Francesco Graziani (baritone)
Encyclopedia
Francesco Graziani was an Italian baritone
and voice teacher. Graziani has been called the first modern baritone because his vocal attributes were well suited to the high-lying operatic parts composed by Giuseppe Verdi
, with whom he worked.
, Italy. His older brother, Lodovico Graziani
(1820–1885), was a dramatic tenor.
He studied with Cellini and made his debut In Italy in 1851 at Ascoli Piceno
in Donizetti's Gemma di Vergy
. The next season he sang in Macerata
, performing Francesco in Verdi's I masnadieri
.
Graziani also appeared at the Salle Ventadour
with the Théâtre-Italien from 1853 to 1861, where he particularly excelled in the operas of Verdi, creating for Paris the role of Count di Luna in Il trovatore
and also singing Germont in La traviata
, the title role in Rigoletto
, and Renato in Un ballo in maschera
.
In the summer of 1854, he performed with Max Maretzek
's Italian opera company at Castle Garden in New York City.
He appeared at the Royal Opera House
, Covent Garden
from 1855 to 1880. His debut was on April 26 as Carlos in Verdi's Ernani
, followed by Count di Luna in Verdi's Il Trovatore on May 10, Riccardo in Bellini's I puritani
on May 17, Alfonso in Donizetti's La favorita on May 24, and Iago in Rossini's Otello
on August 7. He performed the role of Nelusco in the 1865 London premiere of Giacomo Meyerbeer
's L'Africaine
. Among the other roles he sang in London were the title role in Rigoletto, Renato in Un ballo in maschera, and Posa in Don Carlo (all by Verdi). His last performance at the house was as Germont in La traviata with Adelina Patti
on July 17 in the final performance of the 1880 season.
At St Petersburg, on 10 November 1862, he had cemented a spot in operatic history by creating the role of Don Carlos in the first performance of Verdi's La forza del destino
.
The range of Graziani's voice extended up to A4 and it was much praised by contemporary critics for its smoothness, beauty and ease of production, but his histrionic skills were said to be of a less compelling standard.
Graziani later moved to Berlin where he became a voice teacher. Among his pupils was the American soprano Geraldine Farrar
.
He died on June 30, 1901 at his birthplace, Fermo
, in Italy.
During his career, Graziani had faced strong competition on stage from a number of other outstanding Italian baritones. Probably the greatest of his immediate rivals was Roman-born Antonio Cotogni
, whose voice was of similar quality and range to Graziani's.
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...
and voice teacher. Graziani has been called the first modern baritone because his vocal attributes were well suited to the high-lying operatic parts composed by Giuseppe 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...
, with whom he worked.
Early life and career
Graziani was born in 1828 in FermoFermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....
, Italy. His older brother, Lodovico Graziani
Lodovico Graziani
Lodovico Graziani was an Italian operatic tenor. According to John Warrack and Ewan West, writing in The Oxford Dictionary of Opera: "His voice was clear and vibrant, but he lacked dramatic gifts." He is now mainly remembered for having created the role of Alfredo Germont in the world premiere of...
(1820–1885), was a dramatic tenor.
He studied with Cellini and made his debut In Italy in 1851 at Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is c. 51,400.-Geography:...
in Donizetti's Gemma di Vergy
Gemma di Vergy
Gemma de Vergy is a tragedia lirica or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Emanuele Bidéra. It is based on the tragedy Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux by Alexandre Dumas père, which was later to become the subject of the opera The Saracen by the Russian composer...
. The next season he sang in Macerata
Macerata
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...
, performing Francesco in Verdi's I masnadieri
I masnadieri
I masnadieri is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, based on Die Räuber by Friedrich von Schiller....
.
Graziani also appeared at the Salle Ventadour
Salle Ventadour
The Salle Ventadour, a former Parisian theatre in the rue Neuve-Ventadour, now the rue Méhul , was built between 1826 and 1829 for the Opéra-Comique, to designs by Jacques-Marie Huvé, a prominent architect...
with the Théâtre-Italien from 1853 to 1861, where he particularly excelled in the operas of Verdi, creating for Paris the role of 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...
and also singing Germont in 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...
, 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...
, and 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...
.
In the summer of 1854, he performed with Max Maretzek
Max Maretzek
Max Maretzek was a Moravian-born composer, conductor, and impresario active in the United States and Latin America.-European career:...
's Italian opera company at Castle Garden in New York City.
He appeared at the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, 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...
from 1855 to 1880. His debut was on April 26 as Carlos in 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...
, followed by Count di Luna in Verdi's Il Trovatore on May 10, Riccardo in Bellini'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...
on May 17, Alfonso in Donizetti's La favorita on May 24, and Iago in Rossini's Otello
Otello (Rossini)
Otello is an opera in three acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi, based on Shakespeare's play Othello....
on August 7. He performed the role of Nelusco in the 1865 London premiere of Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
's L'Africaine
L'Africaine
L'africaine is a grand opera, the last work of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French libretto was written by Eugène Scribe. The opera is about fictitious events in the life of the real historical person Vasco da Gama...
. Among the other roles he sang in London were the title role in Rigoletto, Renato in Un ballo in maschera, and Posa in Don Carlo (all by Verdi). His last performance at the house was as Germont in La traviata with Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti
Adelina Patti was a highly acclaimed 19th-century opera singer, earning huge fees at the height of her career in the music capitals of Europe and America. She first sang in public as a child in 1851 and gave her last performance before an audience in 1914...
on July 17 in the final performance of the 1880 season.
At St Petersburg, on 10 November 1862, he had cemented a spot in operatic history by creating the role of Don Carlos in the first performance of Verdi's 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...
.
The range of Graziani's voice extended up to A4 and it was much praised by contemporary critics for its smoothness, beauty and ease of production, but his histrionic skills were said to be of a less compelling standard.
Graziani later moved to Berlin where he became a voice teacher. Among his pupils was the American soprano Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar
Geraldine Farrar was an American soprano opera singer and film actress, noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following among young women, who were nicknamed "Gerry-flappers".- Early life and opera career :Farrar was born in Melrose,...
.
He died on June 30, 1901 at his birthplace, Fermo
Fermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....
, in Italy.
During his career, Graziani had faced strong competition on stage from a number of other outstanding Italian baritones. Probably the greatest of his immediate rivals was Roman-born Antonio Cotogni
Antonio Cotogni
Antonio Cotogni was an Italian baritone of the first magnitude. Regarded internationally as being one of the greatest male opera singers of the 19th century, he was particularly admired by the composer Giuseppe Verdi...
, whose voice was of similar quality and range to Graziani's.
Graziani brothers
Francesco Graziani had three brothers who also sang professionally:- Giuseppe Graziani (born Fermo, August 28, 1819; died Porto San GiorgioPorto San GiorgioPorto San Giorgio is a comune in the Province of Fermo, in the Marche region of Italy. It has approximately 16,200 inhabitants and it is located on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.-History:...
, March 6, 1905) was a bass. He studied with Saverio MercadanteSaverio MercadanteGiuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
in NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and performed primarily in concerts. - Lodovico GrazianiLodovico GrazianiLodovico Graziani was an Italian operatic tenor. According to John Warrack and Ewan West, writing in The Oxford Dictionary of Opera: "His voice was clear and vibrant, but he lacked dramatic gifts." He is now mainly remembered for having created the role of Alfredo Germont in the world premiere of...
(born Fermo, November 14, 1820; died Fermo, May 15, 1885) became a well-known tenor. He created the role of Alfredo in Verdi's La traviataLa traviataLa 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...
at La FeniceLa FeniceTeatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
. - Vincenzo Graziani (born Fermo, February 16, 1836; died Fermo, November 2, 1906) became a baritone. His debut in 1862 was as Belcore in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amoreL'elisir d'amoreL'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
. He gave up his career early, after an illness caused him to become partially deaf.
Sources
- Kuhn, Laura, editor (2000). Baker's Dictionary of Opera. New York: Schirmer. ISBN 9780028653495.
- Rosenthal, Harold (1958). Two Centuries of Opera at Covent Garden. London: Putnam. .
- Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. ISBN 9781561592289.
- Sadie, Stanley, editor; John Tyrell; executive editor (2001). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. ISBN 9781561592395 (hardcover). (eBook).