Description

FERNANDO DE LUCIA (NAPLES, 11 OCTOBER, 1860 – NAPLES, 21 FEBRUARY, 1925)

 

 

 

 

He studied at the Naples Music Conservatory with Vincenzo Lombardi and Beniamino Carelli. He made his debut at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, as Gounod’s Faust in 1885. Over the next two or three years he sang in Spain, South America and in the smaller Italian opera houses, in Linda di Chamounix, Dinorah, L’elisir d’amore, Fra Diavolo and La sonnambula. While in Madrid he was hired by Augustus Harris and Herman Klein for his first London appearances in the Drury Lane season of 1887; but although Klein liked his Alfredo, he went comparatively unnoticed due to the British debut of the charismatic tenor Jean de Reszke. His Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia (a role later closely associated with him) was described as “truly detestable” by The Times newspaper. On October 31, 1891, De Lucia took part in the world premiere of L’amico Fritz, singing the role of Fritz Kobus opposite the French diva Emma Calvé. The opera had been composed by the up-and-coming musician Pietro Mascagni and its debut occurred in Rome at the Costanzi Theatre. For a singer later upheld (by some) as the rarified model of bel canto style the situation was originally quite otherwise; De Lucia was, in fact, famous during his career not as a bel canto stylist, but as a performer of Mascagni and Ruggero Leoncavallo’s earthy, melodramatic verismo characters. De Lucia capitalized on Europe’s Mascagni craze of the early 1890s. Accordingly, in November 1892, he was engaged by the Florence opera house to create the tenor lead in Mascagni’s third opera, I Rantzau. Appearing with him in the work was the virtuoso baritone Mattia Battistini. De Lucia’s verismo-opera career continued apace with the first English performance (on 19 May 1893, with Enrico Bevignani conducting), of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, opposite Nellie Melba and Mario Ancona. De Lucia sang the part of Canio, which had been created a year earlier in Milan by Fiorello Giraud. Klein describes an audience breathless with excitement, and De Lucia’s burning intensity in the role as a triumph of realism. Mascagni made his own London debut at Covent Garden, conducting L’amico Fritz on June 19, 1893 with Calvé and, of course, De Lucia in the cast. Soon afterwards, again with Calvé, and accompanied by the song composer Paolo Tosti, De Lucia sang excerpts from Cavalleria rusticana for Queen Victoria at Windsor. On July 7 of that year, appearing in a cast which included soprano Nellie Melba and the baritones Mario Ancona and David Bispham, he gave the first British performance of I Rantzau at Covent Garden. (The opera was not a great success.).  In 1893-94, De Lucia sang in New York City at the Metropolitan Opera. He repeated his Canio with Melba and Ancona, and this was esteemed; but he was disliked as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni and as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. He did not repeat the experience. In London in 1894, he performed both Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci (together on the one night) at Covent Garden, with Ancona in the lead baritone parts. Shawadmired the “‘altogether exceptional dramatic force” which their performances gave to the pair of works. That season he was also in a bilingual (French-Italian) Faust, with Melba, Ancona and Bauermeister. De Lucia sang at La Scala in 1895 in the world premiere of Mascagni’s Silvano, and also appeared in the first Milan performances of Puccini’s La bohème and Massenet’s La Navarraise. The American baritone David Bispham thought De Lucia admirable in Fra Diavolo that year. The cast of Auber’s light-hearted opera featured Bispham and Mme Amadi (as Lord and Lady Allcash) and Marie Engle (as Zerlina), as well as the bass Vittorio Arimondi and the buffo baritone Antonio Pini-Corsi (as brigands). In 1896, in Milan, De Lucia appeared as Cavaradossi in Tosca, and again as Almaviva. The next year, he sang in a state concert at London’s Buckingham Palace to mark Queen Victoria’s Royal Jubilee. At the Costanzi Theatre, Rome, on 22 November 1898, he created the role of Osaka in Mascagni’s Iris, and at Covent Garden on 12 July 1900 he played Cavaradossi in the first performance of Tosca in England, supporting the Floria Tosca of Milka Ternina, with Antonio Scotti as Scarpia and Luigi Mancinelli conducting. De Lucia was also admired in London as Don Jose in Bizet’s Carmen. He appeared, too, in the same composer’s I pescatori di perle and in various works by Rossini, Bellini and Verdi. His last London season would be in 1905, in an outstanding operatic company assembled by Henry Russell for the Waldorf Theatre (now the Novello Theatre). In 1916, De Lucia delivered his farewell performance at La Scala as Rodolfo. He said goodbye to his loyal Neapolitan supporters the following year at the Teatro di San Carlo. De Lucia’s final appearance before the public occurred at the funeral of the incomparable Enrico Caruso in Naples in 1921. In his later years, De Lucia dwelt in Naples and taught at the conservatory there, in which he himself had been trained. His most famous pupil was the French tenor Georges Thill. He died in his native city of Naples.

 

His career evolved as follows:

 

1888 Madrid  Teatro Reale  Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1891 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Carmen (Don Jose)

1891 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1891 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1892 Madrid  Teatro Reale  Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1895 St. Petersburg Acquarium Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1895 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1895 Montevideo  Nuovo Politeama Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1896   Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1897 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1897  Buenos Ayres  Teatro dell’Opera Boheme (Rodolfo)

1897  Montevideo  Teatro Solis Boheme (Rodolfo)

1898  Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1898 Lisbon Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 London Covent Garden Boheme (Rodolfo)

1899 Lisbon Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1900 London Covent Garden Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1901 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1902 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1903 Palermo  Teatro Massimo Boheme (Rodolfo)

1904 Lisbon Teatro San Carlo Carmen (Don Jose)

1905 Milan La Scala Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1906 Napoli  Teatro San Carlo Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1908 Roma  Teatro Costanzi Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1916 Milan La Scala Boheme (Rodolfo)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. A suon di baci (Baldelli) 52651 2898b G&T, Milano 1902-12-03
2. A Surrentina (de Curtis) 2-52774 13339b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
3. Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea) L’anima ho stanca (pf Cilea) 52083 2160L G&T, Milano 1904-10
4. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Ah qual colpo with Giuseppina Huguet and Antonio Pini-Corsi 054083 G&T, Milano 1906-05
5. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Ah qual colpo with Maria Galvany 54384 11168b Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
6. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) All’idea di quel metallo with Antonio Pini-Corsi 054080 619c G&T, Milano 1906-05
7. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Ecco ridente 052078 214m G&T, Milano 1904-10
8. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Ecco ridente 052250 1442c Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
9. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Numero quindici with Antonio Pini-Corsi 54293 8053b G&T, Milano 1906-05
10. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Se il mio nome 2-52667 11167b Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
11. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Se il mio nome 52427 2864b G&T, Milano 1902-11
12. Carmela (de Curtis) 2-52773 13337b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
13. Carmen (Bizet) Il fior 052185 1175c G&T, Milano 1907-06
14. Carmen (Bizet) Il fior 52437 2899b G&T, Milano 1902-12-03
15. Carmen (Bizet) La tua madre with Giuseppina Huguet 054172 1172c G&T, Milano 1907-06
16. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) O Lola (Siciliana) 52652 2897b G&T, Milano 1902-12-03
17. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Dalla sua pace 2-52666 11164b Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
18. Don Giovanni (Mozart) Il mio tesoro 2-52661 11166b Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
19. Elisir d’amore (Donizetti) Obbligato, obbligato with Ernesto Badini 54357 10513b G&T, Milano 1907-09
20. Era di maggio (Costa) 2-52699 13332b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
21. Faust (Gounod) Salve dimora 2-52519 8058b G&T, Milano 1906-05
22. Faust (Gounod) Tardi si fa with Celestina Boninsegna 054043 213m G&T, Milano 1904-10
23. Faust (Gounod) Tardi si fa with Celestina Boninsegna 054173 1173c G&T, Milano 1907-06
24. Favorita (Donizetti) Una vergine 52081 2157L G&T, Milano 1904-10
25. Fedora (Giordano) Amor ti vieta 52436 2865b G&T, Milano 1902-11
26. Fedora (Giordano) Mia madre 52077 2153L G&T, Milano 1904-10
27. Fedora (Giordano) Vedi, io piango 52078 2154L G&T, Milano 1904-10
28. Fenesta che lucive (Cottrau) 52415 2869b G&T, Milano 1902-11
29. Ideale (Tosti) 52410 2861b G&T, Milano 1902-11
30. La serenata (Tosti) 52082 2158L G&T, Milano 1904-10
31. Lohengrin (Wagner) Cessaron i canti alfin with Giuseppina Huguet 054171 1170?c G&T, Milano 1907-06
32. Lohengrin (Wagner) Cigno fedel (w. chorus) 052184 1174c G&T, Milano 1907-06
33. Lohengrin (Wagner) Cigno gentil 52650 2905b G&T, Milano 1902-12
34. Lohengrin (Wagner) Deh non t’incantan 2-52472 7339b G&T, Milano 1905-0910
35. Lohengrin (Wagner) Mai devi domandarvi with Giuseppina Huguet 054175 1171c G&T, Milano 1907-06
36. Lohengrin (Wagner) S’ei torna alfin 2-52473 7340b G&T, Milano 1905-0910
37. Lontananza (Cilea) (pf Cilea) 52084 2159L G&T, Milano 1904-10
38. Luisa Miller (Verdi) Quando le sere al placido 052239 1445c Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
39. Luna lu (Ricciardi) (w. chorus) 2-52724 13340b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
40. Manon (Massenet) Chiudo gli occhi 2-52607 10515b G&T, Milano 1907-09
41. Manon (Massenet) Chiudo gli occhi 52416 2870b G&T, Milano 1902-11
42. Marechiare (Tosti) 52412 2866b G&T, Milano 1902-11
43. Mignon (Thomas) Addio Mignon 052111 549c G&T, Milano 1905-0910
44. Mignon (Thomas) Ah non credevi tu 2-52518 8054b G&T, Milano 1906-05
45. Mignon (Thomas) La tua bell’alma 2-52475 7342b G&T, Milano 1905-0910
46. Napulitanata (Uocchie de suonno) (Costa) 52413 2867b G&T, Milano 1902-11
47. Nun mi guardate (Gambardella) 2-52723 13338b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
48. O sole mio (di Capua) 2-52701 13336b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
49. Occhi di fata (Denza) 52079 2155L G&T, Milano 1904-10
50. Oili, oila (Costa) (w. chorus) 2-52722 13335b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
51. Pecheurs de perles (Bizet) Della mia vita 2-52474 7341b G&T, Milano 1905-0910
52. Pecheurs de perles (Bizet) Mi par d’udir ancora 2-52520 8059b G&T, Milano 1906-05
53. Pecheurs de perles (Bizet) Non hai compreso with Giuseppina Huguet 054082 621c G&T, Milano 1906-05
54. Pieta, Signore (Aria di chiesa) (Stradella) 2-52608 10512b G&T, Milano 1907-09
55. Rigoletto (Verdi) E il sol dell’anima with Giuseppina Huguet 054084 638c G&T, Milano 1906-05
56. Rigoletto (Verdi) La donna e mobile 52411 2863b G&T, Milano 1902-11
57. Romeo et Juliette (Gounod) Deh, sorgi o luce in ciel 2-52660 11165b Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
58. Sei morta nella vita mia (Costa) 52438 2900b G&T, Milano 1902-12-03
59. Serenamente (Barthelemy) 2-52772 13334b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
60. Sonnambula (Bellini) Ah perche non posso 2-52676 11169b Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
61. Sonnambula (Bellini) Prendi, l’anel ti dono054217 1443c Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
62. Sonnambula (Bellini) Son geloso 054215 1444c Gramophone, Milano 1908-06
63. Sulla bocca amorosa (Barthelemy) 2-52698 13331b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
64. Tosca (Puccini) Recondita armonia 52414 2868b G&T, Milano 1902-11
65. Traviata (Verdi) Dei miei bollenti spiriti 052129 622c G&T, Milano 1906-05
66. Traviata (Verdi) Parigi o cara with Giuseppina Huguet 054081 620c G&T, Milano 1906-05
67. Traviata (Verdi) Un di felice 52080 2156L G&T, Milano 1904-10
68. Triste ritorno (Barthelemy) 2-52700 13333b Gramophone, Napoli 1909-05-21
69. Werther (Massenet) Ah non mi ridestar 52435 2862b G&T, Milano 1902-11