Arrigo Pola
Encyclopedia
Arrigo Pola was an Italian tenor
who had an active international performance career during the 1940s through the 1960s. He then embarked on a second career as a celebrated voice teacher in both Italy and Japan. Among his notable pupils were tenors Luciano Pavarotti
, Giuliano Bernardi
, and Vincenzo La Scola
and bass
Michele Pertusi. He also served as the Artistic Director of the Fujiwara Opera
from 1957 to 1965.
, Pola was the nephew of baritone Toffanetti Ubaldo. He spent most of his youth living in Modena. In 1937 he entered the Orazio Vecchi Conservatory in Modena where he initially studied to be a trumpet
er. While there his fine singing voice was discovered and he was persuaded to switch to vocal studies under Mercedes Aicardi. In 1940, he won, together with the young bass Cesare Siepi
and the mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri
, Italy's national opera singing contest. Shortly after the competetition win, he was drafted into the Italian Army
where he served for three years during World War II. He spent much of his time during the war stationed in Gdańsk
in German-occupied Poland
. Fortunately, a large portion of his duties were musical ones, and he was able to spend much of his service time playing trumpet and singing in a military band.
as Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini
's Tosca
opposite Sara Scuderi
in the title role. He returned to that house soon after as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
with Mafalda Favero
in the title role, as Alfredo in La traviata
with Margherita Carosio
as Violetta, and as the Duke of Mantua in Giuseppe Verdi
's Rigoletto
with Tito Gobbi
as the title hero.
Pola's career developed rapidly over the next several years, including engagements at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
, La Fenice
, and the Teatro di San Carlo
. In 1945 and 1946 he appeared in productions at La Monnaie
in Brussels where he was particularly admired as Le Chevalier des Grieux in Jules Massenet
's Manon
. He made his debut at La Scala
in 1947 in the title role of Charles Gounod
's Faust
with Renata Tebaldi
as Marguerite, Cesare Siepi as Mephistopheles, and Antonino Votto
conducting. Other notable appearances that Pola made in the late 1940s included the role of Donello in Ottorino Respighi
's La fiamma
at both the Liceu
in Barcelona and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Maurizio in Francesco Cilea
's Adriana Lecouvreur
at the Teatro Francesco Cilea in Reggio Calabria
with Maria Caniglia
in the title role, and appearances at numerous opera houses as Enzo Grimaldi in Amilcare Ponchielli
's La Gioconda
.
's Violetta at the Teatro Regio in Parma
. Unfortunately Callas and her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini took a disliking to Pola which had a negative impact on his career in Italy. In the Summer of 1951 he sang Enzo Grimaldi at the Baths of Caracalla
for a gala performance for the Italian government and the official state guest, the President of the Philippines. Pola was invited the next day to an audience with the Filipino President where he was offered a position as the principal tenor at the Manila Opera and a place on the voice faculty at the Manila Conservatory. Given the troubles that Callas was causing for him in Italy, Pola and his wife decided to accept the offer and the family spent the next three years in the Philippines. Among the roles Pola sang with the Manila Opera were Canio in Pagliacci
, Manrico in Il trovatore
, Rodolfo in La bohème
, and Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana
among others.
In 1954 Pola returned to Italy with the hopes of reviving his opera career in Italy; an attempt which never gained much momentum. That year he was approached by a baker named Fernando Pavarotti who wanted to know whether the tenor voice of his 19-year-old son, Luciano, was good enough for training as a professional opera singer. Pola later reported that he knew after an approximately 15-minute audition that he was standing against a super talent. He decided spontaneously to help the boy and his family, who didn't have much money, by giving Luciano daily voice lessons free of charge. For the next three years, Luciano studied with Pola almost every day. Pavarotti later stated, "Were it not for my dear teacher Arrigo Pola, I would not be what I am today."
In 1957 Pola was offered a position on the voice faculty at the Tokyo University of the Arts and the post of Artistic Director of the Fujiwara Opera
with the condition that he mastered the Japanese language. He accepted the offer and moved to Japan after securing Pavarotti's further training with Ettore Campogalliani
. Pavarotti continued to be mentored by Pola through visits to Tokyo while studying with Campogalliani. Pola eventually became the Dean of the Department of European Voice at Tokyo University. He also continued to perform in operas and concerts in Japan and China. He notably portrayed Pinkerton in the first black and white film version of Madama Butterfly which was produced by NHK
.
In 1965 returned to Italy. He spent the rest of his life working as a voice teacher in Cagliari, Verona, Bologna, and Modena. Some of his other notable pupils included Peter Butterfield
, Andrea Coronella, Nikolay Dorozhkin, Thiérry Félix, Rudy Giovannini, Reinaldo Macias, David Mannell, Michiè Nakamaru, Jacek Pazola, Luana Pellegrineschi, and Manrico Tedeschi. He died in Modena at the age of 80.
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 had an active international performance career during the 1940s through the 1960s. He then embarked on a second career as a celebrated voice teacher in both Italy and Japan. Among his notable pupils were tenors Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
, Giuliano Bernardi
Giuliano Bernardi
Giuliano Bernardi was an Italian operatic baritone and tenor.-Biography:Bernardi graduated in singing at the Conservatorio Statale di Musica "G. Rossini" in Pesaro. Next he studied with the retired baritone Antonio Gelli...
, and Vincenzo La Scola
Vincenzo La Scola
Vincenzo La Scola was an Italian tenor who had a successful international opera career and theatrical career for more than 25 years. He was particularly admired for his portrayals in operas by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Vincenzo Bellini...
and bass
Bass (voice type)
A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C...
Michele Pertusi. He also served as the Artistic Director of the Fujiwara Opera
Fujiwara Opera
The is an opera company located in Tokyo, Japan and is notably that nation's first and oldest professional opera company. It was founded in 1934 by operatic tenor Yoshie Fujiwara...
from 1957 to 1965.
Early life and education
Born in Finale EmiliaFinale Emilia
Finale Emilia is a comune in the Province of Modena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 35 km north of Bologna and about 35 km northeast of Modena...
, Pola was the nephew of baritone Toffanetti Ubaldo. He spent most of his youth living in Modena. In 1937 he entered the Orazio Vecchi Conservatory in Modena where he initially studied to be a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
er. While there his fine singing voice was discovered and he was persuaded to switch to vocal studies under Mercedes Aicardi. In 1940, he won, together with the young bass Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi
Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural...
and the mezzo-soprano Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri
Fedora Barbieri was an Italian mezzo-soprano.Barbieri was born in Trieste. She made her official debut in Florence in 1940, but retired in 1943 because of her marriage. She re-emerged in 1945. She was one of the first performers to investigate and perform in early operas by Monteverdi and Pergolesi...
, Italy's national opera singing contest. Shortly after the competetition win, he was drafted into the Italian Army
Italian Army
The Italian Army is the ground defence force of the Italian Armed Forces. It is all-volunteer force of active-duty personnel, numbering 108,355 in 2010. Its best-known combat vehicles are the Dardo infantry fighting vehicle, the Centauro tank destroyer and the Ariete tank, and among its aircraft...
where he served for three years during World War II. He spent much of his time during the war stationed in Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
in German-occupied Poland
Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany
At the beginning of World War II, nearly a quarter of the pre-war Polish areas were annexed by Nazi Germany and placed directly under German civil administration, while the rest of Nazi occupied Poland was named as General Government...
. Fortunately, a large portion of his duties were musical ones, and he was able to spend much of his service time playing trumpet and singing in a military band.
Early career in Italy
After his military service ended in 1943, Pola continued his opera studies with Bertazzoni Barbieri and Leone Magiera. He made his professional opera debut in June 1945 at the Teatro Comunale ModenaTeatro Comunale Modena
The Teatro Comunale di Modena is an opera house in the town of Modena, , Italy...
as Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
'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...
opposite Sara Scuderi
Sara Scuderi
Sara Scuderi was an Italian opera singer. She sang widely in Italy and Europe , having had a seven-year contract at La Scala, "where she received high praise for her intepretations of the most well-known operas" .-Biography:Born in Catania, Sicily, Sara Scuderi made her debut at the Teatro Lirico...
in the title role. He returned to that house soon after as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
with Mafalda Favero
Mafalda Favero
Mafalda Favero was an Italian operatic soprano.Mafalda Favero was born in Portomaggiore, near Ferrara. When she was 17, she started studying with Alessandro Vezzani at the Conservatory in Bologna and attracted the notice of Franco Alfano...
in the title role, as Alfredo in 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...
with Margherita Carosio
Margherita Carosio
Margherita Carosio was an Italian operatic soprano. She was one of the most remarkable light lyric sopranos of her generation. Her warm, expressive and expertly produced voice is preserved in many Parlophone and Ultraphon recordings made before World War II, as well as a memorable series made for...
as Violetta, and as the Duke of Mantua in 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...
's 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...
with Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi
Tito Gobbi was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation.-Biography:Tito Gobbi was born in Bassano del Grappa and studied law at the University of Padua before he trained as a singer. Giulio Crimi, a well-known Italian tenor of a previous generation, was Gobbi's teacher in Rome...
as the title hero.
Pola's career developed rapidly over the next several years, including engagements at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
The Teatro dell'Opera di Roma is an opera house in Rome, Italy. Originally opened in November 1880 as the 2,212 seat Costanzi Theatre, it has undergone several changes of name as well modifications and improvements...
, La Fenice
La Fenice
Teatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
, and the Teatro di San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
. In 1945 and 1946 he appeared in productions at La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels where he was particularly admired as Le Chevalier des Grieux in Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Manon
Manon
Manon is an opéra comique in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille, based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost...
. He made his debut 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...
in 1947 in the title role of Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
'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...
with Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi
Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period...
as Marguerite, Cesare Siepi as Mephistopheles, and Antonino Votto
Antonino Votto
Antonino Votto was an Italian operatic conductor. Votto developed an extensive discography with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the 1950s, when EMI produced the bulk of its studio recordings featuring Maria Callas...
conducting. Other notable appearances that Pola made in the late 1940s included the role of Donello in Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi
Ottorino Respighi was an Italian composer, musicologist and conductor. He is best known for his orchestral "Roman trilogy": Fountains of Rome ; Pines of Rome ; and Roman Festivals...
's La fiamma
La fiamma
La fiamma is an opera in three acts by Ottorino Respighi to a libretto by Claudio Guastalla based on Hans Wiers-Jenssen's 1908 play Anne Pedersdotter, The Witch. The plot is loosely based on the story of Anne Pedersdotter, a Norwegian woman who was accused of witchcraft and burnt at the stake in...
at both the Liceu
Liceu
The Gran Teatre del Liceu , or simply Liceu in Catalan and Liceo in Spanish, is an opera house on La Rambla in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain...
in Barcelona and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Maurizio in Francesco Cilea
Francesco Cilea
Francesco Cilea was an Italian composer. Today he is particularly known for his operas L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur.-Biography:...
's Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur
Adriana Lecouvreur is an opera in four acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Arturo Colautti, based on the play by Eugène Scribe and Ernest Legouvé...
at the Teatro Francesco Cilea in Reggio Calabria
Reggio Calabria
Reggio di Calabria , commonly known as Reggio Calabria or Reggio, is the biggest city and the most populated comune of Calabria, southern Italy, and is the capital of the Province of Reggio Calabria and seat of the Council of Calabrian government.Reggio is located on the "toe" of the Italian...
with Maria Caniglia
Maria Caniglia
Maria Caniglia was one of the leading Italian dramatic sopranos of the 1930s and 1940s.- Life and career :...
in the title role, and appearances at numerous opera houses as Enzo Grimaldi in Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli
Amilcare Ponchielli was an Italian composer, largely of operas.-Biography:Born in Paderno Fasolaro, now Paderno Ponchielli, near Cremona, Ponchielli won a scholarship at the age of nine to study music at the Milan Conservatory, writing his first symphony by the time he was ten years old.Two years...
's La Gioconda
La Gioconda (opera)
La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli set to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835...
.
Career in Asia and work as a voice teacher
In the Spring of 1951 Pola sang Alfredo to Maria CallasMaria 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...
's Violetta at the Teatro Regio in Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
. Unfortunately Callas and her husband Giovanni Battista Meneghini took a disliking to Pola which had a negative impact on his career in Italy. In the Summer of 1951 he sang Enzo Grimaldi at the Baths of Caracalla
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy were Roman public baths, or thermae, built in Rome between AD 212 and 216, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla.- History :...
for a gala performance for the Italian government and the official state guest, the President of the Philippines. Pola was invited the next day to an audience with the Filipino President where he was offered a position as the principal tenor at the Manila Opera and a place on the voice faculty at the Manila Conservatory. Given the troubles that Callas was causing for him in Italy, Pola and his wife decided to accept the offer and the family spent the next three years in the Philippines. Among the roles Pola sang with the Manila Opera were Canio in Pagliacci
Pagliacci
Pagliacci , sometimes incorrectly rendered with a definite article as I Pagliacci, is an opera consisting of a prologue and two acts written and composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo. It recounts the tragedy of a jealous husband in a commedia dell'arte troupe...
, Manrico 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...
, Rodolfo in 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...
, and Turiddu in 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...
among others.
In 1954 Pola returned to Italy with the hopes of reviving his opera career in Italy; an attempt which never gained much momentum. That year he was approached by a baker named Fernando Pavarotti who wanted to know whether the tenor voice of his 19-year-old son, Luciano, was good enough for training as a professional opera singer. Pola later reported that he knew after an approximately 15-minute audition that he was standing against a super talent. He decided spontaneously to help the boy and his family, who didn't have much money, by giving Luciano daily voice lessons free of charge. For the next three years, Luciano studied with Pola almost every day. Pavarotti later stated, "Were it not for my dear teacher Arrigo Pola, I would not be what I am today."
In 1957 Pola was offered a position on the voice faculty at the Tokyo University of the Arts and the post of Artistic Director of the Fujiwara Opera
Fujiwara Opera
The is an opera company located in Tokyo, Japan and is notably that nation's first and oldest professional opera company. It was founded in 1934 by operatic tenor Yoshie Fujiwara...
with the condition that he mastered the Japanese language. He accepted the offer and moved to Japan after securing Pavarotti's further training with Ettore Campogalliani
Ettore Campogalliani
Ettore Campogalliani was an Italian composer, musician and teacher.Campogalliani studied piano in 1921, graduating from the Conservatory of Bologna. He then studied composition at the Conservatory of Parma in 1933...
. Pavarotti continued to be mentored by Pola through visits to Tokyo while studying with Campogalliani. Pola eventually became the Dean of the Department of European Voice at Tokyo University. He also continued to perform in operas and concerts in Japan and China. He notably portrayed Pinkerton in the first black and white film version of Madama Butterfly which was produced by NHK
NHK
NHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
.
In 1965 returned to Italy. He spent the rest of his life working as a voice teacher in Cagliari, Verona, Bologna, and Modena. Some of his other notable pupils included Peter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield
Peter Butterfield is a Canadian conductor and classical tenor. In 2003 he founded the VancouverVoices and since 2009 he has been the director of the Victoria Philharmonic Choir. As a singer he has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America; working primarily as a concert singer since the...
, Andrea Coronella, Nikolay Dorozhkin, Thiérry Félix, Rudy Giovannini, Reinaldo Macias, David Mannell, Michiè Nakamaru, Jacek Pazola, Luana Pellegrineschi, and Manrico Tedeschi. He died in Modena at the age of 80.