Nicola Zerola
Encyclopedia
Nicola Zerola was an Italian opera
tic tenor
who had an active international career from 1898-1928. He began his career in his native country, but was soon heard in concerts and operas internationally during the first years of the 20th century. In 1908 he relocated to the United States where he was active with important opera companies in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia up into the late 1920s. In 1910 he recorded several selections from Verdi's Otello
for the Victor Talking Machine Company
. He also made 11 solo recordings and one duet for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company
in 1910-1911.
and made his professional opera debut in 1898 at the Teatro Rossetti in Trieste
as Tonio in in Ruggero Leoncavallo
's Pagliacci
. This was soon followed by performances at the Teatro Comunale Florence
and at other opera house
s in the Italian provinces. He made his debut as a tenor in 1903 in the role of Canio in Pagliacci. He soon after undertook performances in Belgium, Egypt, France, Spain, Holland, and South America. In November 1908 he had a great success at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
as Radamès to the Aida of Lucia Crestani.
In 1907 Zerola traveled with a small touring company to the United States where he was lauded by critics and audiences. This led to his appointment to New York City's Manhattan Opera Company
by Oscar Hammerstein I
in 1908. He made his debut with the company in January 1909 at the Manhattan Opera House under conductor Giuseppe Sturani
as Radames to the Aida of Mariette Mazarin and Amneris of Marguerite d'Alvarez
. He remained there until the company went bankrupt in 1910; singing such roles as Manrico in Verdi's Il trovatore
and the title role in Verdi's Otello
. He also sang with Hammerstein's Philadelphia Opera Company
in 1909-1910. He made his debut with that company as Canio in Pagliacci with Emma Trentini
as Nedda at the Philadelphia Opera House
on November 25, 1909.
On 21 November 1910 Zerola sang Radames again for his debut with the Chicago Grand Opera Company
with Jeanne Korolowicz as Aida. He actively performed with the company through May 1911 in performances in both Chicago and Philadelphia. His other roles with that company included Raoul de Nangis in Giacomo Meyerbeer
's Les Huguenots
, Manrico, and Otello. In January 1911 he opened the Baltimore Opera Company
's new season as Radames. In 1911-1912 he was committed to the Royal Opera House
in London where he performed the roles of Riccardo in Verdi's Un ballo in maschera
, Canio, Manrico, Otello, Radames, and Raoul de Nangis.
In 1920-1921 Zerola was heard at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City as Canio. and at the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
as Otello. He was also active with the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company
in the 1920s. In 1928 he sang the role of Prinzivalle in the New York premiere of Henry Février
's Monna Vanna
. He died in New York City in 1936.
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...
tic tenor
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 career from 1898-1928. He began his career in his native country, but was soon heard in concerts and operas internationally during the first years of the 20th century. In 1908 he relocated to the United States where he was active with important opera companies in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia up into the late 1920s. In 1910 he recorded several selections from 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....
for the Victor Talking Machine Company
Victor Talking Machine Company
The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
. He also made 11 solo recordings and one duet for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company
Gramophone Company
The Gramophone Company, based in the United Kingdom, was one of the early recording companies, and was the parent organization for the famous "His Master's Voice" label...
in 1910-1911.
Career
Born in Naples, Zerola began his career as a baritoneBaritone
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...
and made his professional opera debut in 1898 at the Teatro Rossetti in Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
as Tonio in in Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo
Ruggero Leoncavallo was an Italian opera composer. His two-act work Pagliacci remains one of the most popular works in the repertory, appearing as number 20 on the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.-Biography:...
's 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...
. This was soon followed by performances at the Teatro Comunale Florence
Teatro Comunale Florence
The Teatro Comunale di Firenze is an opera house in Florence, Italy. It was originally built as the open-air amphitheatre, the Politeama Fiorentino Vittorio Emanuele which was inaugurated on 17 May 1862 with a production of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and which seated 6,000 people...
and at other opera house
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s in the Italian provinces. He made his debut as a tenor in 1903 in the role of Canio in Pagliacci. He soon after undertook performances in Belgium, Egypt, France, Spain, Holland, and South America. In November 1908 he had a great success at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna
Teatro Comunale di Bologna
The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy, and is one of the most important opera venues in Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season....
as Radamès to the Aida of Lucia Crestani.
In 1907 Zerola traveled with a small touring company to the United States where he was lauded by critics and audiences. This led to his appointment to New York City's Manhattan Opera Company
Manhattan Opera Company
The Manhattan Opera Company was an opera company based in New York City. Active from 1906 until 1910, it was founded by Oscar Hammerstein I.The company began operations in 1906 at the Manhattan Opera House on 34th Street in New York City...
by Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
in 1908. He made his debut with the company in January 1909 at the Manhattan Opera House under conductor Giuseppe Sturani
Giuseppe Sturani
Giuseppe Sturani was an Italian conductor who was known for his work in the field of opera. Born in Ancona, Sturani worked as a conductor at La Fenice in Venice and the Teatro Regio in Turin before moving to the United States in 1908 to join the conducting staffs of two opera companies opperated...
as Radames to the Aida of Mariette Mazarin and Amneris of Marguerite d'Alvarez
Marguerite d'Alvarez
Marguerite d'Alvarez was an English contralto.Born in Liverpool, d'Alvarez studied in Brussels, and made her debut in Rouen, singing Delilah. She made her first American appearances with the Manhattan Opera in 1909 as Fidès in Giacomo Meyerbeer's Le prophète...
. He remained there until the company went bankrupt in 1910; singing such roles as Manrico 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...
and the title role in 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....
. He also sang with Hammerstein's Philadelphia Opera Company
Philadelphia Opera Company
The Philadelphia Opera Company was the name of two different American opera companies active during the twentieth century in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first company was founded by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I in 1908. That company disbanded only two years later as a result of financial...
in 1909-1910. He made his debut with that company as Canio in Pagliacci with Emma Trentini
Emma Trentini
Emma Trentini was an Italian soprano opera singer who came to the United States in December 1906.-Early life:She was from Mantova, Italy . Her parents were poor and could not afford to give her money to attain an operatic career. At the age of 12 she was welcomed into the church choir of Mantova...
as Nedda at the Philadelphia Opera House
Metropolitan Opera House (Philadelphia)
The Metropolitan Opera House is a historic opera house located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 858 North Broad Street. Built over the course of just a few months in 1908, it was the ninth opera house built by impresario Oscar Hammerstein I. It was initially the home of Hammerstein's Philadelphia...
on November 25, 1909.
On 21 November 1910 Zerola sang Radames again for his debut with the Chicago Grand Opera Company
Chicago Grand Opera Company
Two grand opera companies in Chicago have gone by the name Chicago Grand Opera CompanyThe first Chicago Grand Opera Company produced four seasons of opera in Chicago’s Auditorium Theater from the Fall of 1910 through November 1915. It was the first resident Chicago opera company...
with Jeanne Korolowicz as Aida. He actively performed with the company through May 1911 in performances in both Chicago and Philadelphia. His other roles with that company included Raoul de Nangis in Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer was a noted German opera composer, and the first great exponent of "grand opera." At his peak in the 1830s and 1840s, he was the most famous and successful composer of opera in Europe, yet he is rarely performed today.-Early years:He was born to a Jewish family in Tasdorf , near...
'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....
, Manrico, and Otello. In January 1911 he opened the Baltimore Opera Company
Baltimore Opera Company
The Baltimore Opera Company was an opera company in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., based at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House. On March 12, 2009, the 58-year-old opera company announced plans to pursue Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation....
's new season as Radames. In 1911-1912 he was committed to the Royal Opera House
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...
in London where he performed the roles of Riccardo in Verdi's 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...
, Canio, Manrico, Otello, Radames, and Raoul de Nangis.
In 1920-1921 Zerola was heard 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...
in New York City as Canio. and at the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
Philadelphia Grand Opera Company
The Philadelphia Grand Opera Company was the name of four different American opera companies active at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the twentieth century. The last and most well known of the four was founded in November 1954 with the merger of the Philadelphia Civic...
as Otello. He was also active with the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company
Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company
The Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company was an American opera company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that was actively performing at the Academy of Music between 1925 and 1954...
in the 1920s. In 1928 he sang the role of Prinzivalle in the New York premiere of Henry Février
Henry Février
Henry Février was a French composer.-Biography:Henry Février studied at the Paris Conservatoire where his teachers included Jules Massenet and Gabriel Fauré. He also took private lessons with André Messager...
's Monna Vanna
Monna Vanna (Février)
Monna Vanna is a drame lyrique or opera in four acts by composer Henry Février. The opera's French libretto is by playwright Maurice Maeterlinck and is based on his play of the same name. The opera premiered on 13 January 1909 at the Académie Nationale de Musique in Paris.- Roles :-External links:**...
. He died in New York City in 1936.