Leone Giraldoni
Encyclopedia
Leone Giraldoni was a celebrated Italian opera
tic baritone
. He created the title roles of Gaetano Donizetti
's Il duca d'Alba
(1882) and Verdi's Simon Boccanegra
(1857) as well as the role of Renato in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
(1859).
Giraldoni studied in Florence
with Luigi Ronzi and made his début as the High Priest in Pacini
's Saffò
(Lodi, 1847). He made his La Scala
début as Il Conte di Luna in Il trovatore
in 1850 and during his long career sang throughout Europe with considerable success. His final performance was in Filippo Marchetti
's Don Giovanni d'Austria at Rome
's Teatro Costanzi in 1885. After his retirement he taught voice and singing, first in Milan, and from 1891 at the Moscow Conservatory
.
Contemporary accounts describe his voice as warm, smooth and evenly produced. He also was considered to be an effective actor, with a noble and dignified stage presence and beautiful phrasing, qualities which made him one of Verdi's favourite baritones.
Indeed, Giraldoni belonged to a distinguished generation of baritones able to perform the then demanding new works of Verdi, as well as the existing bel canto
operatic repertoire, with exemplary style and technical skill. (The finest of Giraldoni's Italian contemporaries were probably Francesco Graziani
, Antonio Cotogni
, Francesco Pandolfini and Adriano Pantaleoni.)
Giraldoni was married to the well-known soprano and violinist Carolina Ferni
. Their son, Eugenio Giraldoni
(1870-1924), became a leading baritone like his father. In Rome in 1900, Eugenio created the role of Baron Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca
.
It is worth noting that Leone Giraldoni was the author of two works on singing:
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...
tic 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...
. He created the title roles of Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
's Il duca d'Alba
Le duc d'Albe
Le duc d'Albe or Il duca d'Alba is an opera in three acts originally composed by Gaetano Donizetti in 1839 to a French language libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier...
(1882) and Verdi's Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra
Simon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
(1857) as well as the role of Renato in Verdi's 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...
(1859).
Giraldoni studied in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
with Luigi Ronzi and made his début as the High Priest in Pacini
Giovanni Pacini
Giovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas...
's Saffò
Saffò
Saffò is an opera in three acts by Giovanni Pacini on a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on a play by Franz Grillparzer, after the legend of the ancient Greek poetess Sappho.-Performance history:...
(Lodi, 1847). He 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...
début as Il Conte 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...
in 1850 and during his long career sang throughout Europe with considerable success. His final performance was in Filippo Marchetti
Filippo Marchetti
Filippo Marchetti was an Italian opera composer. After studying in Naples, his first opera was "successfully premiered" in Turin in 1856...
's Don Giovanni d'Austria at Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
's Teatro Costanzi in 1885. After his retirement he taught voice and singing, first in Milan, and from 1891 at the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
.
Contemporary accounts describe his voice as warm, smooth and evenly produced. He also was considered to be an effective actor, with a noble and dignified stage presence and beautiful phrasing, qualities which made him one of Verdi's favourite baritones.
Indeed, Giraldoni belonged to a distinguished generation of baritones able to perform the then demanding new works of Verdi, as well as the existing bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
operatic repertoire, with exemplary style and technical skill. (The finest of Giraldoni's Italian contemporaries were probably Francesco Graziani
Francesco Graziani (baritone)
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.-Early life and career:Graziani was born in 1828 in Fermo,...
, 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...
, Francesco Pandolfini and Adriano Pantaleoni.)
Giraldoni was married to the well-known soprano and violinist Carolina Ferni
Carolina Ferni
Carolina Ferni was an Italian violinist and operatic soprano.She began her career as a violinist in Paris and Brussels, and later studied voice with famed soprano Giuditta Pasta...
. Their son, Eugenio Giraldoni
Eugenio Giraldoni
Eugenio Giraldoni was an Italian operatic baritone who enjoyed a substantial international career. In 1900, he created the role of Baron Scarpia....
(1870-1924), became a leading baritone like his father. In Rome in 1900, Eugenio created the role of Baron Scarpia in Puccini's 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...
.
It is worth noting that Leone Giraldoni was the author of two works on singing:
- Guida teorico-pratica ad uso dell'artista-cantante, Bologna, 1864 (with a revised and expanded edition published in 1884)
- Compendium, Metodo analitico, filosofico e fisiologico per la educazione della voce, Milan, Ricordi, 1889.