Ettore Bastianini
Encyclopedia
Ettore Bastianini was an Italian opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 singer who was particularly associated with the operas of Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...

. He had a prolific international career between 1945 and 1965 which was cut short by throat cancer
Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...

. He began his professional career as a bass working in opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...

s throughout Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and in tours to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

 and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 during the 1940s. In 1952 he launched a career as a baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...

 that quickly earned him worldwide acclaim and brought him to the stages of many of the major opera houses in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He was a frequent performer at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

 between 1954-1963 and at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

 between 1958-1964. He was also a member of the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 between 1954-1957 and again in 1965 during the last year of his career.

Early training and career as a bass

Born in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...

, Bastianini first began performing at the age of fifteen while apprenticed to a pastry chef
Pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...

, Gaetano Vanni, who discovered Bastianini's voice and encouraged him to join the choir of his hometown's Cathedral. Between 1937-1938 he sang as a bass during masses
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 and religious functions at the church. In 1939 he began singing lessons under Fathima and Anselmo Ammanati who continued training him as a bass. He sang his first professional concerts in 1940 and 1941 in Asciano
Asciano
Asciano is a comune and hill town in the province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany. It is located at the centre of the Crete senesi between the river Ombrone and the torrent Copra, some 30 km southeast of the town of Siena by rail.-History:Asciano has origins as Etruscan, Roman and...

 and Siena at the Fortezza Medicea and Teatro dei Rozzi. In 1942 he won first prize at the 6th National Singing Contest at the Teatro Comunale Florence
Teatro Comunale Florence
The Teatro Comunale di Firenze is an opera house in Florence, Italy. It was originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people...

 but was soon drafted into the Italian Air Force
Regia Aeronautica
The Italian Royal Air Force was the name of the air force of the Kingdom of Italy. It was established as a service independent of the Royal Italian Army from 1923 until 1946...

 which prevented him from immediately enjoying the scholarship accompanying the prize.

After serving in the Italian Air Force between 1943-1944 toward the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, Bastianini resumed his career. On January 28, 1945, in a Siena concert, he sang the bass arias "Vecchia zimarra" from Puccini's
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...

 La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...

and "La Calunnia" from Rossini's
Gioacchino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...

 Il barbiere di Siviglia. That November, he made his operatic debut as Colline in La bohème at the Teatro Alighieri in Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...

. His only son, Jago, was born in 1945.

In 1946 Bastianini was finally able to enjoy the scholarship he'd won four years earlier and began studying at the Teatro Comunale Florence. He sang in recitals there alongside other future opera greats like Mirto Picchi
Mirto Picchi
Mirto Picchi was an Italian dramatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, and with contemporary works....

, Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri was an Italian mezzo-soprano.Barbieri was born in Trieste. She made her official debut in Florence in 1940, but retired in 1943 because of her marriage. She re-emerged in 1945. She was one of the first performers to investigate and perform in early operas by Monteverdi and Pergolesi...

, and Rolando Panerai
Rolando Panerai
Rolando Panerai Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, he enjoyed a long and distinguished career in both comic and dramatic roles.Rolando Panerai was born in Campi Bisenzio, near Florence, Italy....

. That same year he appeared in numerous operas with smaller Italian opera houses such as the Teatro Verdi in Florence. Among the roles he portrayed that year were his first performances of Zio Bonzo in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...

, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Sparafucile in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

.

In 1947 Bastianini toured Egypt, singing in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...

, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

, and Giza, sharing the stage with Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi
Gino Bechi was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles.-Life and career:...

 and Maria Caniglia
Maria Caniglia
Maria Caniglia was one of the leading Italian dramatic sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s.- Life and career :...

 and reprising the roles of Don Basilio and Sparafucile. He also sang Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....

. He spent the next year singing the bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...

 repertoire in opera houses throughout Italy, including the Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma
Teatro Regio di Parma is a famous 19th century opera house and opera company in Parma, Italy. The theatre was originally known as the Teatro Ducale....

 and Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....

. On April 24, 1948, Bastianini made his La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...

 debut as Teiresias in Stravinsky's
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....

 Oedipus Rex
Oedipus rex (opera)
Oedipus rex is an "Opera-oratorio after Sophocles" by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin...

. In 1949 he toured Egypt again and flew to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

 to sing in productions of Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...

(Ramfis), La Bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Rigoletto.

Bastianini gave his first broadcast recital for the Italian Radio
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...

 on 29 December 1950. Earlier that year he had toured Egypt again and appeared in operas in Italy. He toured Egypt once more, just before returning to Italy for his final bass performance in April 1951 at Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...

's Teatro Alfieri as Colline. Believing his voice was better suited to the baritone repertoire and encouraged by his teacher, Luciano Bettarini, Bastianini left the stage for seven months, studying and re-training his instrument.

Triumph on the international stage: 1952-1957

Bastianini made his debut as a baritone on January 17, 1952, in Siena, as Germont in Verdi's La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...

. His performance was not well received, and he left the stage again for a brief period of intense vocal exercise to secure the top of his voice. Upon his return just weeks later, he performed as Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

 in Siena to rave reviews. This was followed by a successful Amonasro
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...

 in Pescara
Pescara
Pescara is the capital city of the Province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo region of Italy. As of January 1, 2007 it was the most populated city within Abruzzo at 123,059 residents, 400,000 with the surrounding metropolitan area...

 and a triumphant return to the role of Germont in Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 with Virginia Zeani
Virginia Zeani
Virginia Zeani is a Romanian soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially the role of in "La traviata".-Early life:Zeani was born Virginia Zehan, in Solovăstru, Romania...

 as Violetta. He also gave several acclaimed performances at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...

 including both Count Tomsky (Spring of 1952) and Prince Yeletsky (Spring of 1954) in Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

's The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)
The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...

, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...

's War and Peace
War and Peace (Prokofiev)
War and Peace is an opera in two parts , sometimes arranged as five acts, by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson, based on the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...

(Spring of 1953), and the title role in Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa
Mazeppa (opera)
Mazeppa, properly Mazepa , is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem Poltava....

(1954).

In 1953 Bastianini performed opposite Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...

 for the first of many times as Enrico Asthon in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Comunale Florence. That same year he sang the role of Carlo Gérard in Umberto Giordano
Umberto Giordano
Umberto Menotti Maria Giordano was an Italian composer, mainly of operas.He was born in Foggia in Puglia, southern Italy, and studied under Paolo Serrao at the Conservatoire of Naples...

's Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....

for the first time at the Teatro Regio di Torino. He made his Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 debut as Germont on December 5, 1953, opposite Licia Albanese
Licia Albanese
Licia Albanese is an Italian-born American operatic soprano. Noted especially for her portrayals of the lyric heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Albanese was a leading artist with the Metropolitan Opera of New York from 1940 to 1966...

 as Violetta and Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker was an American operatic tenor.-Early life:Tucker was born Rivn Ticker in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of Romanian immigrants from Bessarabia. His father, Shmul Ticker, and mother Fanya-Tsipa Ticker had already adopted the surname "Tucker" by the time their son entered first...

 as Alfredo. The following January he sang Enrico to Lily Pons
Lily Pons
Lily Pons was a French-American operatic soprano and actress who had an active career from the late 1920s through the early 1970s. As an opera singer she specialized in the coloratura soprano repertoire and was particularly associated with the title roles in Léo Delibes' Lakmé and Gaetano...

's Lucia and Jan Peerce
Jan Peerce
Jan Peerce was an American operatic tenor. Peerce was an accomplished performer on the operatic and Broadway concert stages, in solo recitals, and as a recording artist. He is the father of film director Larry Peerce....

's Edgardo at the Met. On May 10, 1954, he made his debut as a baritone at La Scala, in the title role of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....

 with Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...

 as Tatyana.

In the Fall of 1954, Bastianini joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City where he sang regularly through May 1957. His roles at the Met during this time included Amonasro in Aida, Carlo Gérard, Count Di Luna in Il Trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...

, Enrico, Germont, Marcello in La Bohème, Escamillo in Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...

, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, and the title role in Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

. He later returned to the Met in the Spring of 1960 to portray several roles including Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...

. He returned to the Met again in January 1965 where he spent most of that year singing in several of his prior roles with the company and performing Scarpia in Tosca
Tosca
Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900...

. His 87th and final performance at the Met was as Rodrigo on December 11, 1965. It was also coincidentally the last performance of his career.

While performing regularly at the Met during the mid 1950s, Bastianini continued to perform occasionally in Europe and in other opera houses in the United States. On May 28, 1955, he appeared opposite Maria Callas
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...

 and Giuseppe di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano
Giuseppe Di Stefano was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. He was known as the "Golden voice" or "The most beautiful voice", as the true successor of Beniamino Gigli...

 in a famous La Scala production of La traviata, directed by Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...

 and conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini
Carlo Maria Giulini was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Giulini was born in Barletta, Italy, to a father born in Lombardy and a mother born in Naples; but he was raised in Bolzano, which at the time of his birth was part of Austria...

. The following summer he made the first of several recordings for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

: Alphonse XI in La Favorita and Don Carlo in La forza del destino. On October 31, 1955 he debuted with the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...

 as Riccardo Forth in Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...

's I puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...

with Callas as Elvira, Di Stefano as Arturo, and Mariano Caruso as Bruno. He sang regularly in Chicago between 1955-1958, as Count di Luna, Don Carlo, Germont, and Marcello. In 1956 he returned to La Scala to sing his first Renato in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...

and he portrayed Figaro in The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...

at the Arena di Verona.

After leaving the Met in May 1957, Bastianini made his first appearance on television in a filmed version of Il trovatore with Leyla Gencer
Leyla Gencer
Leyla Gencer, or Ayşe Leyla Çeyrekgil was a world-renowned Turkish operatic soprano.Known as "La Diva Turca" and "La Regina" in the opera world, Gencer was a notable bel canto soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, and had a repertoire...

, Mario Del Monaco
Mario del Monaco
Mario Del Monaco was an Italian tenor who is regarded by his admirers as being one of the greatest dramatic tenors of the 20th century....

 and Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri was an Italian mezzo-soprano.Barbieri was born in Trieste. She made her official debut in Florence in 1940, but retired in 1943 because of her marriage. She re-emerged in 1945. She was one of the first performers to investigate and perform in early operas by Monteverdi and Pergolesi...

. That summer he sang Don Carlo in a legendary production of Verdi's Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...

at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Maggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...

 under Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitri Mitropoulos , was a Greek conductor, pianist, and composer. Also known as Dimitris Mitropoulos.-Life and career:Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angeliki Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods shop at No. 15, St Marks Street. He was musically precocious,...

 with Anita Cerquetti
Anita Cerquetti
Anita Cerquetti is an Italian dramatic soprano who had a short career in the 1950s.Cerquetti was born in Montecosaro, near Macerata, Italy. She was first a student of the violin, she trained eight years with Luigi Mori. After a mere one year of vocal study at the Conservatory of Perugia she made...

, Mario del Monaco
Mario del Monaco
Mario Del Monaco was an Italian tenor who is regarded by his admirers as being one of the greatest dramatic tenors of the 20th century....

, and Boris Christoff
Boris Christoff
Boris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer...

. This was followed by performances in four different operas in seven days in Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...

 and a return to La Scala in December 1957 for another highly lauded production: Un ballo in Maschera under Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Gianandrea Gavazzeni was an Italian pianist, conductor , composer and musicologist.Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Scala, Milan, in 1966-68 being its music and artistic director.He had his Metropolitan Opera debut on 11...

 with Callas, Di Stefano, and Giulietta Simionato
Giulietta Simionato
Giulietta Simionato was an Italian mezzo-soprano. Her career spanned from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966.-Life:Born at Forlì, Romagna, she studied in Rovigo and Padua, and made her operatic debut at Montagnana in 1928...

.

The golden years:1958-1962

In 1958 Bastanini sang his first Scarpia at the Teatro di San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...

. This was followed by three other new roles to his repertoire at La Scala that summer: Belcore in L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...

, Ernesto in Il Pirata
Il pirata
Il pirata is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani from a French translation of the tragic play Bertram, or The Castle of St Aldobrando by Charles Maturin...

(with Callas and Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli was a famous Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated universally for his powerhouse voice, electrifying top notes, clear timbre, a...

) and the title role in Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...

. In July of that year he made his debut at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...

 as Rodrigo under conductor Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...

 and then returned to Bilbao in September for several more performances. Towards the end of the year he sang four roles in five days at the Palacio de Bellas Artes
Palacio de Bellas Artes
The Palacio de Bellas Artes is the most important cultural center in Mexico City as well as the rest of the country of Mexico...

 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 and performed his only baroque opera role, Lichas in Handel
HANDEL
HANDEL was the code-name for the UK's National Attack Warning System in the Cold War. It consisted of a small console consisting of two microphones, lights and gauges. The reason behind this was to provide a back-up if anything failed....

's Hercules under Lovro von Matačić
Lovro von Matacic
Lovro von Matačić was a Croatian conductor and composer.-Biography:Lovro von Matačić was born in Sušak to a family that was granted a noble title in the early 17th century. Growing up, he was always surrounded by music and art: his father had a career as an opera singer, and his mother as an actress...

, at La Scala.

In September 1958 Bastanini sang for the first time at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...

 as Scarpia opposite Renata Tebaldi's Tosca. He fell in love with the opera house and performed regularly there until his career ended in 1965. In the Fall of 1959 he made his debut with Dallas Opera
Dallas Opera
The Dallas Opera is an opera company located in Dallas, Texas . The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic Opera by Laurence Kelly and Nicolà Rescigno, both of whom had been active with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the first as administrator, the second as artistic director.-The company's...

 singing Enrico opposite Callas's Lucia, and Figaro. The following December he sang his first Michonnet in Francesco Cilea
Francesco Cilea
Francesco Cilea was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.-Biography:...

's Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...

at the Teatro di San Carlo. He returned to that house in 1960 to sing Don Carlo in Ernani, a role he also portrayed at the Salzburg Festival that year. Also in 1960, Bastanini sang the role of Severo in Donizetti's Poliuto
Poliuto
Poliuto is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Pierre Corneille's play Polyeucte . It was composed in 1838 and first performed on 30 November 1848 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples...

in a production that marked the return of Callas to La Scala.

In February 1961 Bastanini made his debut with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company
The Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was active between 1958 and 1974. The company was led by a number of Artistic Directors during its history, beginning with Aurelio Fabiani. Other notable Artistic Directors include Julius...

 as Rigoletto. That same month he appeared in two productions at La Scala: Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....

 and I Puritani with Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto
Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi...

. In December 1961 he returned to La Scala to sing his first and only performances of Rolando in Verdi's rarely heard opera La battaglia di Legnano
La battaglia di Legnano
La battaglia di Legnano is an opera in four acts, with music by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian-language libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. It was based on the play La Bataille de Toulouse by Joseph Méry. The opera received its first performance on 27 January 1849, at the Teatro Argentina, Rome...

. In 1962 he made his first and only appearance at the Royal Opera
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...

, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

 as Riccardo, returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing the title role in Rigoletto, and sang Count Di Luna at La Scala and the Salzburg Festival in addition to several performances with the Vienna State Opera. His mother died in April of that year of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 in Sienna.

Battling illness and the end of a career:1963-1967

In November 1962 Bastianini was diagnosed with a tumor
Tumor
A tumor or tumour is commonly used as a synonym for a neoplasm that appears enlarged in size. Tumor is not synonymous with cancer...

 in his throat just months after his mother's death from cancer. He discussed his illness with only his family and some very close friends, fearing the negative impact that the news could have on his career. He spent the first four months of 1963 receiving treatments in Switzerland. Bastianini returned to the stage in April 1963 in several of his staple roles at the Vienna State Opera. Noting that his voice seemed dryer than previously, critics gave him mixed reviews. As his health declined further, Bastanini became depressed, uncertain whether he should continue singing.

On July 2, 1963 Bastianini attended the famous Palio di Siena
Palio di Siena
The Palio di Siena is a horse race that is held twice each year, on July 2 and August 16, in Siena, Italy...

 and won a considerable amount of money betting on the horse race. The win raised his spirits considerably. Shortly thereafter, he appeared successfully as Count di Luna at the Salzburg Festival. The following autumn, Bastianini debuted in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 in a much-lauded production of Il Trovatore, broadcast live on Japanese television. In December of that year he made his last appearance at La Scala as Rodrigue in Don Carlos.

Bastiani's health declined steadily over the last two years of his career. His performances were inconsistent, some excellent and others poor. During 1964, he sang his last new role, Mefistofele in La Damnation de Faust, at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples to good reviews. However, his performance of Il Trovatore in Prato
Prato
Prato is a city and comune in Tuscany, Italy, the capital of the Province of Prato. The city is situated at the foot of Monte Retaia , the last peak in the Calvana chain. The lowest altitude in the comune is 32 m, near the Cascine di Tavola, and the highest is the peak of Monte Cantagrillo...

 that year was reportedly disastrous. In 1965, his final year on the stage, he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago and sang Amonasro. He also performed Scarpia at the Teatro Comunale Florence and Iago at the Cairo Opera House
Cairo Opera House
The Cairo Opera House , part of Cairo's National Cultural Center, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the Zamalek district west of and near downtown...

. He spent most of 1965 at the Met with mixed results. Some performances were well received but he was booed during a performance of Tosca. His final operatic appearance was as Posa in Verdi's "Don Carlo" at the Met on 11 December 1965. Bastianini finally succumbed to his cancer in January 1967 and was buried in Sirmione
Sirmione
Sirmione is a comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy . It is bounded by the comunes of Desenzano del Garda and Peschiera del Garda in the province of Verona and the region of Veneto...

.

Recordings

Most of his studio recordings were made for Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....

 and for Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...

, and they accurately represent his rich and expressive voice. (Unfortunately some of them are currently withdrawn.) They include:
  • Verdi: "Aida
    Aida
    Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...

    " with Curtis-Verna, Dominguez, Borso, Scott. Franco Capuana
    Franco Capuana
    Franco Capuana was an Italian conductor.Born in Fano in the Province of Pesaro and Urbino, he was the younger brother of mezzo-soprano Maria Capuana. He became associated with the Teatro di San Carlo in 1930 and La Scala in 1937. In 1940 he conducted the premiere of Ghedini's opera La pulce d'oro...

     (cond.) La Fenice 1952. (Remington)
  • G. Donizetti: La favorite
    La favorite
    La favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...

    with Giulietta Simionato
    Giulietta Simionato
    Giulietta Simionato was an Italian mezzo-soprano. Her career spanned from the 1930s until her retirement in 1966.-Life:Born at Forlì, Romagna, she studied in Rovigo and Padua, and made her operatic debut at Montagnana in 1928...

    , Jerome Hines
    Jerome Hines
    The American Jerome A. Hines was a basso opera singer who performed at the Metropolitan Opera from 1946 to 1987...

    , Gianni Poggi
    Gianni Poggi
    Gianni Poggi was an Italian tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Born in Piacenza, Poggi studied first with Valeria Manna, and later in Milan with Emilio Ghirardini. He made his debut in Palermo, as Rodolfo, in 1947...

    . Alberto Erede
    Alberto Erede
    Alberto Erede was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with operatic work.Born in Genoa, Erede studied there before studying in Milan, then with Felix Weingartner at Basle, and after this with Fritz Busch at Dresden. He made his debut in Turin in 1935, conducting Der Ring des Nibelungen....

     (cond.) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 1955. (Decca)
  • Verdi: La forza del destino
    La forza del destino
    La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...

    with Tebaldi, del Monaco, Simionato, Siepi. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
    Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
    Francesco Molinari-Pradelli was a prominent Italian opera conductor. He studied piano and composition at Bologna, and graduated from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome in 1938. He made his debut at La Scala in 1946 and his Covent Garden debut in 1956...

     (cond.) 1955. (Decca)
  • G.Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia with Simionato, Misciano, Siepi, Fernando Corena
    Fernando Corena
    Fernando Corena was a Turkish Swiss bass who had a major international opera career from the late 1940s through the early 1980s. He enjoyed a long and successful career at the Metropolitan Opera between 1954 and 1978, and was a regular presence at the Vienna State Opera between 1963 and 1981...

    . Erede (cond.) 1956. (Decca)
  • P.Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana
    Cavalleria rusticana
    Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...

    with Tebaldi, Jussi Björling
    Jussi Björling
    Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th Century, Björling appeared frequently at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as at other major European opera...

    . Erede (cond.) 1957. (Decca)
  • A.Ponchielli: La Gioconda
    La Gioconda (opera)
    La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835...

    with Anita Cerquetti
    Anita Cerquetti
    Anita Cerquetti is an Italian dramatic soprano who had a short career in the 1950s.Cerquetti was born in Montecosaro, near Macerata, Italy. She was first a student of the violin, she trained eight years with Luigi Mori. After a mere one year of vocal study at the Conservatory of Perugia she made...

     (her only complete opera recording in studio), Simionato, del Monaco, Siepi. Gavazzeni (cond.) 1957. (Decca)
  • U.Giordano: Andrea Chénier
    Andrea Chénier
    Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....

    with Renata Tebaldi
    Renata Tebaldi
    Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...

    , Mario del Monaco
    Mario del Monaco
    Mario Del Monaco was an Italian tenor who is regarded by his admirers as being one of the greatest dramatic tenors of the 20th century....

    . Gianandrea Gavazzeni
    Gianandrea Gavazzeni
    Gianandrea Gavazzeni was an Italian pianist, conductor , composer and musicologist.Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Scala, Milan, in 1966-68 being its music and artistic director.He had his Metropolitan Opera debut on 11...

     (cond.) 1957. (Decca)
  • G.Puccini: La bohème
    La bohème
    La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...

    with Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi
    Carlo Bergonzi
    Carlo Bergonzi is an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and verismo roles, he is above all associated with the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, including a large number of the composer's lesser-known works that he helped revive...

    , Gianna d'Angelo
    Gianna d'Angelo
    Gianna D'Angelo , is an American coloratura soprano, primarily active in the 1950s and 1960s.Born Jane Angelovich in Hartford, Connecticut, she studied first at The Juilliard School in New York City with Giuseppe De Luca...

    , Cesare Siepi
    Cesare Siepi
    Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...

    . Tullio Serafin
    Tullio Serafin
    -Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...

     (cond.) 1958. (Decca)
  • Donizetti: "Lucia di Lammermoor
    Lucia di Lammermoor
    Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....

    " with Scotto, Di Stefano, Vinco. Nino Sanzogno
    Nino Sanzogno
    Nino Sanzogno was an Italian conductor and composer.He studied the violin with Guarneri and composition with Agostini at the Venice Liceo Musicale, and later conducting in Vienna with Hermann Scherchen...

     (cond.) La Scala 1959. (Mercury/Ricordi)
  • Verdi: "Rigoletto
    Rigoletto
    Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

     with Scotto, Kraus, Cossotto, Vinco. Gianandrea Gavazzeni
    Gianandrea Gavazzeni
    Gianandrea Gavazzeni was an Italian pianist, conductor , composer and musicologist.Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Scala, Milan, in 1966-68 being its music and artistic director.He had his Metropolitan Opera debut on 11...

     (cond.) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 1960. (Mercury/Ricordi)
  • Verdi: "Don Carlo" with Stella, Cossotto, Labo, Christoff, Vinco. Gabriele Santini
    Gabriele Santini
    Gabriele Santini was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory....

     (cond.) La Scala 1961 (DG)
  • Verdi: "Un ballo in maschera
    Un ballo in maschera
    Un ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The libretto is loosely based on an 1833 play, Gustave III, by French playwright Eugène Scribe who wrote about the historical assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden...

    " with Stella, Poggi, Lazzarini, Tavolaccini. Gianandrea Gavazzeni
    Gianandrea Gavazzeni
    Gianandrea Gavazzeni was an Italian pianist, conductor , composer and musicologist.Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Scala, Milan, in 1966-68 being its music and artistic director.He had his Metropolitan Opera debut on 11...

     (cond.) La Scala 1961 (DG)
  • Verdi: "Il Trovatore
    Il trovatore
    Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...

    " with Stella, Cossotto, Bergonzi and Vinco. Tullio Serafin
    Tullio Serafin
    -Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...

     (cond.) La Scala 1962 (DG)
  • Verdi: La traviata
    La traviata
    La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...

    with Renata Scotto
    Renata Scotto
    Renata Scotto is an Italian soprano and opera director.Recognized for her sense of style, musicality and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered one of the preeminent singers of her generation, specializing in the bel canto repertoire with excursions into the verismo and Verdi...

     and Gianni Raimondi
    Gianni Raimondi
    Gianni Raimondi was an Italian lyric tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Born in Bologna, Raimondi studied at the Music Conservatory of his native city with Antonio Melandri, and Gennaro Barra-Caracciolo and in Mantua with Ettore Campogalliani...

    . Antonino Votto (cond.), La Scala 1963. (DG)
  • G.Donizetti: Poliuto
    Poliuto
    Poliuto is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Pierre Corneille's play Polyeucte . It was composed in 1838 and first performed on 30 November 1848 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples...

    with Maria Callas
    Maria Callas
    Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...

    , Franco Corelli
    Franco Corelli
    Franco Corelli was a famous Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated universally for his powerhouse voice, electrifying top notes, clear timbre, a...

    . Antonino Votto
    Antonino Votto
    Antonino Votto was an Italian operatic conductor. Votto developed an extensive discography with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the 1950s, when EMI produced the bulk of its studio recordings featuring Maria Callas...

     (cond.) Live from Scala, 1960. (EMI)
  • Verdi: Don Carlo with Sena Jurinac
    Sena Jurinac
    Sena Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac Sena (Srebrenka) Jurinac ([juˈrinats] (24 October 192122 November 2011) was a Bosnian Croat/Austrian operatic soprano.Born in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, she studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and also with Milka Kostrenčić (whose other well-known...

    , Simionato, Eugenio Fernandi
    Eugenio Fernandi
    Eugenio Fernandi was an Italian tenor, particularly associated with lyric and spinto roles.Eugenio Fernandi was born in Pisa and raised in Turin, where he began his vocal studies with Aureliano Pertile. He later entered the opera school at La Scala in Milan and began appearing there in small roles...

    , Siepi. Herbert von Karajan
    Herbert von Karajan
    Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...

     (cond.) Live in Salzburg. 1958. (DG)
  • Verdi: Ernani
    Ernani
    Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...

    with Cerquetti, del Monaco, Boris Christoff
    Boris Christoff
    Boris Christoff was a Bulgarian opera singer...

    . Dimitri Mitropoulos (cond.) Live in Florence. 1957. (Bel Canto)


There is also a live album of his concert in Chicago with Tebaldi and Simionato, conducted by Sir Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...

and issued by Decca, as well as a Neapolitan song recital. When von Karajan recorded J. Strauss's "Die Fledermaus" for Decca, Bastianini was also invited to sing in the Gala scene. The song he chose, "Anything you can do, I can do better" from Berlin's musical "Annie Gets Your Gun", was the only non-Italian piece he ever recorded. His duet partner, Giulietta Simionato, had also learned her words phonetically.

External links

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