Sergio Franchi
Encyclopedia
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...
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Franchi was born in Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, 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...
. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously. The family moved to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study music. He later returned to Italy to study with Rossi Masetti 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 ,...
.
He toured extensively in Europe, and, in 1962, he undertook an American tour. In 1972, he became an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
citizen. Franchi made his New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Broadway mark by being chosen by Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
and Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
to take the part of Renato De Rossi opposite Elizabeth Allen
Elizabeth Allen
Elizabeth Allen, Eliza Allen, Liz Allen or Beth Allen may refer to:*Eliza Allen Houston , first wife of Tennessee governor Sam Houston*Eliza Allen Starr , American artist known for her Catholic art...
as Leona Samish, in the Rodgers/Sondheim musical Do I Hear a Waltz?
Do I Hear a Waltz?
Do I Hear a Waltz? is a musical with a book by Arthur Laurents, music by Richard Rodgers, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. It was adapted from Laurents' 1952 play The Time of the Cuckoo, which was the basis for the 1955 film Summertime starring Katharine Hepburn.-Background:Laurents originally...
The show was not well received at first but managed to run 200 performances beginning March 18, 1965. The title song has become popular in the repertoire.
In 1965, Sergio recorded a Christmas album Heart Of Christmas (Cuor' Di Natale) which contains the songs Buon Natale (Christmastime in Rome) and Heart of Christmas(Cuor' Di Natale).
After his death from brain cancer in Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington, Connecticut
The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...
at the age of 64, a foundation was formed in his name to give out scholarships to talented singing students of limited means.
His sister is singer Dana Valery.