Gino Penno
Encyclopedia
Gino Penno was an Italian tenor
, who enjoyed a short but brilliant career in opera
in the 1950s.
Penno was born in Felizzano
, Italy, and studied with Ettore Campogaliano. After winning a singing competition, he entered the Scuola di Canto of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. While still a student, he sang a number of comprimario
roles, and appeared in his first leading role in 1950, Floreski in Cherubini's Lodoiska
.
In the early 1950s, he became known throughout Italy, as a highly competent heldentenor, singing Siegfried
at the Verona Arena
and Lohengrin
in Rome. He also partnered the new diva Maria Callas
in Norma
, Macbeth
, Il trovatore
, and Medea
, in various theatres in Italy.
In 1951, his career took an international turn. He appeared at the Paris Opéra
, the Liceo in Barcelona, the Monte Carlo Opera, the Metropolitan Opera
in New York, and the Royal Opera House
in London.
By the end of the 1950s he was gone from the international opera scene. The reason of his retirement is unknown, different sources adduce health problems, a loss of voice, or a wish for a career as a lawyer!
Penno died in Milan, on February 8, 1998, aged 77.
He can be heard on a few radio broadcasts from RAI
, notably Ernani
and Attila
, opposite Caterina Mancini
, and Macbeth, with Callas.
Penno lost his voice during a Trovatore at the Met in 1956. He was barely able to continue the performance. Though he appeared once more that season as a last minute replacement for Kurt Baum after the latter cancelled a Forza del destino following act two, it was the end of his American career and it would seem the end of his career on the major opera house circuit.
He seems to have continued in smaller opera houses in Italy for a few more seasons.
An important document of him at his best is an Italian language performance of Wagner's Lohengrin from Naples, broadcast on November 20, 1954. The cast includes Renata Tebaldi and is conducted by Gabriele Santini. It is currently on CD on the Hardy label. He was very highly thought of both for his musicianship and his reportedly enormous voice, of magnificent quality.
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...
, who enjoyed a short but brilliant career in 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...
in the 1950s.
Penno was born in Felizzano
Felizzano
Felizzano is a comune in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about 60 km southeast of Turin and about 15 km west of Alessandria...
, Italy, and studied with Ettore Campogaliano. After winning a singing competition, he entered the Scuola di Canto of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. While still a student, he sang a number of comprimario
Comprimario
A Comprimario is a supporting role in an opera. Derived from the Italian "con primario", or "with the primary", the term refers to a performer who sings small role pieces....
roles, and appeared in his first leading role in 1950, Floreski in Cherubini's Lodoiska
Lodoïska
Lodoïska is an opera by Luigi Cherubini to a French libretto by Claude-François Fillette-Loraux after an episode from Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai’s novel, Les amours du chevalier de Faublas. It takes the form of a comédie héroïque in three acts, and was a founding work of rescue opera...
.
In the early 1950s, he became known throughout Italy, as a highly competent heldentenor, singing Siegfried
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
at the Verona Arena
Verona Arena
The Verona Arena is a Roman amphitheatre in Piazza Bra in Verona, Italy, which is internationally famous for the large-scale opera performances given there. It is one of the best preserved ancient structures of its kind....
and Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
in Rome. He also partnered the new diva 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...
in Norma
Norma (opera)
Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet. First produced at La Scala on December 26, 1831, it is generally regarded as an example of the supreme height of the bel canto tradition...
, Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, 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 Medea
Médée (Cherubini)
Médée is a French language opéra-comique by Luigi Cherubini.The libretto by François-Benoît Hoffmann was based on Euripides' tragedy of Medea and Pierre Corneille's play Médée....
, in various theatres in Italy.
In 1951, his career took an international turn. He appeared at the Paris Opéra
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, , is an elegant 1,979-seat opera house, which was built from 1861 to 1875 for the Paris Opera. It was originally called the Salle des Capucines because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, but soon became known as the Palais Garnier...
, the Liceo in Barcelona, the Monte Carlo Opera, 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...
in New York, and 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...
in London.
By the end of the 1950s he was gone from the international opera scene. The reason of his retirement is unknown, different sources adduce health problems, a loss of voice, or a wish for a career as a lawyer!
Penno died in Milan, on February 8, 1998, aged 77.
He can be heard on a few radio broadcasts from 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...
, notably 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...
and Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
, opposite Caterina Mancini
Caterina Mancini
Caterina Mancini is an Italian dramatic coloratura soprano, primarily active in Italy in the 1950s.Mancini was born at Genzano di Roma. She made her debut in 1948, as Giselda in I Lombardi, in Florence...
, and Macbeth, with Callas.
Penno lost his voice during a Trovatore at the Met in 1956. He was barely able to continue the performance. Though he appeared once more that season as a last minute replacement for Kurt Baum after the latter cancelled a Forza del destino following act two, it was the end of his American career and it would seem the end of his career on the major opera house circuit.
He seems to have continued in smaller opera houses in Italy for a few more seasons.
An important document of him at his best is an Italian language performance of Wagner's Lohengrin from Naples, broadcast on November 20, 1954. The cast includes Renata Tebaldi and is conducted by Gabriele Santini. It is currently on CD on the Hardy label. He was very highly thought of both for his musicianship and his reportedly enormous voice, of magnificent quality.