Description

ALBERT SALEZA (TENOR) (OCTOBER 28, 1867 BRUGES (PYRÉNÉES-ATLANTIQUES) – NOVEMBER 26, 1916 PARIS)

 

 

 

 

Born in Bruges in Basses-Pyrénées, last child of a large family of 12 children, and, as an orphan from the age of 8 years old, Saléza was sent to a Girondine property of senator Auguste Calvet where he became an assistant shepherd. But the country sickness forced him to return to his native commune where he became a sandal worker. Difficulty feeding led him to accept a job as a gravel digger on the Pau-Laruns railway, then as a sandaler in Bayonne, where wages were higher. At his places of work, his voice was noticed by two Basque music lovers, who introduced him to the director of the music school, Mr. Jubin, and then to his first teacher, Gaston Salzedo. With this one, Saléza, who had hitherto received only a basic education, made rapid progress in all fields: instruction, diction, singing, music… so much so that he won the First prize of the school in 1886, which allowed him to integrate the Conservatoire de Paris where he won again the first prize in singing and the second prize in opera before a jury composed notably of Léo Delibes and Ambroise Thomas. On leaving the conservatory, because of his fragile health, he chose the Opéra-Comique instead of the Opera which would have been too demanding so quickly. From his first role, Mylio in Le roi d’Ys, his performance aroused the enthusiasm of the audience at the Salle Favart. From the Opéra-Comique, Albert Saléza moved on to the Opéra de Nice where he recovered his strength. He gained further notoriety by interpreting Faust, Roméo et Juliette, Carmen, Richard III. In 1892, Ernest Reyer noticed him and offered him the consecration by giving him a role tailored to his needs at the Paris Opera: Matho in Salammbô. The triumph he obtained allowed him to repeat success after success: Le Cid, Die Walküre, la Damnation de Faust His fame was so great that Verdi offered him the role of Otello that he performeded 35 times until May 1895. Unfortunately, health problems hit his vocal chords and forced him to stop for 2 years. In 1897, Saléza returned to the Opéra de Paris, then, in Monte Carlo, Brussels and Covent Garden of London where he sang in particular in Carmen with Emma Calvé, and Roméo et Juliette with Nellie Melba, and very often in front of the future king Edward VII. He reached the pinnacle of his glory in Chicago and the Metropolitan of New York, thanks to his interpretations in Faust, Lucia di Lammermoor, Les Huguenots. In 1912, after all these successes abroad, he returned to France and was appointed professor of lyric declamation at the Conservatoire where his results turned out to be excellent with students who won all the first prizes. But on 26 November 1916, this new career came to a sudden halt when he collapsed during a mass in the église Saint-Charles-de-Monceau. Saléza married in 1895 to Pauline Bonnecarrère (1875–1953) and had three children: Mylio (1896–1957), Madeleine (1899–1913), and José (1905–?). He died on 26 November 1916 in the 17th arrondissement of Paris.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

Le roi d’Ys – Paris, Opéra-Comique, around 1888

Richard Cœur de Lion – Paris, Opéra-Comique

Faust – Nice, Opéra

Rigoletto – Nice, Opéra

La muette de Portici – Nice, Opéra

Carmen – Nice, Opéra

Roméo et Juliette – Nice, Opéra

Le prophète – Nice, Opéra

La prise de Troie – Nice, Opéra, 1891

Richard III (Salvayre) – Nice, Opéra

Salammbô – Paris, Opéra, 17 Mai 1892

Le Cid – Paris, Opéra, 1893/94

Sigurd – Paris, Opéra, 1893/94

La Valkyrie – Paris, Opéra, 1893/94

Djelma (Lefebvre) – Paris, Opéra, 1893/94

Otello – Paris, Opéra, 1893/94

La damnation de Faust – Monte Carlo, Garnier, 1894

Hulda – Monte Carlo

Tannhäuser – Paris, Opéra, 1895

Aida – 1898–1904

Lucia di Lammermoor – 1898–1904

Les huguenots – 1898–1904

La bohème – 1898–1904

Ero e Leandro (Mancinelli) – 1898–1904

Cavalleria rusticana – 1898–1904

Lohengrin – 1898–1904

 

 

ALBERTO DE BASSINI (BARITONE) (FIRENZE, 1847 – MILAN ?)

 

 

 

 

He was the son of the famous Italian baritone Achille De Bassini (1819-1881), who appeared in the premieres of Verdi’s Luisa Miller (1849) and La forza del destino (1862) in St. Petersburg. His mother was the renowned soprano Rita Gabussi (1816-1891). Trained by his father, he debuted in 1870 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice as Belisario in Donizetti’s Belisario, performing alongside his father. He continued his career with roles such as Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Teatro Paganini in Genoa in 1881, and appeared at the Teatro Malibran in Venice. In 1883, he performed at the Teatro Carcano in Milan.

In 1890, he made a second debut, this time as a baritone, at the Teatro Filodramatico in Milan. Despite his efforts, he did not achieve significant success as a baritone in Italy. In 1898, he emigrated to North America, where he performed with various opera societies, focusing particularly on French repertoire. Later, he worked as a singing pedagogue in New York.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1890 Milano Teatro dei Filodrammatici Barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva)

1892 Napoli Teatro Sannazzaro Elisir d’amore (Belcore)

1897 New York Waldorf Astoria Il Ritratto di Manon (De Grieux)

 

 

 

BLANCHE ARRAL (SOPRANO) (LIÈGE, 10 OCTOBER 1864 – PALISADES PARK, NEW JERSEY 3 MARCH 1945)

 

 

 

 

Born Clara Lardinois in Liège, Belgium, she studied under Mathilde Marchesi in Paris. She began her career in 1883 at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, making her debut in a small role in the premiere of Jules Massenet’s Manon on January 19, 1884.

She performed in various opera houses across Brussels, Paris, and St. Petersburg before moving to the United States. In 1901, she toured Indochina with a company, performing at Haiphong and the Hanoi Opera House while awaiting the opening of the 1902 Exposition of Hanoi.

She joined the Metropolitan Opera for the 1909–1910 season. In 1935, she unexpectedly gave concerts on the American Broadcasting Company, where she commented on and shared numerous anecdotes from her career. She later resided in New York.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1883 Paris Opéra-Comique

1909-1910 New York Metropolitan Opera

 

 

 

DANTE DEL PAPA (TENOR) (PISA, 12 MARCH, 1854 – NEW YORK, 22 FEBRUARY, 1923)

 

 

 

 

He studied initially in Lucca and then at the Milan Conservatory with A. Mazzucato. He made his stage debut in 1879 at the Teatro Mariani in Ravenna as the Duke in Rigoletto.

In 1882, he performed at the Teatro Politeama Genovese in Genoa as Faust in Gounod’s Faust, and subsequently sang in many Italian theaters, including Livorno, Florence, Ferrara, Bologna, and Pisa. He made a guest appearance at the Teatro Della Pergola in Florence in 1883 in Ponchielli’s I Promessi Sposi.

In 1884, he gained acclaim at the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara as Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele and later sang in Zagreb, Croatia. In 1885, he performed at the Teatro Rossini in Livorno as Don José in Carmen. He appeared in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1896.

He sang at the Teatro Regio in Turin in 1887 as Don José and as Nadir in Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles. Del Papa also performed as Don José at the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona in 1888. Impresario Strakosch engaged him for appearances in Spain during the 1891–92 season.

In 1894, he came to the USA, appearing on the opera stages in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Around 1895, he retired from the stage and subsequently taught singing in New York.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1879 Ravenna Teatro Mariani Rigoletto (Duca)

1882 Genoa Teatro Politeama Genovese Faust (Faust)

1883 Firenze Teatro Della Pergola  I Promessi Sposi di A. Ponchielli (Renzo)

1884 Ferrara Teatro Comunale Faust (Faust)

1885 Livorno Teatro Rossini Mignon (Guglielmo)

1887 Turin Teatro Regio Carmen (Don Jose)

1888 Barcelona Teatro Liceo Carmen (Don Jose)

1890 Milano Teatro Manzoni Beatrice di Tenda (Orombello)

1892 Malaga Teatro Cervantes Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1894 New York Grand Opera House Carmen (Don Jose)

1895 Boston Opera House Cavalleria Rusticana (Turiddu)

1897 New York Weber Hall Concerto

1900 New York Carnegie Hall Concerto

1903 New York Princess Theater Concerto

1915 New York Century Opera House Concerto

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Albert Saleza Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali 5
2. Alberto De Bassini Aida (Verdi) Ed in suo potere io sto… Rivedrai le foreste wih Gina Ciaparelli 1
3. Alberto De Bassini Otello (Verdi) Credo 34
4. Alberto De Bassini Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Un nido di memorie 7
5. Alberto De Bassini Ruy Blas (Marchetti) Duetto Maria-Sallustio with Gina Ciaparelli 13
6. Blanche Arral La Mascotte (Audran) Couplets Des Dindons 45
7. Dante Del Papa Aida (Verdi) Morir si pura e bella (w. Morale)
8. Dante Del Papa Aida (Verdi) Morir si pura e bella… O terra addio (w. Ciaparelli)
9. Dante Del Papa Aida (VerdI) Nel fiero anelito (w. Ciaparelli)
10. Dante Del Papa Ballo in maschera (Verdi) Non sai tu… O qual soave brivido (w. Ciaparelli) 16
11. Dante Del Papa Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Duo, act 1 (w. De Bassini) 3
12. Dante Del Papa Carmen (Bizet) Ti baciava mia madre (w. Ciaparelli) 11
13. Dante Del Papa Faust (Gounod) Trio finale (w. Chalia & De Bassini) 1
14. Dante Del Papa Guglielmo Tell (Rossini) Troncar suoi di (w. De Bassini & Girardi) 4
15. Dante Del Papa La Forza del Destino (Verdi) Ah! per sempre (w. Ciaparelli)
16. Dante Del Papa Lucrezia Borgia (Donizetti) Guai se ti sfugge un moto (w. Chalia & De Bassini)
17. Dante Del Papa Martha (Flotow) Perche, sola vergine rosa (w. Chalia)
18. Dante Del Papa Mignon (Thomas) Ah! Non credevi tu
19. Dante Del Papa Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Vesti la giubba Bettini cylinder 20
20. Dante Del Papa Traviata (Verdi) Parigi, o cara (w. Ciaparelli) Bettini cylinder 10