Description

ROBERTO D’ALESSIO (VITTORIA (RAGUSA), SICILY, 1 APRIL, 1893 – BORGO (SAN LORENZO), TUSCANY, 12 JUNE, 1975)

Roberto d’Alessio made his debut in 1921 at the Teatro Casino in Lugano as Wilhelm Meister in A. Thomas’s Mignon. In 1922, he performed at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo as Elvino in Bellini’s La Sonnambula alongside Toti Dal Monte. By 1924, he was singing the Duke in Rigoletto in Turin, and in 1927 he appeared as des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at the Teatro Fenice in Venice. D’Alessio joined La Scala in Milan in 1927, performing the Duke in Rigoletto under Arturo Toscanini with castmates Toti Dal Monte, Luisa Bertana, and Carlo Galeffi. He reprised this role annually at La Scala until 1931, working under conductors such as Ettore Panizza.

His international engagements included performances at the Cairo Opera in 1926, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires the same year, and Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. In 1929, he toured Germany with Max Sauter’s company, performed with Egisto Tango’s company in Copenhagen, and appeared as Paolino in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto in Rome. In 1937, he sang Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at the Teatro Regio in Turin, alongside Eva Turner and Carlo Galeffi.

D’Alessio’s repertoire included roles such as Arturo in Bellini’s I Puritani, Elvino in La Sonnambula, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Rodolfo in La Bohème, the title role in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz, Maurizio in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, Cavaradossi in Tosca, and Massenet’s Werther. He was married to Spanish contralto Aurora Buades-d’Alessio (1897–1965), a notable opera and concert singer in Italy, Spain, and South America. From 1952, Roberto d’Alessio taught singing in Florence. His recordings showcase one of Italy’s finest lyric tenor voices of his generation.

TRACKLIST

1. Manon (Massenet) Il sogno D12257 B824 Columbia acoustic
2. Martha (Flotow) M’appari D12629 B3198 Columbia Electric
3. Mefistofele (Boito) Dai campi, dai prati D12553 B1387 Columbia Electric
4. Mefistofele (Boito) Giunto sul passo estremo D12601 GQ7115 Columbia Electric
5. Mignon (Thomas) Addio, Mignon, fa cuore D12549 B1385 Columbia Electric
6. Mignon (Thomas) Ah non credevi tu D12549 B1386 Columbia Electric
7. Pescatori di perle (Bizet) Della mia vita D12566 B1642 Columbia Electric
8. Pescatori di perle (Bizet) Mi par d’udir D14683  GQX10226 Columbia Electric
9. Pescatori di perle (Bizet) Mi par d’udir D16406 Columbia acoustic
10. Puritani (Bellini) A te o cara D12259 B800 Columbia acoustic
11. Rigoletto (Verdi) La donna è mobile D12524 B1150 Columbia Electric
12. Rigoletto (Verdi) Parmi veder le lagrime D5143 Columbia acoustic
13. Rigoletto (Verdi) Questa o quella  D12524 B1151 Columbia Electric
14. Sonnambula (Bellini) Prendi l’anel ti dono  D12260 B810 Columbia acoustic
15. Traviata (Verdi) Dei miei bollenti  D12602 B2169 Columbia Electric
16. Tre giorni son che Nina (Pergolesi) D12567 B1643 Columbia Electric
17. Ultima canzone (Tosti) GQX16462 BX905 Columbia Electric
18. Werther (Massenet) Ah non mi ridestar D12629 GQ7143 Columbia Electric
19. Zazà (Leoncavallo) Mai più Zazà GQ7020 B3731 Columbia Electric