Bernardo de Muro
Encyclopedia
Bernardo De Muro was an international operatic tenor
from Sardinia
.
, Sardinia to Antonio Maria and Jeanne-Marie Demuro. His father was a small landowner. Bernardo’s formal education ceased at primary school. Initially, he was vocally self-taught, and began singing in a café of Tempio. Moving to Rome
, he participated in a competition for admission to the Conservatory of St. Cecilia in 1903. He studied under A. Sbriscia and A. Marconi. His operatic debut was on May 12, 1910 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, performing in Cavalleria rusticana
by Mascagni
. In this performance his reviews were highly flattering. In the next few years he performed in Madama Butterfly
, L'Africaine
, Carmen
, and further performances of Cavalleria rusticana. Although, he was a star at La Scala
for a long time, he was largely unknown to American audiences until he began to tour there.
His continued career carried him to such places as the Solis in Montevideo
, Uruguay
in 1916, the Dal Verme
in Milan (performing Mefistofele
), the Hippodrome
, St. Petersburg, Florida
in 1927, and The Dell Ofrecie Grand Opera Company of New York (performing Aida
)
Andrea Chénier
Carmen
La fanciulla del West
Isabeau
Otello
Il trovatore
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...
from Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
.
Biography
Bernardino De Muro was born on November 3, 1881 in Tempio PausaniaTempio Pausania
Tempio Pausania is a town c. 14,000 inhabitants in the Gallura region of northern Sardinia, Italy, the administrative capital of the province of Olbia-Tempio.- History :...
, Sardinia to Antonio Maria and Jeanne-Marie Demuro. His father was a small landowner. Bernardo’s formal education ceased at primary school. Initially, he was vocally self-taught, and began singing in a café of Tempio. Moving to 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...
, he participated in a competition for admission to the Conservatory of St. Cecilia in 1903. He studied under A. Sbriscia and A. Marconi. His operatic debut was on May 12, 1910 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, performing 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...
by Mascagni
Pietro Mascagni
Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni was an Italian composer most noted for his operas. His 1890 masterpiece Cavalleria rusticana caused one of the greatest sensations in opera history and single-handedly ushered in the Verismo movement in Italian dramatic music...
. In this performance his reviews were highly flattering. In the next few years he performed 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...
, L'Africaine
L'Africaine
L'africaine is a grand opera, the last work of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. The French libretto was written by Eugène Scribe. The opera is about fictitious events in the life of the real historical person Vasco da Gama...
, 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 further performances of Cavalleria rusticana. Although, he was a star 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...
for a long time, he was largely unknown to American audiences until he began to tour there.
His continued career carried him to such places as the Solis in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Uruguay
Uruguay
Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
in 1916, the Dal Verme
Teatro Dal Verme
The Teatro Dal Verme is a theatre in Milan, Italy located on the Via San Giovanni sul Muro, on the site of the former private theatre the Politeama Ciniselli. It was designed by Giuseppe Pestagalli to a commission from Count Francesco Dal Verme, and was used primarily for plays and opera...
in Milan (performing Mefistofele
Mefistofele
Mefistofele is an opera in a prologue, four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito.-Composition history:...
), the Hippodrome
New York Hippodrome
The Hippodrome Theatre, also called the New York Hippodrome, was a theatre in New York City from 1905 to 1939, located on Sixth Avenue between 43rd and 44th Streets in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan. It was called the world's largest theatre by its builders and had a seating capacity of...
, St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
in 1927, and The Dell Ofrecie Grand Opera Company of New York (performing 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...
)
Later Years
By 1935 Mr. De Muro was forced to cancel performances due to ill health. He became a successful businessman with a large cork factory in Milan. He died in 1955. Recognized as Tempio’s most famous son, his body was brought back to the place of his birth, and he was buried under a pyramid of his own design.Singing Style
His singing was reported to be resonant and clear with a robust tone, but pinched in the head-notes.Partial discography
AidaAida
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...
- Pur ti riveggo (His Master’s Voice DA171; Victor 949) - recorded May 22, 1922
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier
Andrea Chénier is a verismo opera in four acts by the composer Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. It is based loosely on the life of the French poet, André Chénier , who was executed during the French Revolution....
- Si fui soldato (His Master’s Voice DB 553; Victor 6387) - recorded March 1, 1912
- Un di all'azzurro spazio "Improvviso" (His Master’s Voice DB 553; Victor 74376; Victor 6380) - recorded March 1, 1912
Carmen
- Ho nome Escamillo (with Roberto Janni) (His Master’s Voice DB 554; Victor 6385) - recorded March 30, 1914
- Il fior che avevi a me tu dato (His Master’s Voice DB 549) - recorded March 13, 1912
- Il fior che avevi a me tu dato (His Master’s Voice 2-052173; Victor 6385) - recorded May 19, 1917
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West
La fanciulla del West is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910...
- Ch'ella mi creda libero (His Master’s Voice DA171; Victor 949) - recorded May 17, 1920
- Sono Ramerrez (His Master’s Voice DB 372; Victor 6422) - recorded November 4, 1921
Isabeau
Isabeau
Isabeau is a leggenda drammatica or opera in three parts by Pietro Mascagni, 1911, from an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica. Mascagni conducted its first performance on June 2, 1911 at the Teatro Coliseo, Buenos Aires....
- Dormivi? Sognavo (with Valentina BartolomasiValentina BartolomasiValentina Bartolomasi was an Italian soprano who had a major opera career from 1910 through 1927. Particularly successful in the dramatic soprano repertoire, she was Italy's leading Wagnerian soprano of her day...
) (His Master’s Voice DB 556; Victor 6387) - recorded March 8, 1912 - E passerà la viva creatura (Victor 6379) - recorded March 7, 1912
- Fu vile l'editto (His Master’s Voice DB 558; Victor 6387) - recorded March 7, 1912
- I tuoi occhi (with Valentina BartolomasiValentina BartolomasiValentina Bartolomasi was an Italian soprano who had a major opera career from 1910 through 1927. Particularly successful in the dramatic soprano repertoire, she was Italy's leading Wagnerian soprano of her day...
) (His Master’s Voice DB 556) - recorded March 8, 1912 - Tu ch'odio lo mio grido (La canzone del falco) (His Master’s Voice DB 557; Victor 6379) - recorded March 7, 1912
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....
- Dio! mi potevi scagliar (Victor 6386) - recorded March 30, 1914
- Esultate! L'orgoglie musulmano sepulto (His Master’s Voice DB 559)
- Niun mi tema (La morte di Otello) (His Master’s Voice DB 560; Victor 6386) - recorded March 30, 1914
- Ora e per pempre addio sante memorie (His Master’s Voice DB 559)
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...
- Deserto sulla terra (with Ernesto BadiniErnesto BadiniErnesto Badini was an Italian opera singer that sang in the baritone range . He was trained at Milan Conservatory and made his debut as Figaro in San Colombano al Lambro...
) (Victor 6410) - E deggio, e posso (with Ernesto BadiniErnesto BadiniErnesto Badini was an Italian opera singer that sang in the baritone range . He was trained at Milan Conservatory and made his debut as Figaro in San Colombano al Lambro...
) (Victor 6410) - Miserer... Quel suon, quelle preci... Ah, che la morte ognora (with Maria Roggero) (His Master’s Voice DB 644; Victor 6412) - recorded April 28, 1917