Description

ANTONIO MAGINI-COLETTI (LESI, ANCONA, 17 FEBRUARY, 1855 – ROME, ITALY, 21 JULY, 1912)

 

 

 

 

Published details of his early life are scant, but sources agree that he studied singing during the 1870s with the distinguished pedagogue Venceslao Persichini at Rome’s Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. (Persichini’s other students included the lyric tenor Francesco Marconi and Magini-Coletti’s fellow baritones Mattia Battistini, Giuseppe De Luca, and Titta Ruffo.)

In 1880, Magini-Coletti made his operatic debut at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi as Valentin in Gounod’s Faust. He continued to perform regularly at that opera house for the next seven years, in addition to making guest appearances in Venice, Florence, Naples, and other Italian cities.

In 1887, he joined the roster at La Scala, Milan, remaining there for three seasons and singing a variety of leading baritone roles. Most notably, he appeared as Frank in the world premiere of Puccini’s second opera, Edgar, in 1889. A year later, he performed his first Count di Luna in Verdi’s Il trovatore at La Scala. This role became a particular favorite of his, and he reprised it in numerous houses during the remainder of his career.

Between 1888 and 1891, Magini-Coletti sang to acclaim in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, and France. He also crossed the Atlantic for a series of operatic engagements in Argentina, where he received further plaudits.

In 1891, he joined the stellar roster of singers at the New York Metropolitan Opera, initially participating in a two-month North American tour. His first performance with the Met touring company took place on November 9 in Chicago, where he appeared as Telramund in Wagner’s Lohengrin. His other roles on the 1891 tour included Hoël in Meyerbeer’s Dinorah, Count de Nevers in Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, and Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida (opposite soprano Lilli Lehmann and tenor Jean de Reszke), as well as the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.

On December 14, 1891, Magini-Coletti made a successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera’s home theater in New York City, singing Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Over the following 12 months, he performed numerous roles there, including Count di Luna, Alfio in Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, Don Pizarro in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen, and Figaro in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, among others.

Magini-Coletti left America in 1892 and went on to pursue a busy schedule of operatic performances in Italy and across Europe, venturing as far as Russia. He became a frequent guest artist at both the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in Monaco and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London.

In 1900, he rejoined the La Scala company, performing numerous roles there for three seasons. Most notably, he appeared in the premiere of Mascagni’s Le maschere in 1901. That same year, he also sang at La Scala in a memorial concert marking the recent death of Verdi, partnering the heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno in a scene from La forza del destino. The following year, he took part in La Scala’s first-ever production of Weber’s Euryanthe.

During this period, Magini-Coletti frequently sang under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, La Scala’s principal conductor. Toscanini, an ardent advocate of Wagner’s music, conducted him in performances of Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre, and Lohengrin. These landmark Wagnerian productions often featured Magini-Coletti’s La Scala colleague Giuseppe Borgatti, Italy’s leading heldentenor.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1885 Sassari  Politeama Barbiere di Siviglia  (Figaro)

1887 Montevideo Teatro Ciblis Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1890 Lisbona Teatro San Carlos Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1890 Cento Teatro Comunale Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1891 Faenza Teatro Comunale Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1891 San Pietroburgo Teatro Panaieff Cavalleria rusticana (Alfio)

1891 Mosca Teatro Korsch Cavalleria rusticana (Alfio)

1892 Pesaro Teatro Rossini Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1893 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Carmen (Escamilio)

1896 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Un ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

1896 Napoli Teatro San Carlo Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1896 Santiago del Cile Teatro Municipal Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1903 Milano Teatro La Scala Ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

1904 Roma Teatro Costanzi Ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

1905 Milano Teatro Lirico Carmen (Escamilio)

1906 Mexico Teatro Arbeu Ballo in maschera (Riccardo)

1906 Venezia Teatro Rossini Ballo in maschera

1907 Venezia  Teatro La Fenice Carmen (Escamilio)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Dinorah (Meyerbeer) Sei vendicata assai 92001 XPh2662 Fonotipia, Milano 1907-10-08

Dinorah (Meyerbeer) Sei vendicata assai X-1537 Zonophone, Milano 1903

Don Giovanni (Mozart)  La ci darem (w. De Hidalgo) 92356 XPh3563 Fonotipia, Milano 1908-10-26

Don Giovanni (Mozart) Deh! vieni 92357 XPh3566 Fonotipia, Milano 1908-10-27

Don Giovanni (Mozart) Deh! vieni alla finestra X-1535 Zonophone, Milano 1903

Falstaff (Verdi)  Alfin, t’ho colto… Quand’ero paggio (w. Petri) 39430 XPh 1533 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-12-16

Falstaff (Verdi) Quand’ero paggio (w. Finzi-Magrini) 92359 XPh3493 Fonotipia, Milano 1908-10-10

Falstaff (Verdi) Reverenza! Buon giorno!… Ma c’è un’altra ambasciata (w. Petri) 39435, 39436, XPh1536, XPh1537 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-12-18

Faust (Gounod) Dio possente, Dio d’amor 92466 XPh 3423 Fonotipia, Milano 1908-09-23

Faust (Gounod) Tu puoi la spada frangere 92465 XPh 3421 Fonotipia, Milano 1908-09-22

Favorita (Donizetti) A tanto amor, Leonora 92217 XPh 3081 Fonotipia, Milano 1908-03-14

Forza del Destino (Verdi) Urna fatale del mio destino 92620 XPh 4230 Fonotipia, Milano 1909-12-15

Gioconda (Gioconda) Figlia che reggi (w. Russ & Parsi-Pettinella) 74004 XXPh462 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-11-14

Gioconda (Ponchielli) O monumento! 92042 XPh2800 Fonotipia, Milano 1907-10-31