Giovanni Battista Rubini
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Battista Rubini (April 7, 1794 - March 3, 1854) was an Italian tenor
, as famous in his time as Enrico Caruso in a later day. His ringing and expressive coloratura dexterity in the highest register of his voice, the tenorino, inspired the writing of operatic roles which today are almost impossible to cast. As a singer Rubini was the major early exponent of the Romantic style of Vincenzo Bellini
and Gaetano Donizetti
.
Rubini is remembered as an extraordinary bel canto
singer, one of the most famous singers in Europe in the 1830s and 40s. He also popularized the use of a pervasive vibrato as a means of heightening the emotional impact of his operatic performances (see Michael Scott's The Record of Singing
for a discussion of Rubini's influence on subsequent tenors).
Born in Romano di Lombardia
, Rubini began as a violin
ist at twelve years of age at the Teatro Riccardi in Bergamo
. His first appearance as singer was 1814 in Pavia
in Le lagrime d'una vedova by Pietro Generali
.
After ten years spent in Naples
, 1815-31, during which he also scored spectacular successes in France in the season of 1825/26, in Rossini operas, he moved permanently to Paris
, performing in Rossini's La Cenerentola
, Otello
, and La donna del lago
and dividing his time between Paris (autumn and winter) and London (spring).
His special relation with Vincenzo Bellini
began with Bianca e Gernando (1826) and continued until I puritani
(1835), when he was one of the long-remembered "Puritani quartet" for whose voices the opera was written. The three other members of the illustrious quartet were Giulia Grisi
, Antonio Tamburini
and Luigi Lablache
, The four appeared together again in Donizetti's Marino Faliero
during the same season, then travelled to London with the Irish composer Michael William Balfe
for a further round of operatic engagements.
Rubini was admitted as an honorary member of the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna and retired with a great fortune in 1845. He died in his hometown of Romano in 1854, and is buried in the cemetery there, within a large marble monument.
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...
, as famous in his time as Enrico Caruso in a later day. His ringing and expressive coloratura dexterity in the highest register of his voice, the tenorino, inspired the writing of operatic roles which today are almost impossible to cast. As a singer Rubini was the major early exponent of the Romantic style of Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
and Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
.
Rubini is remembered as an extraordinary bel canto
Bel canto
Bel canto , along with a number of similar constructions , is an Italian opera term...
singer, one of the most famous singers in Europe in the 1830s and 40s. He also popularized the use of a pervasive vibrato as a means of heightening the emotional impact of his operatic performances (see Michael Scott's The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing
The Record of Singing is a compilation of classical-music singing from the first half of the 20th century, the era of the 78-rpm record.It was issued on LP by EMI, successor to the British company His Master's Voice — perhaps the leading organization in the early history of audio recording.The...
for a discussion of Rubini's influence on subsequent tenors).
Career
Romano di Lombardia
Romano di Lombardia is a comune in the Province of Bergamo in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 45 km east of Milan and about 20 km southeast of Bergamo...
, Rubini began as a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist at twelve years of age at the Teatro Riccardi in Bergamo
Bergamo
Bergamo is a town and comune in Lombardy, Italy, about 40 km northeast of Milan. The comune is home to over 120,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent the metropolitan area of Milan...
. His first appearance as singer was 1814 in Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
in Le lagrime d'una vedova by Pietro Generali
Pietro Generali
Pietro Generali is a former basketball player from Italy, who won the silver medal with his national team at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.-References:...
.
After ten years spent in 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...
, 1815-31, during which he also scored spectacular successes in France in the season of 1825/26, in Rossini operas, he moved permanently to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, performing in Rossini's La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola
La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cinderella...
, 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....
, and La donna del lago
La donna del lago
La donna del lago is an opera by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on The Lady of the Lake, a poem by Sir Walter Scott.This opera was the first to be based on Scott's romantic works...
and dividing his time between Paris (autumn and winter) and London (spring).
His special relation with Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...
began with Bianca e Gernando (1826) and continued until I puritani
I puritani
I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...
(1835), when he was one of the long-remembered "Puritani quartet" for whose voices the opera was written. The three other members of the illustrious quartet were Giulia Grisi
Giulia Grisi
Giulia Grisi, also known as Madame De Candia was an Italian opera singer...
, Antonio Tamburini
Antonio Tamburini
Antonio Tamburini was an Italian operatic baritone.Born in Faenza, then part of the Papal States, Tamburini studied the orchestral horn with his father and voice with Aldobrando Rossi, before making his debut as a singer, aged 18, in La contessa di colle erbose . He went on to become one of the...
and Luigi Lablache
Luigi Lablache
Luigi Lablache was an Italian opera singer of French and Irish heritage. He was most noted for his comic performances, possessing a powerful and agile bass voice, a wide range, and adroit acting skills: Leporello in Don Giovanni was one of his signature roles.-Biography:Luigi Lablache was born in...
, The four appeared together again in Donizetti's Marino Faliero
Marino Faliero (opera)
Marino Faliero is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Giovanni Emanuele Bidéra wrote the Italian libretto, with revisions by Agostino Ruffini, after Casimir Delavigne's play...
during the same season, then travelled to London with the Irish composer Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe was an Irish composer, best-remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl.After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed 38 operas, almost 250 songs and other works...
for a further round of operatic engagements.
Rubini was admitted as an honorary member of the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna and retired with a great fortune in 1845. He died in his hometown of Romano in 1854, and is buried in the cemetery there, within a large marble monument.
Institutions
- Circolo Amici della Lirica G.B. Rubini (aegis of Comune, Romano di Lombardia, Bergamo) http://www.comune.romano.bg.it/index.php?pagina=pagine&id=127
- Fondazione G.B. Rubini (Romano di Lombardia, Bergamo) http://www.fondazionerubini.org/
- La Scuola Libera di Canto Lirico Giovan Battista Rubini (Brazil (linked to both the above)) http://www.operarubini.com/escola_en.php
External links
- (Baltimore Opera Company) La Sonnambula: James Harp, "Rubini, the tenor"
- Giovanni Battista Rubini: An Abridged Biography by Professore Tenor Hélio Gori, Escola Livre de Canto Lirico G. B. Rubini