Antonio Magini-Coletti

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Antonio Magini-Coletti (1855 - 21 July 1912) was an Italian operatic baritone who had a prolific career in Europe and the United States during the latter part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. He appeared in several world premieres and was particularly associated with the works of Giuseppe Verdi and the verismo repertoire. He also performed Wagner and was a first-rate Donizetti singer with a fluent technique.^[1]

[edit] Biography

Magini-Coletti was born at Iesi near Ancona, Italy, in 1855. He studied singing in Rome with the famous teacher Venceslao Persichini before making his professional opera debut in 1880 at the Teatro Costanzi as Valentin in Gounod's Faust.^[2] He continued to perform regularly at that opera house for the next seven years in addition to making appearances in Venice, Florence, Naples, and other cities throughout Italy. In 1887 he joined the roster at La Scala, Milan, where he sang numerous roles over the next three years. He most notably appeared as Frank in the world premiere of Puccini's Edgar (1889) and performed his first Count Di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore (1890), a role that he became particularly associated with and reprised in numerous houses.^[1]

Between 1888-1891, Magini-Coletti sang roles in several houses in Germany, Austria and France. In November 1891 he joined the Metropolitan Opera, working as a part of the company's two month long North American tour. His first performance with the company was in Chicago on November 9, 1891 as Telramund in Wagner's Lohengrin.^[1] His other roles on the tour included Hoël in Meyerbeer's Dinorah, Count de Nevers in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots, Amonasro in Verdi's Aida (opposite Lilli Lehmann and Jean de Reszke), and the title role in Mozart's Don Giovanni. On December 14, 1891 Magini-Coletti made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as Capulet in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. He sang numerous roles at that house over the next year including Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Count Di Luna, Don Pizarro in Fidelio, Escamillo in Carmen, and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia among others.^[2]

Magini-Coletti returned to Italy in 1892 and continued to perform in operas throughout Italy and Europe until his death in 1912. He became a frequent guest artist at both the Opéra de Monte-Carlo and the Royal Opera at Covent Garden during the 1890s and the first decade of the 20th century.^[1] In 1900 Magini-Coletti once again joined the roster at La Scala, where he performed numerous roles for three more years. He notably sang in the premiere of Mascagni's Le maschere (1901) and La Scala's first production of Weber's Euryanthe (1902).^[2]

He died in Rome, aged 57.

[edit] Recordings

Magini-Coletti was one of the earliest Italian singers to be commercially recorded. He made discs of operatic arias, duets and ensembles for the Zonophone company (Milan, 1902-03) and for Fonotipia Records (Milan, 1905-1910), as well as for the Columbia Graphophone Company. A number of his Fonotipia recordings have been reissued on CD, most notably on the Preiser label. They confirm his high reputation, revealing that he possessed a large, vibrant, dark-hued and flexible voice which was underpinned by a solid technical foundation. These attributes enabled him to undertake a wide spectrum of operatic music, ranging from the bel canto repertoire through works by Verdi and Wagner to the verismo staples of Mascagni, Leoncavallo and Puccini.^[1]

[edit] References