Description

PEDRO LAFUENTE (LEINTZ-GATZAGA, SPAIN, 24 SEPTEMBER, 1891 – BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, 24 APRIL, 1972)

 

 

 

 

Pedro Lafuente was a tenor of Basque origin, whose vocal training took place in Buenos Aires under the guidance of baritone Tullio Quarcia and tenor Carlo Callione Romanini.

Her musical debut took place at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires in 1914 with Ruggero Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci. Two years later, in 1916, she made her debut in Rome at the Teatro Costanzi, performing in several works, including notable roles alongside Gabriella Besanzoni in Georges Bizet’s Carmen, Camille Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, and Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida.

Her greatest success, however, came upon her return to Argentina, where she performed at the Teatro Colón in 1919 and appeared again during the 1932, 1937, and 1938 seasons.

Lafuente also made a mark in Barcelona, where she performed in the 1927–1928 season at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Verdi’s Otello. She was praised by La Vanguardia as “the famous divo, the tenor with the golden voice, who today occupies first place among the most famous dramatic tenors in the world.”

 

Chronology of appearances

 

1914

Buenos Aires, Teatro Marconi: Pagliacci

 

1915

Buenos Aires, Teatro Coliseo: Cavalleria rusticana

Buenos Aires, Teatro Coliseo: Pagliacci

 

1917

Buenos Aires, Teatro Colón: Samson et Dalila

Rio de Janeiro, Municipal Theatre: Siberia

Rio de Janeiro, Municipal Theatre: Samson et Dalila

Rome, Teatro Costanzi: Aida

Rome, Teatro Costanzi: Carmen

Rome, Teatro Costanzi: Le Vieil Aigle by R. Gunsbourg

Rome, Teatro Costanzi: Samson et Dalila

São Paulo, Municipal Theatre: Stagione Compagnia da Rosa Mocchi

 

1923

Cesena, Teatro Comunale: Otello

Venice, Teatro Malibran: Otello

 

1924

Bari, Teatro Petruzzelli: Aida

Madrid, Teatro Real: Aida

Madrid, Teatro Real: Samson et Dalila

Madrid, Teatro Real: Otello

 

1925

Novara, Teatro Coccia: Otello

 

1926

Madrid, Teatro Real: Otello

Madrid, Teatro Real: Samson et Dalila

 

1927

Madrid, Teatro Real: Il Trovatore

Valencia, Teatro Principal: Otello

Valencia, Teatro Principal: Samson et Dalila

Valencia, Teatro Principal: Tosca

Valencia, Teatro Principal: Il Trovatore

 

1928

Barcelona, Gran Teatre del Liceu: Otello

Barcelona, Gran Teatre del Liceu: Samson et Dalila

 

1933

Turin, Radio Performance: Otello

Turin, Teatro Vittorio Emanuele: Aida

 

1940

Madrid, Teatro Calderón: Tosca

 

TRACKLIST

 

Columbia, Milano 1924/1925

As Paolo Masini

Tosca (Puccini): E lucevan le stele B320 D9463

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni): Tu qui, Santuzza, pt 1 (w. Spani) D9455 B333

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni): Tu qui, Santuzza, pt 2 (w. Spani) D9455 B334

Traviata (Verdi): Parigi o cara (w. de Voltri) D5137 B382

Traviata (Verdi): Un dì felice (w. de Voltri) D5137 B383