Carlo Bergonzi was born on July 13, 1924, and died on July 25, 2014. He was an Italian operatic tenor who performed and recorded roles from the bel canto and verismo styles. However, he was most known for singing operas by Giuseppe Verdi, including many of Verdi's less well-known operas that he helped bring back to the stage. During his career, he performed in more than forty other roles.

Biography

Bergonzi was born on July 13, 1924, in Polesine Parmense, a town near Parma in northern Italy. He was an only child. He later said he saw his first opera, Verdi's Il trovatore, when he was six years old. He sang in church, and soon began performing in children's opera roles in Busseto, a nearby town. After leaving school at age 11, he worked in a parmesan cheese factory. His father also worked there, and Bergonzi often got into trouble for singing.

At age 16, he began studying voice as a baritone at the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Parma with teachers Ettore Campogalliani and Edmondo Grandini.

During World War II, Bergonzi was involved in anti-Nazi activities and was held as a prisoner in a German camp in 1943. Two years later, he was freed by the Russians and walked 106 kilometers to reach an American camp. While traveling, he drank unboiled water and got sick with typhoid fever, which he recovered from within a year. After the war, he returned to the Arrigo Boito Conservatory in Parma, weighing just over 36 kilograms (80 pounds).

In a 1985 interview with Opera Fanatic’s Stefan Zucker, Bergonzi said his professional debut as a baritone was in 1948. He performed the role of Figaro in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville with a group formed by former prisoners after the war. It was noted that the 2,000 lire he earned for this performance was not enough to cover his meals or travel costs.

Other baritone roles he performed included Metifio in L’arlesiana, Doctor Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Enrico Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor, Ghirlino in Le astuzie di Bertoldo, Silvio in Pagliacci, David in L’amico Fritz, Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Albert in Werther, Marcello in La bohème, Sonora in La fanciulla del West, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Lescaut in Manon Lescaut, Laerte in Mignon, the title role in Rigoletto, and Georgio Germont in La traviata.

He later realized that the tenor repertoire was better suited to his voice. After retraining, he made his debut as a tenor in the title role of Andrea Chénier at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari in 1951. That same year, he performed at the Colosseum in Rome for a 50th anniversary concert of Verdi’s death. The Italian state radio network RAI hired Bergonzi to broadcast lesser-known Verdi operas, including I due Foscari, Giovanna d’Arco, and Simon Boccanegra.

In 1953, Bergonzi made his debut at La Scala, performing the title role in Jacopo Napoli’s opera Mas’ Aniello, which was based on the life of Tommaso Aniello, a 17th-century Italian fisherman who became a revolutionary. His London debut as Alvaro in La forza del destino was at the Stoll Theatre in 1953. His American debut was at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1955, and his Metropolitan Opera debut as Radamès in Aida was on November 13, 1956. He received praise from Howard Taubman of The New York Times. Bergonzi sang at the Met for 32 years, with his final performance there on November 12, 1988, as Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.

He performed the role of Radames again for his debut with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company in 1961 and reprised the role of Alvaro for his debut with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, in 1962. He made his debut with the San Francisco Opera in 1969 as Don Alvaro in La forza del destino.

Bergonzi had a busy international career in the 1960s. His main Italian tenor rivals during this time were Franco Corelli and Mario Del Monaco. Bergonzi outlasted both, continuing to perform at major opera houses through the 1970s. However, in the 1980s, as his voice changed with age, he focused on recital work. In 1996, he participated in conductor James Levine’s 25th anniversary gala at the Metropolitan Opera. He gave his American farewell concert at Carnegie Hall on April 17, 1996.

In 2000, Bergonzi was announced to perform the title role in a concert version of Verdi’s Otello, conducted by Eve Queler and the Opera Orchestra of New York. This event attracted much attention because he had never performed the role on stage before. The audience included notable singers such as Anna Moffo, Licia Albanese, Sherrill Milnes, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti. Bergonzi was unable to finish the performance, reportedly due to discomfort from the air conditioning in his dressing room. He left after two acts, and the remaining two were sung by Antonio Barasorda, a substitute singer. Critics widely considered this performance a failure.

After retiring, Bergonzi mentored many tenors, including Roberto Aronica, Giuliano Ciannella, Berle Sanford Rosenberg, Vincenzo La Scola, Filippo Lo Giudice, Philip Webb, Giorgio Casciari, Paul Caragiulo, Lance Clinker, Fernando del Valle, Salvatore Licitra, and Emmanuel Lawler. Soprano Frances Ginsberg was also one of his students.

Bergonzi left behind many recordings of arias and complete operas, including works by Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo. However, few recordings of his early baritone roles remain.

In The New York Times obituary, Peter G. Davis, who reviewed a 1978 Carnegie Hall recital by Bergonzi, noted:

Alan Blyth, in his Gramophone survey of Bergonzi’s greatest recordings, described the qualities of Bergonzi’s voice:

In 1950, Bergonzi married Adele Aimi, with whom he had two sons, Maurizio and Marco. Maurizio was born on the day Bergonzi made his tenor debut. Bergonzi owned

Videography

James Levine's special celebration event for the Metropolitan Opera, recorded in 1996 by Deutsche Grammophon, with catalog number B0004602-09.