Antonio Magini-Coletti
Encyclopedia
Antonio Magini-Coletti was a leading Italian baritone
who had a prolific career in Europe and the United States during the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. A versatile artist, he appeared in several opera
world premieres but was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi
, Richard Wagner
and the verismo
composers. He was also an accomplished exponent of the bel canto
repertoire.
on central Italy's east coast. Published details of his early life are scant but sources agree that he studied singing during the 1870s with the distinguished pedagogue Venceslao Persichini at Rome's Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. (Persichini's other students included the lyric tenor Francesco Marconi
and Magini-Coletti's fellow baritones Mattia Battistini
, Giuseppe De Luca
and Titta Ruffo
.)
In 1880, Magini-Colleti made his operatic debut at Rome's Teatro Costanzi, as Valentin in Gounod's Faust
. He continued to perform regularly at that opera house for the next seven years, in addition to making guest appearances in Venice
, Florence
, Naples
and other Italian cities. In 1887 he joined the roster at La Scala
, Milan, remaining there for three seasons and singing a variety of leading baritone roles. Most notably, he appeared as the character Frank in the world premiere of Puccini's second opera, Edgar
, in 1889. A year later, he performed his first Count Di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore
at La Scala. This part became an especial favourite of his, and he reprised it in numerous houses during the remainder of his career.
Between 1888 and 1891, Magini-Coletti sang to acclaim in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and France. He also crossed the Atlantic for a series of operatic engagements in Argentina, receiving further plaudits. In 1891 he joined the stellar roster of singers at the New York Metropolitan Opera
, participating to begin with in a two-month North American tour. His first performance with the Met touring company occurred on November 9, in Chicago, as Telramund in Wagner's Lohengrin
. His other roles on the 1891 tour included Hoël in Meyerbeer's Dinorah
, Count de Nevers in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots
and Amonasro in Verdi's Aida
(opposite soprano Lilli Lehmann
and tenor Jean de Reszke
), not to mention the title part in Mozart's Don Giovanni
.
On December 14, 1891, Magini-Coletti made a successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera's headquarters in New York City, singing Capulet in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
. He performed numerous roles at that house over the next 12 months, including Count Di Luna, Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana
, Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio
, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen
and Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, among others.
Magini-Coletti left America in 1892. He proceeded to pursue a busy schedule of operatic performances in Italy and other European countries, venturing as far afield as Russia and becoming a frequent guest artist at both the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
in Monaco and the Royal Opera
, Covent Garden
, in London. In 1900, he rejoined the La Scala company, performing numerous roles there for three seasons. Most notably, he appeared in the premiere of Mascagni's Le maschere
in 1901.
Also in 1901, he sang at La Scala in a memorial concert held to mark the recent death of Verdi, partnering the heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno
in a scene from La forza del destino
. The following year, he participated in La Scala's first ever production of Weber
's Euryanthe
. Magini-Colleti sang often under the baton of Arturo Toscanini
, La Scala's principal conductor, during this period. Toscanini was an ardent advocate of Wagner's music and he conducted Magini-Coletti in performances of Tristan und Isolde
, Die Walküre
and Lohengrin. These landmark Wagnerian productions often featured Magini-Coletti's La Scala colleague Giuseppe Borgatti
—Italy's best heldentenor.
Other significant operas in which Magini-Coletti appeared during the course of his 30-year European and American career were Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
, L'elisir d'amore
, La Favorita, Poliuto
and Lucrezia Borgia
, Verdi's Otello
, Falstaff
, Rigoletto
, La forza del destino
, Un ballo in maschera
, Luisa Miller
and La traviata
, Puccini's La bohème
, Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust and Delibes
' Lakmé
.
He died in Rome, aged 57.
label (in 1902/1903) and for Fonotipia Records
(1905–1910). He recorded, too, for the Columbia Graphophone Company
. Twenty-two of his Fonotipia recordings have been reissued on CD by Preiser (catalogue number 89518). They show that he possessed a big, vibrant, dark-hued voice of outstanding quality. His breath control was exemplary and he could execute florid music by Rossini or Donizetti with flair and agility due to the thorough technical grounding that he had acquired from Persichini. His Verdi singing also impresses but, oddly enough, he did not record anything from his Wagnerian repertoire.
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...
who had a prolific career in Europe and the United States during the late 19th century and the early part of the 20th century. A versatile artist, he appeared in several 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...
world premieres but was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
, Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and the verismo
Verismo
Verismo was an Italian literary movement which peaked between approximately 1875 and the early 1900s....
composers. He was also an accomplished exponent of the bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
repertoire.
Biography
Magini-Coletti was born in 1855 in the medieval town of Iesi (written Jesi in Italian), which is situated inland from AnconaAncona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
on central Italy's east coast. Published details of his early life are scant but sources agree that he studied singing during the 1870s with the distinguished pedagogue Venceslao Persichini at Rome's Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia. (Persichini's other students included the lyric tenor Francesco Marconi
Francesco Marconi
Francesco Marconi was an operatic tenor from Rome who enjoyed an important international career. In 1924, a reputable biographical dictionary of musicians called him 'one of the most renowned and esteemed singers of the last 50 years'...
and Magini-Coletti's fellow baritones Mattia Battistini
Mattia Battistini
Mattia Battistini was an Italian operatic baritone. He became internationally famous due to the beauty of his voice and the virtuosity of his singing technique, and he earned the sobriquet "King of Baritones".-Early life:...
, Giuseppe De Luca
Giuseppe de Luca
Giuseppe De Luca , was a famous Italian baritone who achieved his greatest triumphs at the New York Metropolitan Opera...
and Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo
Titta Ruffo , born as Ruffo Titta Cafiero, was an Italian opera star who had a major international singing career. Known as the "Voce del leone" , he was greatly admired, even by rival baritones, such as Giuseppe De Luca, who said of Ruffo: "His was not a voice, it was a miracle" Titta Ruffo (9...
.)
In 1880, Magini-Colleti made his operatic debut at Rome's Teatro Costanzi, as Valentin in Gounod'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...
. He continued to perform regularly at that opera house for the next seven years, in addition to making guest appearances in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, 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....
, Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
and other Italian cities. In 1887 he joined the roster at 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...
, Milan, remaining there for three seasons and singing a variety of leading baritone roles. Most notably, he appeared as the character Frank in the world premiere of Puccini's second opera, Edgar
Edgar (opera)
Edgar is an operatic dramma lirico in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Ferdinando Fontana, freely based on the play in verse La Coupe et les lèvres by Alfred de Musset...
, in 1889. A year later, he performed his first Count Di Luna in Verdi's 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...
at La Scala. This part became an especial favourite of his, and he reprised it in numerous houses during the remainder of his career.
Between 1888 and 1891, Magini-Coletti sang to acclaim in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria and France. He also crossed the Atlantic for a series of operatic engagements in Argentina, receiving further plaudits. In 1891 he joined the stellar roster of singers at the New York 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...
, participating to begin with in a two-month North American tour. His first performance with the Met touring company occurred on November 9, in Chicago, as Telramund in Wagner's 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...
. His other roles on the 1891 tour included Hoël in Meyerbeer's Dinorah
Dinorah
Dinorah, originally Le pardon de Ploërmel , is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré...
, Count de Nevers in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
and Amonasro in Verdi's Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
(opposite soprano Lilli Lehmann
Lilli Lehmann
Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch was a German operatic soprano of phenomenal versatility...
and tenor Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke
Jean de Reszke, born Jan Mieczyslaw, , was a Polish tenor. Renowned internationally for the high quality of his singing and the elegance of his bearing, he became the biggest male opera star of the late 19th century....
), not to mention the title part in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
.
On December 14, 1891, Magini-Coletti made a successful debut at the Metropolitan Opera's headquarters in New York City, singing Capulet in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
. He performed numerous roles at that house over the next 12 months, including Count Di Luna, Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana
Cavalleria rusticana is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from a play written by Giovanni Verga based on his short story. Considered one of the classic verismo operas, it premiered on May 17, 1890 at the Teatro...
, Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
, Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
and Figaro in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, among others.
Magini-Coletti left America in 1892. He proceeded to pursue a busy schedule of operatic performances in Italy and other European countries, venturing as far afield as Russia and becoming a frequent guest artist at both the Opéra de Monte-Carlo
Opéra de Monte-Carlo
The Opéra de Monte-Carlo is an opera house located in the principality of Monaco.With the lack of cultural diversions available in Monaco in the 1870s, Prince Charles III, along with the Société des Bains de Mer, decided on the construction of an opera house. Initially, it was Charles III's...
in Monaco and the Royal Opera
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...
, Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, in London. In 1900, he rejoined the La Scala company, performing numerous roles there for three seasons. Most notably, he appeared in the premiere of Mascagni's Le maschere
Le maschere
Le maschere is an opera in a Prologue and three acts by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica.The work was Mascagni's homage to Rossini and to the Italian opera buffa and commedia dell'arte traditions...
in 1901.
Also in 1901, he sang at La Scala in a memorial concert held to mark the recent death of Verdi, partnering the heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno
Francesco Tamagno was an operatic tenor from Italy who sang with enormous success throughout Europe and America. On 5 February 1887, he cemented his place in musical history by creating the role of Otello in Giuseppe Verdi's masterpiece of the same name...
in a scene from La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
. The following year, he participated in La Scala's first ever production of Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
's Euryanthe
Euryanthe
Euryanthe is a German "grand, heroic, romantic" opera by Carl Maria von Weber, first performed at the Theater am Kärntnertor, Vienna on 25 October 1823...
. Magini-Colleti sang often under the baton of 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...
, La Scala's principal conductor, during this period. Toscanini was an ardent advocate of Wagner's music and he conducted Magini-Coletti in performances of Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
, Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
and Lohengrin. These landmark Wagnerian productions often featured Magini-Coletti's La Scala colleague Giuseppe Borgatti
Giuseppe Borgatti
Giuseppe Borgatti was an Italian dramatic tenor with an outstanding voice...
—Italy's best heldentenor.
Other significant operas in which Magini-Coletti appeared during the course of his 30-year European and American career were Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
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....
, L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore is an opera by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. It is a melodramma giocoso in two acts...
, La Favorita, Poliuto
Poliuto
Poliuto is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Pierre Corneille's play Polyeucte . It was composed in 1838 and first performed on 30 November 1848 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples...
and Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia [luˈkrɛtsia ˈbɔrʤa] was the illegitimate daughter of Rodrigo Borgia, the powerful Renaissance Valencian who later became Pope Alexander VI, and Vannozza dei Cattanei. Her brothers included Cesare Borgia, Giovanni Borgia, and Gioffre Borgia...
, Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Rigoletto
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...
, La forza del destino
La forza del destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro o la fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
, 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...
, Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller
Luisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
and La traviata
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...
, Puccini's 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...
, Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust and Delibes
Delibes
Delibes may refer to:People with surname Delibes:* Léo Delibes , French composer* Miguel Delibes , Spanish novelist...
' Lakmé
Lakmé
Lakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
.
He died in Rome, aged 57.
Recordings
Magini-Coletti is one of the earliest Italian-born singers whose voice can still be heard. He made numerous 78-rpm discs of operatic arias, duets and ensembles in Milan for the ZonophoneZonophone
Zonophone, early on also rendered as Zon-O-Phone was a record label founded in 1899 in Camden, New Jersey by Frank Seaman. The Zonophone name was not that of the company, but was applied to the records and machines sold by Seaman from 1899-1900 to 1903...
label (in 1902/1903) and for Fonotipia Records
Fonotipia Records
Fonotipia Records, or Dischi Fonotipia, was an Italian gramophone record label established in 1904 with a charter to record the art of leading opera singers and some other celebrity musicians, chiefly violinists. Fonotipia continued to operate into the electrical recording era, which commenced in...
(1905–1910). He recorded, too, for the Columbia Graphophone Company
Columbia Graphophone Company
The Columbia Graphophone Company was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Under EMI, as Columbia Records, it became a very successful label in the 1950s and 1960s...
. Twenty-two of his Fonotipia recordings have been reissued on CD by Preiser (catalogue number 89518). They show that he possessed a big, vibrant, dark-hued voice of outstanding quality. His breath control was exemplary and he could execute florid music by Rossini or Donizetti with flair and agility due to the thorough technical grounding that he had acquired from Persichini. His Verdi singing also impresses but, oddly enough, he did not record anything from his Wagnerian repertoire.