Rusticana (Alfio) and Pagliacci (Tonio), later that year also singing La Bohème (Marcello), La Favorita (Alfonso), and Il Trovatore (Conte di Luna). His baritone career continued through 1919–1920, when he appeared in Fedora (De Siriex) in various cities — Massa, Carrara, Reggio Emilia, Pistoia — and in Ernani (Carlo) and Pagliacci (Tonio).

By 1921, Orsatti returned once again to the tenor repertoire, a rare double transformation in voice type. That year, at the Politeama Mabellini in Pistoia, he sang the title role in Andrea Chénier, which became one of his key roles. He continued performing it in 1922–1923 at Prato, Padua, Chioggia, and Asti, often paired with Fedora (as Loris). Other notable tenor parts during this period included Canio in Pagliacci and Don José in Carmen.

His last known appearance dates from 1926 at the Teatro Eliseo in Rome, where he sang Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu).

 

 

PIERO STRAZZA

 

 

 

Piero Strazza was an Italian tenor who performed extensively in Italy and Switzerland in the early 20th century. He began gaining recognition in 1908 with performances at regional theaters, singing roles such as Rodolfo in La Bohème at Teatro Pacini in Fucecchio, and De Grieux in Manon and Werther in Massenet’s Werther at Teatro Salvini in Empoli. That same year, he appeared in Perugia at Teatro Pavone as Fritz in Amico Fritz and Loris in Fedora.

In 1909, Strazza expanded his repertoire and toured both Italy and Switzerland. Notable appearances included a concert in Perugia, Alfredo in La Traviata at Teatro Verdi in Salerno, Rodolfo in La Bohème and Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at Lucerna’s Kursaal, Nemorino again in Bellinzona, and Alfredo in Urbania.

By 1911, he was performing in prestigious venues such as Teatro La Fenice in Venice, singing Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri and Ernesto in Don Pasquale. He also sang Fenton in Falstaff at Cittadella and returned to Schio as Ernesto in Don Pasquale.

 

 

PILADE SINAGRA (ALESSANDRIA D’EGITTO, 1884 – BOLOGNA, 1953)

 

 

 

Pilade Sinagra was an Italian tenor whose career spanned more than twenty-five years, marked by an unusually wide international activity. Active between 1907 and the mid-1930s, he performed throughout Europe, the United States, Latin America, and Asia, singing many of the great Italian lyric and spinto tenor roles.

He made his debut in 1907, singing Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Teatro della Fenice in Corfu, and repeated the same role that season at the Teatro Nuova Grecia in Falero. The following year (1908) found him in Russia, appearing at the Teatro Solodownikoff in Kiev and the Teatro d’Inverno in Poltava, where he sang Eugen Onegin (Lenski) and Rigoletto (Duca di Mantova). He returned to Italy later that year to sing Alfredo in La Traviata at Conegliano’s Teatro Accademia.

In 1909, Sinagra appeared in Tosca (Cavaradossi) at Brà and Pinerolo, and later that year traveled as far as Manila, where he sang Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Zorillo. Engagements in Italian provincial houses followed in 1910, including La Traviata in Medicina and Lucia di Lammermoor in Montecarlo di Lucca.

By 1911, Sinagra was in New York, singing both Pagliacci (Canio) and La Traviata (Alfredo) at the People’s Theater. His activity continued internationally, with performances of La Bohème (Rodolfo) in Bucharest in 1912 and a busy touring period in 1914 across the eastern and southern United States—Norfolk, Richmond, Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, and many other cities—appearing primarily as Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Alfredo (La Traviata), the Duke (Rigoletto), and Canio (Pagliacci).

In 1915–1916, he was active in South America, singing Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) and La Favorita (Fernando) at the Teatro Municipal in Caracas, Venezuela. By 1917, he had returned to North America, performing in Rigoletto (Duca) in Portland, La Bohème (Rodolfo) in San Francisco, and Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) in Mexico City.

Further international tours followed. In 1919, he took part in a Compagnia Mancini season in San Juan de Puerto Rico, and sang Nicia in Thaïs in Caracas. His most extensive series of engagements came in 1920–1921, when he performed with touring Italian opera companies across the United States and Canada, including appearances at Chicago’s Ravinia Park, New York’s Manhattan Opera House, and in numerous cities—Cleveland, Detroit, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, Calgary, Winnipeg, and many others. His repertoire during this time encompassed Lucia di Lammermoor, Faust, Carmen, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Rigoletto, Pagliacci, La Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Thaïs.

After years of travel, Sinagra seems to have returned to Italy. In 1921, he sang Pagliacci (Canio) in Rovigo, and his last known appearances were Tosca (Cavaradossi) at Sassuolo’s Teatro Carani in 1926 and Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo) at Bagnacavallo’s Teatro Comunale in 1933.

 

 

PAOLO TUZZO (LECCE, 1886 – LECCE, 1955)

 

 

 

On 14 October 1911, Paolo Tuzzo made his tenor debut as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto at the small Teatro Sociale in Valenza. Later that month, he took part in an operatic concert at the Politeama in Lecce, where he sang “Che gelida manina.” Shortly thereafter, he left the military—and Italy as well—emigrating to the United States almost immediately.

Tuzzo made his American debut in May 1912 in a concert at the White Eagle Hall in Jersey City. He remained in the United States for about twenty years, although the details of his activities there are not entirely clear. Already on 8 March 1914, Paolo Tuzzo appeared at Carnegie Hall, performing together with former Metropolitan Opera contralto Matja von Niessen-Stone, accompanied on the piano by conductor and vocal coach Clemente De Macchi. On 28 November 1915, he gave a recital at the Professional Women’s League in New York City.

During World War I, Tuzzo frequently participated in charity concerts for widows and orphans, and even gave performances at Sing Sing Prison for the inmates. He was also reportedly heard in concert together with Lillian Eubank and Lila Robeson, both members of the Metropolitan Opera troupe, known for their appearances as the Second and Third Ladies in Die Zauberflöte during the 1910s.

In December 1920, Tuzzo appeared in a vaudeville program at the Globe Theatre in Penn’s Grove, New Jersey. On a visit to Italy in 1921, he took part in an aria concert in Brindisi at the Teatro Mazari—not, as sometimes stated, in Lecce.

Back in the United States, during 1922, he performed at various cinemas as part of a vocal trio with the little-known soprano Isla Bernhard and the Canadian contralto Bertha Rogers, appearing for instance in New Castle, Pennsylvania.

On 28 April 1928, Paolo Tuzzo was once again heard at Carnegie Hall, closing a career that had spanned both operatic and concert activity across two continents.

In or shortly before 1925, he composed both the music and lyrics for a few songs: “Non mi dir” (performed by Beniamino Gigli), “Nostalgie”, and a third piece—bearing the rather uninspired title “Canzone”—which he dedicated to his old friend Tito Schipa. Schipa performed it at a dinner organized in his honour by the Chicago Opera Company in February 1925.

It is certain that in 1932, he resided in Milan, although his activities there remain unknown. He later returned to Lecce. Whatever financial resources his family may have provided were insufficient to sustain his lavish lifestyle, and he fell into debt. In 1937, upon the death of his father, he inherited the family fortune. He would then set out in a carriage, visit his creditors around town, and pay them all off.

He was a rather eccentric figure in conservative southern Italy: he always powdered his face and wore scandalously tight trousers. From 1939 to 1942, he served as president of Unione Sportiva Lecce, the local soccer club, which enjoyed considerable success at the national level during that period.

 

 

AURELIO MARCATO (FIRENZE, 1902 – ?)

 

 

 

Aurelio Marcato was an Italian tenor active on the major concert and operatic stages of Italy and Europe during the 1930s and early 1940s.

His career gained momentum in the mid-1930s, when he appeared in several major performances of Verdi’s Messa di Requiem. In 1935, he sang the tenor part at the Théâtre de l’Opéra National in Paris and at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, engagements that marked him as a rising concert artist of international reputation. The following year (1936) saw a succession of important appearances in Italy: at La Scala in Milan, at the Teatro Regio in Parma, and at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, all in the Messa di Requiem. That same year, he appeared at the Bologna Comunale as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, confirming his success on the operatic stage.

Marcato continued to expand his repertoire with prestigious engagements. In 1938, he was heard at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in Cyrano di Bergerac, and later that year he sang the title role in Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Terme di Caracalla in Rome, an open-air production that drew great attention for its grandeur.

In the early 1940s, Marcato remained active in Rome. He took part in Lorenzo Perosi’s Mosè at the Teatro Adriano in 1940, followed by performances as Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in 1941, and as Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot at the Teatro Reale dell’Opera in 1942. That same year, he was the tenor soloist in Schumann’s Scenes from Faust (Scene da Faust) at the Teatro Adriano, demonstrating his versatility in both operatic and oratorio literature.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

Piero Orsatti Balcone ‘nchiuso (Fassone) 38414 Columbia

Piero Orsatti ‘Mbraccia a me C2311 38415 Columbia

Piero Orsatti Pen d’ammore (Di Capua) C2717 38413 Columbia

Piero Strazza Boheme (Puccini): Quartetto p.I° with Renato Meroni, Gaetano Prudenza and Medardo Medosi 110085 XM 1391 Odeon, Milano 1910/1911

Piero Strazza Boheme (Puccini): Quando men vò with  Renato  Meroni, Gaetano Prudenza, Zoraide Sarzanini and Medardo Medosi  110001 Odeon, Milano 1910/1911

Piero Strazza Boheme (Puccini): Mimi e tanto malata with Zoraide Sarzanini and Gaetano Prudenza 110083 XM 1379 Odeon, Milano 1910/1911

Pilade Sinagra Los ojos negros (Alvarez) 76013 6614 Edison New York, 1919

Paolo Tuzzo Tosca (Puccini): E lucevan le stelle 7167 2388-5 Emerson, USA 1917

Paolo Tuzzo Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Vesti la giubba 7154 2450-1 Emerson, USA 1917

Marcato Aurelio Lohengrin (Wagner): Da voi lontan CB20497 2- 70517 Cetra

Marcato Aurelio Maristella (Pietri): Io conosco un giardino 6094 Columbia

Marcato Aurelio Maristella (Pietri): Qui dinanzi all’altare giuro 6096 Columbia