Description

GIACINTO PRANDELLI (LUMEZZANE, ITALY, 8 FEBRUARY 1914 – MILAN, ITALY, 14 JUNE 2010)

 

 

 

 

He began singing in a church choir as a boy and later studied under Fornarini in Rome and Grandini in Brescia. He appeared in a Verdi concert in Busseto in 1938 and performed in Margola’s opera Il Mito di Caino at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo in 1940. His official operatic debut came in 1942 at the same theater as Rodolfo in La Bohème. In 1943, he performed at the Rome Opera, singing Alfredo in La Traviata, alternating with Beniamino Gigli, and took part in the first staged performance of A. Lualdi’s Le Nozze di Haura. He also appeared at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna and on Italian Radio in Rome.

In 1944, he was celebrated as Toti Dal Monte’s partner in Genoa, and he performed at Milan’s Teatro Lirico (used by the La Scala ensemble after its destruction) as Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. When Arturo Toscanini conducted Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for La Scala’s reopening in May 1946, he chose this artist for the tenor solo.

After World War II, he sang at the Rome Opera almost every year from 1947 to 1961, performing roles such as Werther in Massenet’s opera, des Grieux in Manon, Gennaro in Wolf-Ferrari’s I gioielli della Madonna, and in 1949, the title role in the world premiere of Fr. Alfano’s Il Dottor Antonio. In 1958, he participated in the world premiere of Jacopo Napoli’s Il Tesoro at the Rome Opera, and in 1953, in the Italian premiere of Nabokov’s Death of Rasputin as the Grand Duke.

He was also a regular presence at La Scala through the late 1950s, performing roles such as Fritz in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz, Belmonte in The Abduction from the Seraglio, Paolo in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini, Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele, Donello in Respighi’s La Fiamma, and in 1947, Peter Grimes in Britten’s Peter Grimes. In 1954, he took part in the premiere of Menotti’s Amelia al Ballo at La Scala. At Rome’s Baths of Caracalla Festival, he performed Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Faust in Mefistofele in 1947, Enzo in La Gioconda, Pinkerton again in 1949, and Cavaradossi in Tosca in 1950, among others.

Between 1951 and 1955, he was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Following his debut as Alfredo in La Traviata, he performed seven roles across 31 appearances over three seasons, including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rodolfo in La Bohème, the Duke in Rigoletto, des Grieux in Manon, and Faust in Gounod’s Faust. He also sang at the Teatro Comunale in Florence in 1949, Rio de Janeiro’s Opera House in 1952, the Opera of Monte Carlo in 1954 and 1957, the San Francisco Opera and Chicago Opera in 1954, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires in 1956, and Teatro Liceo in Barcelona in 1960.

In 1956, he performed as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with an Italian opera troupe at the Stoll Theatre in London and sang the tenor solo in Verdi’s Requiem at the Royal Festival Hall. Further guest appearances included performances at Teatro Margherita in Genoa, Teatro Massimo in Cagliari, Teatro Bellini in Catania, and Teatro Massimo in Palermo, including as Chevalier de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites in 1964. In 1970, he performed Paolo in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini at Teatro Grande in Brescia.

A tenor with a beautiful timbre and expressive nuances, he mastered over 50 roles, mostly in the lyrical repertoire. Notable parts included Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Roberto in Puccini’s Le Villi, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, Loris in Giordano’s Fedora, Avito in Montemezzi’s L’Amore dei tre Re, Renato in Rosselini’s Il Vortice, Julien in Charpentier’s Louise, Andrej in Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, and Collatino in Respighi’s Lucrezia.

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Povero Ernesto… Cerchero lontana terra Decca LXT 2688 71106 IARF 503
2. Gioconda (Ponchielli) Enzo Grimaldo… O grido di quest’anima (w. Reali) Cetra BB 25218
3. L´elisir d´amore (Donizetti) Una furtiva lagrima Decca LXT 2688
4. La Gioconda (Ponchielli) Cielo e mar Decca LXT 2688 71106 IARF 502
5. Lohengrin (Wagner) S´ei torna alfin Cetra BB 25183 2-71044
6. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Tombe degli avi miei… Fra poco a me ricovero Decca LXT 2688
7. Luisa Miller (Verdi) Quando le sere al placido Columbia GQX 11282 CBX 1632
8. Manon Lescaut (Puccini) Donna non vidi mai Cetra TI 7049 52913
9. Resurrezione (Alfano) Piangi, si, piangi Cetra TI 7049 52914
10. Rigoletto (Verdi) Parmi veder le lagrime Columbia GQX 11282
11. Tosca (Puccini) O dolci mani… Qual occhio al Mondo (w. Di Giulio) Columbia GQX 11375
12. Tosca (Puccini) Or lasciami al lavor… Mia gelosa! (w. Di Giulio) Columbia GQX 11378
13. Werther (Massenet) Ah! non mi ridestar Columbia GQX 11281 CBX 1630
14. Werther (Massenet) Io non so se son desto Cetra BB 25183 2-71043