Cesare Siepi (born
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
, February 10, 1923) is an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
opera singer, generally considered to be one of the finest
bassesA bass is a type of classical male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second F below middle C to the E above middle C . Its tessitura, or...
of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and his great elegance of phrasing made him a natural
Don GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered in the Estates Theatre in Prague on October 29, 1787...
, among his many other roles.
Born in
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
, he began singing as a member of a
madrigalA madrigal is a type of secular vocal music composition, written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Throughout most of its history it was polyphonic and unaccompanied by instruments, with the number of voices varying from two to eight, but most frequently three to six...
group.
Cesare Siepi (born
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
, February 10, 1923) is an
ItalianItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
opera singer, generally considered to be one of the finest
bassesA bass is a type of classical male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second F below middle C to the E above middle C . Its tessitura, or...
of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and his great elegance of phrasing made him a natural
Don GiovanniDon Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered in the Estates Theatre in Prague on October 29, 1787...
, among his many other roles.
Early career
Born in
MilanMilan in Italy, is the capital of the region of Lombardia and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while the urban area is the fifth largest in the E.U. with an estimated population of 4.3 million...
, he began singing as a member of a
madrigalA madrigal is a type of secular vocal music composition, written during the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Throughout most of its history it was polyphonic and unaccompanied by instruments, with the number of voices varying from two to eight, but most frequently three to six...
group. He often claimed to be largely self-taught, having attended the music conservatory in his home city for just a short time. His operatic career was interrupted by World War II. After his debut in 1941 (in Schio, near Venice, as Sparafucile in
RigolettoRigoletto 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...
), Siepi, an opponent of the fascist regime, fled to Switzerland.
After the end of the war his career immediately took off. Success as Zaccaria in
NabuccoNabucco 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...
at
La FeniceTeatro La Fenice is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of the most famous theatres in Europe, the site of many famous operatic premieres. Its name reflects its role in permitting an opera company to "rise from the ashes" despite losing the use of two theatres...
in Venice was followed by the first of many engagements at
La ScalaLa 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 Theatre of La Scala La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally...
, Milan. His early engagements there were in the
VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
bass roles, the title role in
BoitoArrigo Boito , aka Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito, pseudonym Tobia Gorrio, was an Italian poet, journalist, novelist and composer, best known today for his opera libretti and his own opera, Mefistofele.-Biography:...
's
Mefistofele under
Arturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, he was renowned for his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, as Colline in
La bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. The world première performance of La bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio and conducted by the young Arturo...
, and in
La GiocondaLa Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835....
,
La favoriteLa favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, based on the play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud...
, and
I puritaniI puritani is an opera in three acts, by Vincenzo Bellini. It is his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine. It was first produced at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, January 24, 1835...
.
International success
His international reputation was established in 1950, when Sir Rudolf Bing brought him to the
Metropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music director is James Levine....
in New York to open the 1950 season as King Philip II in
Don CarlosDon Carlos is a five-act Grand Opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
. He was to remain principal bass at the Met until 1974, adding roles such as
Boris GodunovBoris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from 1584 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605...
(in English) and Gurnemanz in
ParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail....
(in German), and singing all the major roles of the bass repertoire.
His also gave his debut at the
Royal Opera HouseThe Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in the London district of Covent Garden. 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...
,
Covent GardenCovent Garden is a district in London, England, located in the easternmost parts of the City of Westminster and the southwestern corner of the London Borough of Camden...
, in 1950, and appeared there regularly until the mid 1970s.
In 1953 Siepi debuted at the
Salzburg FestivalThe Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
with a legendary
Don Giovanni conducted by
Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer, widely considered one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.-Biography :...
, staged by
Herbert GrafHerbert Graf was an Austrian-American opera producer. Born in Vienna in 1903, he was the son of Max Graf , the Austrian author, critic, musicologist and member of Freud's circle...
, and designed by
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
n architect
Clemens HolzmeisterClemens Holzmeister was a prominent Austrian architect and stage designer of the early twentieth century. The Austrian Academy of Fine Arts listed his life's work as containing 673 projects. He is the father of Judith Holzmeister.Holzmeister was born in the village of Fulpmes in the Tyrol state of...
. He made an immediate impact at the Salzburg Festival in the title role of
Don Giovanni which became perhaps his best known role, as it had been for the most famous Italian bass of the generation before,
Ezio PinzaEzio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. He also sang to great acclaim at La Scala, Milan, and at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden...
. This performance has been released on CD, and a 1954 mounting of this production was filmed in color and released in 1955.
Siepi was a frequent guest at the
Vienna State OperaThe Vienna State Opera is an opera house — and opera company — with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera ; in 1920, it was renamed the Vienna State Opera...
. In 43 performances he sang Don Giovanni, more often than any other singer in modern times except for
Eberhard WaechterEberhard Wächter was an Austrian baritone, particularly celebrated for his performances in the operas of Mozart, Richard Wagner, and Richard Strauss...
. In 1967 Siepi was Don Giovanni in a controversial production staged by
Otto SchenkOtto Schenk is an actor, theatre director and production designer. He is most famous in the United States for his lavish, realist, traditionalist productions at the Metropolitan Opera...
and designed by
Luciano DamianiLuciano Damiani was an Italian stage and costume designer, who worked both for theatre and opera productions.- Theatre and opera productions :...
that showed Mozart's masterpiece in the light of the
commedia dell'arteCommedia dell'arte is a form of improvisational theatre that began in Italy in the 16th century, maintained its popularity through the 17th century, and is still performed today. Performances were mostly unscripted, held outside and used few props...
and emphasized the comic and ironic elements of this opera (conductor
Josef KripsJosef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.Krips was born in Vienna, Austria, and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as repetiteur and chorus master...
strongly opposed this production). In Vienna he also sang Basilio (
Il barbiere di Siviglia), Colline (
La bohèmeLa bohème is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger. The world première performance of La bohème was in Turin on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio and conducted by the young Arturo...
), Fiesco (
Simon BoccanegraSimon Boccanegra is an opera with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Simón Bocanegra by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
), Figaro (
Le nozze di Figaro), Padre Guardian (
La forza del destinoLa 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...
1974 in a new production conducted by
Riccardo MutiRiccardo Muti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI is an Italian conductor. In May 2008 he was appointed the 10th music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, effective with the 2010-11 season.-Biography:...
), Gurnemanz (
ParsifalParsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail....
), Mephisto (
FaustFaust is a grand opera in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
), Filippo II (
Don CarlosDon Carlos is a five-act Grand Opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French language libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry, based on the dramatic play Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien by Friedrich Schiller...
), and Ramphis (
AïdaAida 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...
). His final performance at the Vienna State Opera was in Norma (Oroveso) in 1994.
He was a particularly fine recital artist, especially in Community Concerts under Columbia Artist Management, and a sensitive interpreter of German Lieder. He married Met ballerina Luellen Sibley and they have two children.
Siepi enjoyed a long career, and performed regularly until the 1980s, including lead roles in the ill-fated Broadway musicals
Bravo GiovanniBravo Giovanni is a musical with a book by A. J. Russell, lyrics by Ronny Graham, and music by Milton Schafer.Its hero is Giovanni Venturi, the owner of a small, family-style trattoria in Rome...
and
CarmelinaCarmelina is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and Alan Jay Lerner, lyrics by Lerner, and music by Burton Lane.Based on the 1968 film Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell , it focuses on an Italian woman who has raised her teenaged daughter Gia to believe her father was an American who died heroically in...
. In addition to his many studio recordings, there are also many live recordings of performances of his major roles.
According to the Italian Wikipædia, Siepi's formal farewell to the operatic stage occurred at the Teatro Carani in
SassuoloSassuolo is an important industrial centre of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The town stands on the right bank of the river Secchia some 17 km south-west of Modena.-History :...
on 21 April, 1989. Indeed, Capon's List shows live recordings made as late as 1988.
Siepi's last studio recording was a formidable performance as the old King Archibaldo in
RCARCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Currently, the RCA trademark is owned by the French conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson...
's 1976 taping of Montemezzi's
L'amore dei tre reL'amore dei tre re is an opera in three acts by Italo Montemezzi. Its Italian-language libretto was written by playwright Sem Benelli who based it on his own play of the same title.-Performance history:...
, with
Anna MoffoAnna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
and
Plácido DomingoJosé Plácido Domingo Embil , better known as Plácido Domingo, is a Spanish tenor, known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range. In March 2008, he debuted in his 128th opera role, giving Domingo more roles than any other tenor...
in the cast.
External links
Videography
- Mozart: Don Giovanni (Grümmer, della Casa, Berger, Dermota, Edelmann; Furtwängler, Graf, 1954) VAI
- "Six Great Basses" [aria from Don Carlos, 1970] Bel Canto Society