Description

EZIO PINZA (BORN EZIO FORTUNATO PINZA; ROME, ITALY, MAY 18, 1892 – STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT, U.S., MAY 9, 1957)

 

 

 

 

Originally, he wanted to be a cyclist but then studied singing at the Conservatories of Ravenna and Bologna (with Ruzza and Vizzani). He made his debut in 1914 at the Municipal Theater of Spezia as Oroveso in Norma. After serving in the Italian Army during World War I, he resumed his career at the Teatro Verdi in Florence in 1919. In the 1919-1920 season, he performed at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, where he played roles in operas such as Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Verdi’s Aida, Verdi’s Rigoletto, Massenet’s Thaïs, Strauss’s Salome, and Marke in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

In 1922, he joined La Scala in Milan, where he appeared as Pogner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Under the direction of the brilliant and exacting principal conductor Arturo Toscanini, Pinza’s career blossomed in the following seasons.

Pinza made his Metropolitan Opera debut in November 1926 in Spontini’s La Vestale, alongside famed American soprano Rosa Ponselle in the title role. In 1929, he performed Don Giovanni, a role with which he became closely identified. He later added the Mozart roles of Figaro (in 1940) and Sarastro (in 1942) to his repertoire, along with a vast number of Italian operatic roles by Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, as well as Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov (sung in Italian).

Apart from the Met, Pinza performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 1930 to 1939, and was invited to sing at the Salzburg Festival from 1934 to 1937 by the celebrated German conductor Bruno Walter. Pinza sang again under Toscanini’s baton in 1935, this time with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as the bass soloist in performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. He also performed in Toscanini’s February 6, 1938, NBC Symphony Orchestra broadcast of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Both performances took place at Carnegie Hall.

In October 1947, he performed the role of Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust opposite his daughter, soprano Claudia Pinza Bozzolla as Marguerite at the San Francisco Opera. Pinza retired from the Metropolitan Opera in 1948, and the company honored him by dedicating all the water fountains at the new Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) to him.

Before his retirement, Pinza’s repertoire consisted of around 95 roles. After his Met farewell, he embarked on a second career in Broadway musicals. In 1950, he received a Tony Award for Best Lead Actor in a Musical. In 1953, he starred in the short-lived NBC situation comedy Bonino, in which he played a recently widowed Italian-American opera singer trying to raise eight children.

Pinza also appeared in several films, starting with 1947’s Carnegie Hall, which featured a number of famous classical singers, musicians, conductors, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Pinza unexpectedly died of a stroke on May 9, 1957, at the age of 64, in Stamford, Connecticut.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Attila (Verdi) Te sol quest’anima (w. Rethberg & Gigli) DB1506 (42-1105) HMV New York 1930-12-31
2. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Deh, vieni alla finestra DA1134 (40-2353) HMV New York 1930-03-28
3. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Finch’han dal vino DA1134 (40-2352) HMV New York 1930-03-28
4. Ernani (Verdi) Infelice, e tu credevi DB1750 (42-1267) HMV New York 1929-05-07
5. Faust (Gounod) Le veau d’or (w. chorus) DA1108 (40-1368) HMV New York 1929-04-08
6. Favorite (Donizetti) Splendon più belle (w. chorus) DB1750 (42-1266) HMV New York 1930-04-09
7. Forza del destino (Verdi) Il sante nome di Dio (w. chorus) DB1203 (2-052386) HMV New York 1927-12-03
8. Forza del destino (Verdi) Io muojo, confessione (w. Ponselle & Martinelli) DB1202 (2-054246) HMV New York 1928-01-18
9. Forza del destino (Verdi) La vergine degl’angeli (w. Ponselle & chorus) DB1199 (2-054244) HMV New York 1928-01-23
10. Forza del destino (Verdi) Non imprecare (w. Ponselle & Martinelli) DB1202 (2-054251) New York 1928-01-18
11. Juive (Halévy) Se opressi ognor 2-052243 DB698 HMV, Milano 1923-07-12
12. Lombardi (Verdi) Oh, non più… Qual voluttà (w. Rethberg & Gigli) DB1506 (42-1104) HMV New York 1930-12-31
13. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Chi mi frena (w. Galli-Curci, Homer, Gigli, de Luca & Bada) DQ102 (2-054209) HMV New York 1927-12-16
14. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Giusto cielo! Rispondete (w. Gigli & chorus) DB1229 (2-054242) HMV New York 1927-12-12
15. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali (w. Gigli & chorus) DB1229 (2-054269) HMV New York 1927-12-12
16. Mose in Egitto (Rossini) Dal tuo stellato soglio (w. Turchetti & chorus) 2-054136, DB698 HMV, Milano 1923-07-11
17. Norma (Bellini) Ah del Tebro (w. chorus) 7-52243 DA566 HMV, Milano 1923-07-12
18. Norma (Bellini) Deh non volerli vittime (w. Poli-Randaccio, Boscacci & chorus) DB729 (2-054139) HMV, Milano 1923-12-10
19. Norma (Bellini) Ite sul colle (w. chorus) DB1203 (2-052387) HMV New York 1927-12-03
20. Trovatore (Verdi) Giorni poveri vivea (w. Offers, Martarano & chorus) DB754 (2-054146) HMV, Milano 1924-05-12