Giangiacomo Guelfi
Encyclopedia
Giangiacomo Guelfi is an operatic baritone
, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini. Born in Rome, he studied law before turning to vocal studies, in Florence, with the great baritone Titta Ruffo
. (He is not to be confused with Carlo Guelfi, a younger baritone, also born in Rome.)
Giangiacomo made his stage debut in Spoleto, as Rigoletto
in 1950. He made his debut in 1952 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, also appearing in Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, and becoming a regular guest at the Arena di Verona. Outside Italy he appeared in Berlin, Lisbon, London, Cairo. He made his American debut in 1954 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
, and at the Metropolitan Opera
of New York in 1970, he also appeared in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. He took part in the creation of contemporary works notably Lazzaro in Pizzetti's La figlia di Jorio, Naples, 1954. However he was mostly known for his Verdi portrayals in opera such as; Nabucco
, I due Foscari
, Attila
, Macbeth
, Il trovatore
, I vespri siciliani, La forza del destino
, Aida
, etc. He was also appreciated in verismo
operas such as; Cavalleria rusticana
, Andrea Chénier
, Tosca
, La fanciulla del West
, etc.
Guelfi had a large, powerful and exciting voice and was an extrovert performer but was able to adapt these attributes to more classical works such as Guglielmo Tell, Lucia di Lammermoor
, La favorite
, L'Africaine
, and Spontini's Agnes von Hohenstaufen.
He can be heard as Rance in "La fanciulla del West" in the recording with Tebaldi conducted by Arturo Basile.
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...
, particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini. Born in Rome, he studied law before turning to vocal studies, in Florence, with the great baritone 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...
. (He is not to be confused with Carlo Guelfi, a younger baritone, also born in Rome.)
Giangiacomo made his stage debut in Spoleto, as 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...
in 1950. He made his debut in 1952 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, also appearing in Venice, Milan, Florence, Rome, Naples, Palermo, Catania, and becoming a regular guest at the Arena di Verona. Outside Italy he appeared in Berlin, Lisbon, London, Cairo. He made his American debut in 1954 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago
Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicolà Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma...
, and at the 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...
of New York in 1970, he also appeared in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. He took part in the creation of contemporary works notably Lazzaro in Pizzetti's La figlia di Jorio, Naples, 1954. However he was mostly known for his Verdi portrayals in opera such as; Nabucco
Nabucco
Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the Biblical story and the 1836 play by Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornue...
, I due Foscari
I due Foscari
I due Foscari is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on a historical play, The Two Foscari by Lord Byron....
, Attila
Attila (opera)
Attila is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the play Attila, König der Hunnen by Friedrich Ludwig Zacharias Werner. Initially, Verdi had enlisted Francesco Maria Piave to prepare the libretto, after Verdi's own scenario...
, Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, 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...
, I vespri siciliani, 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...
, 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...
, etc. He was also appreciated in verismo
Verismo
Verismo was an Italian literary movement which peaked between approximately 1875 and the early 1900s....
operas such as; 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...
, 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....
, 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...
, 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...
, etc.
Guelfi had a large, powerful and exciting voice and was an extrovert performer but was able to adapt these attributes to more classical works such as Guglielmo Tell, 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....
, La favorite
La favorite
La favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...
, 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...
, and Spontini's Agnes von Hohenstaufen.
He can be heard as Rance in "La fanciulla del West" in the recording with Tebaldi conducted by Arturo Basile.
Sources
- Le guide de l'opéra, les indispensables de la musique, R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986), ISBN 2-213-01563-6