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GIOVANNI CONSIGLIO (SAN MARCO LA CATOLA, 17 FEBRUARY, 1923 – NEW YORK CITY, 22 FEBRUARY, 2012)

 

 

 

 

Giovanni Consiglio was an Italian operatic tenor, born in San Marco la Catola, in the province of Foggia, Italy. He became particularly well known for his powerful, ringing voice, brilliant high notes, and performances in the dramatic Italian tenor repertoire. Although much of his career unfolded in the Americas rather than in Italy, he earned a devoted following among opera lovers and later established a reputation as an accomplished vocal teacher.

Consiglio began his musical studies with a local teacher, but his early career was interrupted by the Second World War. Serving in the Italian military in North Africa, he was captured by British forces and spent approximately two years as a prisoner of war in Egypt. After returning to Italy in 1945, he resumed his vocal studies at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples. In 1949, conductor Fernando Previtali engaged him for performances of Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples.

Consiglio subsequently moved to Argentina, where an engagement with Radio Belgrano in Buenos Aires brought him wider recognition. He went on to perform at the Teatro Colón, appearing in leading tenor roles in such operas as Cavalleria rusticana, Tosca, La traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Il trovatore. His success in South America established the foundation for an international career that also took him to Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, and numerous cities throughout the United States.

In 1955, Consiglio returned to Italy for further performances and undertook three years of study with the distinguished tenor Francesco Merli, associated with La Scala. He moved to the United States in 1958 and quickly became active in the American operatic world. On April 22, 1959, he made his Carnegie Hall recital debut. From 1962 to 1967, he sang leading tenor roles with the Cincinnati Opera and the New York City Opera, appearing in works by Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo. Among his most admired interpretations was Canio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, a role he reportedly performed more than 300 times.

Alongside his performing career, Consiglio became increasingly involved in vocal education and operatic administration. He joined the faculty of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and maintained a private vocal studio in Manhattan. From 1978 to 1983, he served as artistic director of the Connecticut State Opera in Stamford; subsequently, from 1984 to 1992, he founded and directed his own opera company in New Jersey. He devoted his later years primarily to teaching, sharing his knowledge of Italian vocal technique and bel canto interpretation with younger generations of singers. Among the artists who studied with or received guidance from him were several American and international performers.

Consiglio continued to make occasional public appearances well into his later years. In October 2011, he was honored at Lincoln Center’s Library of the Performing Arts in New York, where the occasion was declared Giovanni Consiglio Day. He died in New York in 2012, aged 89. Remembered for his commanding vocal presence, brilliant upper register, and dedication to the Italian operatic tradition, Giovanni Consiglio left a legacy both as a dramatic tenor and as a respected teacher of singing.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

GIOVANNI CONSIGLIO: THE GOLDEN OPERATIC REPERTOIRE

A Monumental Collection of Arias and Songs

Giacomo Meyerbeer: “O Paradiso” (from L’Africana)

Umberto Giordano: “Un dì all’azzurro spazio” (from Andrea Chénier)

Giacomo Puccini: “Che gelida manina” (from La Bohème)

Georges Bizet: “Il fior” (from Carmen)

Donato Gibilaro: Carrettiere

Pietro Mascagni: “Addio alla madre” (from Cavalleria Rusticana)

Jules Massenet: “O souverain, o juge, o père” (from Le Cid)

Salvatore Cardillo: Core ’ngrato

Fromental Halévy: “Rachele, allor che Iddio” (from L’Ebrea)

Giuseppe Verdi: La vita è inferno all’infelice… O tu che in seno agli angeli (from La Forza del Destino)

Francesco Paolo Tosti: L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra

Giuseppe Verdi: “La mia letizia infondere” (from I Lombardi)

Giacomo Puccini: “Addio, fiorito asil” (from Madama Butterfly)

Ruggero Leoncavallo: “Un tal gioco credetemi” (from Pagliacci)

Alessandro Stradella: Pietà, Signore

Giuseppe Verdi: “Ingemisco” (from Messa da Requiem)

Giacomo Puccini: “E lucevan le stelle” (from Tosca)

Giacomo Puccini: “Recondita armonia” (from Tosca)

Giuseppe Verdi: “Di quella pira” (from Il Trovatore)

Giacomo Puccini: “Nessun Dorma” (from Turandot)

For opera lovers and collectors of historic vocalism, the name Giovanni Consiglio represents the sunset of a glorious era: the age of the true Italian spinto tenor. Possessing a voice of steel and velvet, Consiglio belonged to a lineage of singers who relied on seamless breath control, brilliant squillo, and an unforced, visceral connection to the text.

This curated collection brings together the absolute peaks of Consiglio’s operatic and song repertoire. Here, we witness a phenomenal artist tackling the most grueling, high-stakes masterpieces ever written for the tenor voice, demonstrating why he was revered as a “vocal phenomenon” across the grand stages of the Americas.

The Ultimate Test of the Spinto Tenor

The sheer muscular demand of this tracklist is staggering. Consiglio navigates the standard Italian verismo and romantic repertoire with an ease that sounds almost effortless, yet carries immense emotional weight. In Puccini’s ultimate anthems—the radiant “Che gelida manina” from La Bohème, the artistic philosophy of “Recondita armonia”, and the heart-wrenching “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca—Consiglio avoids cheap theatricality, favoring instead a pure, ringing tone and meticulous phrasing.

His mastery of the dramatic Verdi line is equally complete. The intensely demanding, long-breathed recitative and aria “La vita è inferno… O tu che in seno agli angeli” from La Forza del Destino serves as a textbook example of how to pace a vocal marathon. He follows this with the youthful, soaring passion of “La mia letizia infondere” from I Lombardi, the solemn spiritual pleading of the “Ingemisco” from the Messa da Requiem, and the white-hot, clarion high notes required for the thrilling cabaletta “Di quella pira” from Il Trovatore.

International Versatility and Verismo Passion

Consiglio’s artistry extended far beyond the traditional Italian borders, though he always infused his performances with Mediterranean warmth. He sings the grand French style with immense dignity, heard here in Vasco da Gama’s ecstatic vision “O Paradiso” from Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine, Rodrigue’s prayer “O souverain, o juge, o père” from Massenet’s Le Cid, and a rare Italian-language rendition of Eléazar’s devastating “Rachele, allor che Iddio” (“Rachel, quand du Seigneur”) from Halévy’s La Juive. Even Don José’s flower song from Carmen (“Il fior”) is delivered with exquisite, desperate poetry.

In the fiery realm of verismo, Consiglio is unmatched. The revolutionary fervor of Chénier’s “Un dì all’azzurro spazio”, the shattering betrayal of Turiddu’s “Addio alla madre”, Pinkerton’s guilt-ridden “Addio, fiorito asil”, and Canio’s dark, ominous warning “Un tal gioco credetemi” from Pagliacci are all painted with vivid, dramatic colors.

Rounding out this definitive collection are his interpretations of classic songs. From the baroque solemnity of Stradella’s Pietà, Signore to the explosive vocal demands of Tosti’s L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra, and finally, the heartbreaking Neapolitan yearning of Cardillo’s Core ‘ngrato and Gibilaro’s Carrettiere, Consiglio proves that whether in a song or a staged opera, he remained a total master of the vocal art.

 

GIOVANNI CONSIGLIO: THE 1967 NEW YORK RECITAL

Vincenzo De Crescenzo: Rondine al nido

Ernesto De Curtis: Addio bel sogno

Francesco Paolo Tosti: Aprile

Traditional: Italian Song

Ottorino Respighi: In alto mare

Giuseppe Verdi: “O tu che in seno agli angeli” (from La Forza del Destino)

Ernesto De Curtis: Torna a Surriento

Francesco Cilea: “L’anima ho stanca” (from Adriana Lecouvreur)

Giuseppe Sibella: La girometta

Traditional: Italian Song

Donato Gibilaro: Carrettieri

Alberto Williams: Vidalita

Ottorino Respighi: Stornellatrice

Fernando Obradors: Del cabello más sutil

Fromental Halévy: “Rachel, quand du Seigneur” (from La Juive)

Franz Lehár: “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” (from The Land of Smiles)

Giacomo Puccini: “E lucevan le stelle” (from Tosca)

The Vocal Phenomenon in His Prime

By 1967, the Italian-American tenor Giovanni Consiglio had firmly established himself as one of the most thrilling and authentic spinto voices of his generation. Lauded by critics and peers alike as a true “vocal phenomenon,” Consiglio possessed a rare combination of robust dramatic power, ringing high notes, and an innate mastery of the traditional Italian bel canto line.

This historic live recording captures Consiglio at the absolute zenith of his vocal powers during a celebrated recital in New York City. The year 1967 marked a crucial sweet spot in his career—a period where he was serving as a leading tenor for major American companies like the New York City Opera and Cincinnati Opera, just before he transitioned his profound technical knowledge into a legendary teaching career in Manhattan and Philadelphia.

An Eclectic and Demanding Program

What makes this 1967 recital exceptional is the sheer breadth and physical demand of the repertoire. Consiglio effortlessly navigates from intimate Italian art songs to fiery Spanish folk arrangements, closing with some of the most grueling dramatic arias in the tenor literature.

The recital opens with a sequence of lush, late-Romantic Italian melodies, including De Crescenzo’s Rondine al nido and De Curtis’s Addio bel sogno, where Consiglio displays his remarkable capability for dynamic control and tender phrasing. His performance of Tosti’s Aprile and Respighi’s In alto mare showcase a refined artistic sensitivity often overlooked in singers of such massive vocal size.

As the program progresses, Consiglio treats the audience to the core dramatic repertoire that made him famous. His rendition of Álvaro’s fiercely difficult aria “O tu che in seno agli angeli” from Verdi’s La Forza del Destino is a masterclass in breath control and emotional urgency. He bridges the gap between grand opera and popular song seamlessly, delivering definitive, spine-tingling interpretations of Neapolitan classics like Torna a Surriento and Gibilaro’s rhythmically driving Carrettieri.

Showing his international versatility, the latter half of the program ventures into Spanish song with Obradors’ El vito, and German operetta with Lehár’s Dein ist mein ganzes Herz—sung with an open-throated, Mediterranean warmth that perfectly balances passion and elegance. The climax of the evening arrives with a devastatingly powerful performance of “Rachel, quand du Seigneur” from Halévy’s La Juive, leaving no doubt as to why Consiglio was considered a tenor’s tenor.

 

GIOVANNI CONSIGLIO & LICIA ALBANESE: THE 1974 CHAPPAQUA JOINT RECITAL

A Historic Meeting of Operatic Giants

Giovanni Consiglio – Meyerbeer: “O Paradiso” (from L’Africana)

Licia Albanese – Puccini: “Che il bel sogno di Doretta” (from La Rondine)

Giovanni Consiglio – Massenet: “O souverain, o juge, o père” (from Le Cid)

Licia Albanese – Puccini: “Vissi d’arte” (from Tosca)

Giovanni Consiglio – De Curtis: N’a storia d’amore

Giovanni Consiglio – Rossini: La Danza

Licia Albanese – Puccini: “In quelle trine morbide” (from Manon Lescaut)

Giovanni Consiglio – Giordano: “Un dì all’azzurro spazio” (Improvviso from Andrea Chénier)

Giovanni Consiglio – Cardillo: Core ‘ngrato

Licia Albanese – Puccini: “Un bel dì, vedremo” (from Madama Butterfly)

Licia Albanese – Bixio: Parlami d’amore, Mariù

Giovanni Consiglio – Puccini: “Nessun Dorma” (from Turandot)

Giovanni Consiglio – Puccini: “Ch’ella mi creda” (from La Fanciulla del West)

Licia Albanese & Giovanni Consiglio – Puccini: “Mario! Mario! Mario!” (Act 1 Duet from Tosca)

Giovanni Consiglio – De Curtis: Tu ca nun chiagne

Licia Albanese – Puccini: “O mio babbino caro” (from Gianni Schicchi)

On May 11, 1974, the historic town of Chappaqua, New York played host to a monumental vocal event: a joint recital pairing the explosive spinto tenor Giovanni Consiglio with the legendary diva of the Metropolitan Opera, soprano Licia Albanese. Captured live in brilliant verismo detail, this concert represents a rare meeting of generations. While Albanese was in the golden autumn of her illustrious stage career, Consiglio was at the absolute peak of his vocal security, filling the hall with the volcanic high notes and traditional Italian phrasing that earned him the title of a true “vocal phenomenon”.

The program is a perfectly structured tour de force that highlights the distinct artistic strengths of both singers. Consiglio commands the stage with massive dramatic selections, opening with Vasco da Gama’s visionary “O Paradiso” from Meyerbeer’s L’Africaine and Rodrigue’s noble prayer “O souverain, o juge, o père” from Massenet’s Le Cid. His later selections, including Chénier’s revolutionary Improvviso (“Un dì all’azzurro spazio”), Dick Johnson’s poignant farewell “Ch’ella mi creda”, and the white-hot intensity of Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma”, demonstrate the ringing upper register and open-throated resonance that made him an international sensation.

Albanese matches his intensity with her signature artistic refinement and emotional depth. Delivering definitive, heart-wrenching accounts of her legendary Puccini roles—including Magda’s “Che il bel sogno di Doretta”, a breathtaking “Vissi d’arte” from Tosca, the fragile hope of “Un bel dì”, and Lauretta’s beloved “O mio babbino caro”—she proves why she was considered the quintessential Puccini soprano of the 20th century.

Interspersed with these grand operatic moments are lighter, rhythmically driving traditional favorites and passionate Neapolitan songs like N’a storia d’amore, Tu ca nun chiagne, and Rossini’s dizzying La Danza. The absolute climax of the evening arrives when these two powerhouse artists unite for the monumental Act 1 Duet from Puccini’s Tosca, delivering an evening of raw passion, exquisite control, and golden-age vocalism that holds the Chappaqua audience spellbound from the first note to the final roaring ovation.