Giacinto Prandelli
Encyclopedia
Giacinto Prandelli was an Italian operatic tenor
, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoires.
, Italy, Prandelli sang as a boy in a church choir. He studied in Rome with Fornarini, and in Brescia with Grandini, and made his stage debut at the Teatro Donizetti
in Bergamo
, as Rodolfo
, in 1942.
He made his debut at the Rome Opera in 1943, as Alfredo
, he then appeared in Bologna, Genoa, Florence, Cagliari, Palermo, Catania, and made his debut in Milan
, at the Teatro Lirico, as Rinuccio
, in 1944. He sang the solo tenor part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, under Arturo Toscanini
in 1946.
In the early 1950s, he began an international career, appearing in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Lisbon, Buenos Aires. He made his Metropolitan Opera
debut in 1951, his San Francisco Opera
debut in 1954, and his Lyric Opera of Chicago
in 1956.
He excelled in Italian and French lyric roles, such as; Edgardo
, Duca di Mantua
, Alfredo
, Enzo
, Rodolfo
, Pinkerton
, Cavaradossi
, des Grieux
, Werther
, Gounod's and Boito's Faust
, etc. He also sang in many contemporary works by Alfano
, Wolf-Ferrari
, Menotti, Respighi
.
Prandelli's final stage appearance was in 1976 as Paolo in Francesca da Rimini
at the Teatro Grande in Brescia. He can be heard in a number of recordings, notobly; La bohème
, Fedora, Adriana Lecouvreur
, Francesca da Rimini
. He appeared in a television (RAI
) production of Manon Lescaut
, opposite Clara Petrella
in 1956.
The Italian music company Azzali Editori, Via Massimo D'Azeglio 76/A, 43100 Parma has published in 2003 a comprehensive, 303-pages life of Prandelli: "GIACINTO PRANDELLI, Del Recitar Cantando...", by Cornelia Pelletta. The text is in Italian, with 40 pages of photographs, and an inserted digital remastered CD, Giacinto Prandelli singing 18 songs from "L'Elisir d'Amore, Rigoletto, Luisa Miller, Lohengrin, Werther, Manon, La Gioconda, La Boheme, Adriana Lecouvreur, Fedora, Francesca da Rimini, Manon Lescaut, and Tosca." The book was launched at Milan's La Scala in the presence of Prandelli himself six years before his death in 2010.
Tenor
The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
, particularly associated with the Italian and French repertoires.
Life and career
Born in LumezzaneLumezzane
Lumezzane is a town and comune in the province of Brescia, in Lombardy. It has a population of 24,304 inhabitants and is the second-largest town in the province of Brescia. It is situated in the Gobbia Valley, which is a small Valley next to the Trompia Valley.It is important because of its...
, Italy, Prandelli sang as a boy in a church choir. He studied in Rome with Fornarini, and in Brescia with Grandini, and made his stage debut at the Teatro Donizetti
Teatro Donizetti
The Teatro Donizetti is an opera house in Bergamo, Italy. Built in the 1780s using a design by architect Giovanni Francesco Lucchini, the theatre was originally referred to as either the Teatro Nuovo or Teatro di Fiera. The first opera to be mounted at the theatre, Giuseppe Sarti's Medonte, re di...
in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
, as Rodolfo
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...
, in 1942.
He made his debut at the Rome Opera in 1943, as Alfredo
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...
, he then appeared in Bologna, Genoa, Florence, Cagliari, Palermo, Catania, and made his debut in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, at the Teatro Lirico, as Rinuccio
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
, in 1944. He sang the solo tenor part in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, under Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini
Arturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th century, he was renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
in 1946.
In the early 1950s, he began an international career, appearing in Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Lisbon, Buenos Aires. 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 in 1951, his San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco Opera is an American opera company, based in San Francisco, California.It was founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola and is the second largest opera company in North America...
debut in 1954, and his 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...
in 1956.
He excelled in Italian and French lyric roles, such as; Edgardo
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....
, Duca di Mantua
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...
, Alfredo
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...
, Enzo
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...
, Rodolfo
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...
, Pinkerton
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...
, Cavaradossi
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...
, des Grieux
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
, Werther
Werther
Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, Gounod's and Boito's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, etc. He also sang in many contemporary works by Alfano
Franco Alfano
Franco Alfano was an Italian composer and pianist. Best known today for his opera Risurrezione and above all for having completed Puccini's opera Turandot in 1926. He had considerable success with several of his own works during his lifetime.- Biography :He was born in Posillipo, Naples...
, Wolf-Ferrari
Wolf-Ferrari
Wolf-Ferrari:* Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, born: Ermanno Wolf , an Italian composer and teacher** List of operas by Wolf-Ferrari* Manno Wolf-Ferrari , an Italian conductor, and a nephew of Ermanno- See also :...
, Menotti, Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
.
Prandelli's final stage appearance was in 1976 as Paolo in Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.-Arranged marriage:...
at the Teatro Grande in Brescia. He can be heard in a number of recordings, notobly; 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...
, Fedora, 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...
, Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini
Francesca da Rimini or Francesca da Polenta was the daughter of Guido da Polenta, lord of Ravenna. She was a historical contemporary of Dante Alighieri, who portrayed her as a character in the Divine Comedy.-Arranged marriage:...
. He appeared in a television (RAI
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...
) production of Manon Lescaut
Manon Lescaut (Puccini)
Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
, opposite Clara Petrella
Clara Petrella
Clara Petrella was an Italian operatic soprano, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, an outstanding singing-actress nicknamed the "Duse of Singers"....
in 1956.
The Italian music company Azzali Editori, Via Massimo D'Azeglio 76/A, 43100 Parma has published in 2003 a comprehensive, 303-pages life of Prandelli: "GIACINTO PRANDELLI, Del Recitar Cantando...", by Cornelia Pelletta. The text is in Italian, with 40 pages of photographs, and an inserted digital remastered CD, Giacinto Prandelli singing 18 songs from "L'Elisir d'Amore, Rigoletto, Luisa Miller, Lohengrin, Werther, Manon, La Gioconda, La Boheme, Adriana Lecouvreur, Fedora, Francesca da Rimini, Manon Lescaut, and Tosca." The book was launched at Milan's La Scala in the presence of Prandelli himself six years before his death in 2010.