Description

FRANCESCO MARIA BONINI (NAPLES, 1865 – MILAN, 11 JANUARY, 1930)

 

 

 

 

He studied singing with Beniamino Carelli at the Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella in Naples. His stage debut came in 1896 at the Teatro Mercadante in Foggia, where he performed the role of Don Carlo di Vargas in Verdi’s La forza del destino. Over the next few years, he appeared at various international venues, including the Amazon Theatre in Brazil, the Valletta Royal Opera House in Malta, and the Cairo Opera House in Egypt.

Returning to Italy in 1899, he performed in Brescia and Cremona. By 1900, he was singing at the Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater, and in 1901 he was committed to the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. He made his debut at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo and at La Scala in Milan in 1903, with notable roles including Arnoldo in Amilcare Ponchielli’s I Lituani. On October 17, 1903, he portrayed Athanaël in the Italian premiere of Jules Massenet’s Thaïs at the Teatro Lirico Internazionale in Milan, opposite Lina Cavalieri.

On December 19, 1903, he debuted at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples as Michonnet in the house’s first staging of Francesco Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur with Solomiya Krushelnytska. He remained at the Teatro di San Carlo through 1905, performing roles such as Walitzin/Commissario in Giordano’s Siberia and Johannes Rathenow in the Italian premiere of Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Der Roland von Berlin. He was also involved in the premieres of Leopoldo Mugnone’s Vita Brettona and Lorenzo Filiasi’s Manuel Menendez.

From 1905 to 1907, he was engaged at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon, where he appeared in the world premiere of João Arroyo’s Amor de Perdição. He then performed at the Teatro Regio di Parma from 1907 to 1908, taking on roles such as Carlo Gérard in Andrea Chénier, David in L’amico Fritz, Kurwenal in Tristan und Isolde, and Rinaldo in Amica.

Between 1909 and 1911, he was active at the Teatro Regio in Turin, performing roles like Kurwenal, Wolfram von Eschenbach in Tannhäuser, and the title roles in Boris Godunov, Falstaff, Hérodiade, and Rigoletto. In 1911-1912, he returned to La Scala, where he was seen as Hidraot in Gluck’s Armide, King Raimondo in Isabeau, and Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.

In 1913, he returned to the Teatro Regio in Turin to perform Friedrich of Telramund in Lohengrin for the first time. That year, he also appeared at the Teatro Real in Madrid. The latter part of his career saw him working as a freelance artist in Italy. In 1918, he made his debut at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome as Falstaff and had a notable success at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Germont in La traviata.

He continued to perform in Bologna through 1922, taking on roles such as Comte de Nevers in Les Huguenots, Rigoletto, and Wolfram. In 1919, he was seen as Amenofi in Ponchielli’s Il figliuol prodigo at the Arena di Verona Festival. He also performed at La Fenice in 1922 and at the Teatro Municipale in Piacenza in 1923.

Bonini retired from the stage in 1927 and subsequently taught singing in Milan. His repertoire included roles such as Alfonso in La Favorita, Amonasro in Aida, Barnaba in La Gioconda, Nélusko in L’Africaine, Renato in Un ballo in maschera, Scarpia in Tosca, and Valentin in Faust.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1895 Taranto Teatro Paisiello Forza del Destino (Carlo)

1898 Brescia Teatro Grande Boheme (Marcello)

1900 Modena Teatro Storchi Stagione

1902 Odessa Teatro Municipale Rigoletto (Rigoletto)

1904 Rio de Janeiro Teatro Lirico Aida (Amonasro)

1906 Lisbona Teatro San Carlos Dannazione di Faust (Mefistofele)

1908 Parma Teatro Regio Amico Fritz (David)

1910 Cosenza Teatro Rendano Cavalleria Rusticana (Alfio)

1912 Milano Teatro La Scala Isabeau (Re Raimondo)

1914 Fiume Teatro Verdi Traviata (Germont)

1916 Torino Politeama Chiarella Andrea Chenier (Gerard)

1918 Brescia Teatro Sociale Traviata (Germont)

1920 Como Politeama Stagione

1922 Firenze Teatro Verdi Traviata (Germont)

1924 Torino Teatro Balbo Traviata (Germont)

1926 Prato Politeama Banchini Isabeau (Re Raimondo)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. I Due Foscari (Verdi) Quest’è dunque l’iniqua mercede 39760 XPh1873 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-05-15
2. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Chi mi frena (w. Martinez-Patti, Sala, Russ & Luppi) 74017 XXPh2089 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-09-28
3. Macbeth (Verdi) Pietà, rispetto amore 39672 XPh1874 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-05-15
4. Pêcheurs de perles (Bizet) O Nadir 92561 XPh3984 Fonotipia, Milano 1909-06-24
5. Rigoletto (Verdi) Cortigiani, vil razza dannata 39071 XPh98 Fonotipia, Milano 1904-12-05
6. Rigoletto (Verdi) Pari siamo!  39045 XPh145 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02-20
7. Roi de Lahore (Massenet) O casto fior 92563 XPh4026 Fonotipia, Milano 1909-07-01
8. Rolando di Berlino (Leoncavallo) Preghiera 39124 XPh144 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02-20
9. Siberia (Giordano) O bella mia (Mattinata) (w. Martinez-Patti, Luppi & Tamanti) 39821 XPh1974 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-07-04
10. Traviata (Verdi) Di Provenza il mar 44665 Unpubl. Edison, Milano 1912
11. Traviata (Verdi) Imponete (w. Russ) 39873 XPh2117 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-10-06
12. Traviata (Verdi) Madamigella Valery? (w. Russ) 39869 XPh2094 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-09-29
13. Traviata (Verdi) Pura siccome un angelo (w. Russ) 39870 XPh2095 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-09-29
14. Traviata (Verdi) E grave il sacrificio (w. Russ) 39871 XPh2096 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-09-29
15. Traviata (Verdi) Dite alla giovane (w. Russ) 39872 XPh2114 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-10-04
16. Trovatore (Verdi) Tace la notte… Deserto sulla terra (w. Gilion) 39812 XPh2109 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-10-02
17. Bohème (Puccini) Eccoci, ebben (w. Becucci, Martinez-Patti & Luppi) 39729 XPh1992 Fonotipia, Milano 1906-07-09