Description

ALESSANDRO BONCI (CESENA, 10 FEBRUARY, 1870 – VISERBA, RIMINI, 9 AUGUST, 1940)

 

 

 

 

He was an Italian lyric tenor known internationally for his association with the bel canto repertoire. He sang at many famous theatres, including New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Milan’s La Scala and London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. A native of Cesena, Romagna, Bonci started out as an apprentice shoemaker. He secured a music scholarship to the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, working for five years with Carlo Pedrotti (the teacher of the heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno) and then Felice Coen. He also had private singing lessons in Paris with the retired baritone Enrico Delle Sedie. Alessandro Bonci made his debut in Parma in 1896, singing the role of Fenton in Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff at the Teatro Regio. Before the end of his first season he was engaged to sing at La Scala, Milan, where he debuted in Vincenzo Bellini’s I Puritani. Appearances elsewhere in Europe followed, including at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He first sang at Covent Garden in 1900 and he would return there in 1903 and 1907-08. On December 3, 1906, Bonci made his American debut with the Manhattan Opera Company in New York City; again the opera was I Puritani. He stayed two seasons with the company, becoming a popular competitor to Enrico Caruso, who was the rival Metropolitan Opera’s major drawcard. Bonci himself joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1908 and, in 1914, the Chicago Opera. He also made a transcontinental tour of America in 1910-11, giving song recitals. Bonci served in the Italian army during World War I, returning to America to tour for three seasons after the end of the conflict. He appeared again at the Metropolitan Opera, and sang in Chicago during the 1920-21 season. In 1922 and 1923 he served as the principal tenor of the Teatro Costanzi in Rome and conducted master classes across the United States the following year. After 1925, Bonci entered into partial retirement, devoting himself primarily to teaching in Milan. He still sang occasionally in public as late as 1935. He died in Viserba, Rimini, in 1940, at the age of 70.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1896 Roma Teatro Quirino Rigoletto (Duca)

1896 Milano  Teatro Lirico Mignon (Guglielmo)

1896 Milano  Teatro Lirico Sonnambula (Elvino)

1897 Genova Teatro Carlo Felice Puritani (Arturo)

1897 Milano Teatro La Scala Puritani (Arturo)

1897 Firenze Teatro della Pergola Puritani (Arturo)

1897 Fano Teatro della Fortuna Puritani (Arturo)

1898 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1898 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1898 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Pescatori di Perle (Nadir)

1899 Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1899 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Mefistofele (Faust)

1900 Lisbona  Teatro San Carlos Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1900 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1900 Londra Covent Garden Boheme (Rodolfo)

1901 Palermo Teatro Massimo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1902 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Boheme (Rodolfo)

1902 Madrid  Teatro Reale Boheme (Rodolfo)

1903 Londra  Covent Garden Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1903 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1905 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1905 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Mefistofele (Faust)

1905  Berlino  Teatro dell’Opera Italiana Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1905 Lisbona  Teatro San Carlos Pescatori di Perle (Nadir)

1907 New York  Manhattan Opera House Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1907 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1907 Philadelphia  Academy of Music  Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1908 Londra  Teatro Covent Garden Pescatori di Perle (Nadir)

1908 Philadelphia Teatro Metropolitan Tosca (Cavaradossi)

1908 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Traviata (Alfredo)

1909 New York  Academy of Music Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1909 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Colon Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1909 New York  New Manhattan Theater  Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1910 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1910 New York  Teatro Metropolitan Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Colon Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 Montevideo  Teatro Urquiza Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 San Paolo  Teatro Municipal Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 San Paulo  Teatro Municipal Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1911 Rio de Janeiro  Teatro Lirico Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1911 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1913 Parma  Teatro Regio Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Genova  Teatro Carlo Felice Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1914 Buenos Ayres  Teatro Colon Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1915 Torino  Teatro Regio Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1915 Milano  Teatro Dal Verme  Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1915 Genova  Teatro Carlo Felice Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1915 Parma  Teatro Regio Don Pasquale (Ernesto)

1916 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1918 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1918 Verona Teatro Ristori Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Milano Teatro Lirico Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Fabriano  Teatro Gentile Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Chicago  Civic Opera House Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1919 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1922  Milano  Teatro Dal Verme Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1923 Roma  Teatro Costanzi  Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1924 Firenze  Teatro Verdi Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1926 Roma  Teatro Adriano Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1927 Barcellona  Teatro Liceo Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

1927 Milano  Teatro Carcano Ballo in Maschera (Riccardo)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Elisir d’amore (Donizetti): Una furtiva lagrima 39083 XPh153 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
2. Mefistofele (Boito): Giunto sul passo estremo 39080 XPh154 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
3. Rigoletto (Verdi): La donna e mobile 39081 XPh156 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
4. Puritani (Bellini): A te o cara 39084 XPh394 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
5. Mignon (Thomas): Ah non credevi tu 69007 XXXPh158 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
6. Tosca (Puccini): Recondita armonia 39082 XPh166 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
7. Mignon (Thomas): Addio Mignon 39079 XPh168 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
8. Caro mio ben (Giordani) 39128 XPh176 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
9. Elena e Paride (Gluck): Spiagge amate 39127 XPh178 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
10. Don Giovanni (Mozart): Dalla sua pace 69008 XXXPh179 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
11. Favorita (Donizetti): Una vergine 39111 XPh189 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-02
12. Se tu m’ami (Pergolesi) 69018 XXXPh301 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-14
13. La violetta (Mozart) 39242 XPh302 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
14. Rigoletto (Verdi): Questa o quella 39239 XPh303 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
15. Tre giorni son che Nina (Ciampi, attr Pergolesi) 39292 Xph305 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
16. Gioconda (Ponchielli): Cielo e mar! 69017 XXXPh306 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
17. Carmen (Bizet): Il fior 39240 XPh307 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
18. Paride ed Elena (Gluck): O del mio dolce ardor 39241 XPh308 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
19. I’ll sing thee songs of Araby (Clay) 39248, XPh311 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-06-16
20. Boheme (Puccini): Che gelida manina 74000 XXPh366 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-10-03
21. Favorita (Donizetti): E fia vero? (w. Luppi) 39331 XPh367 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-10-03
22. Favorita (Donizetti): Spirto gentil 39338 XPh393 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-10-19
23. Africana (Meyerbeer): O paradiso 39339 XPh395 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-10-19
24. Pescatori di perle (Bizet): Del tempio al limitar (w. Magini-Coletti) 39340 XPh436 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-11-08
25. Don Pasquale (Donizetti): Tornami a dir (w. Pinkert) 39341 XPh438 Fonotipia, Milano 1905-11-08