Mario Sereni (born March 25, 1928) is an Italian
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
, who sang leading roles at the New York
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....
for many years.
Sereni was born in
PerugiaPerugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber River, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city symbol is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city.Perugia is a notable artistic center of Italy...
, Italy. He attended the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accademia Chigiana in
SienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.- History :...
where he was a pupil of Mario Basiola. His professional career began in 1953, at the
Maggio Musicale FiorentinoMaggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
and within four years he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera on November 9, 1957, as Gérard in
Andrea ChénierAndrea Chénier is an opera in four acts by the verismo 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....
.
Sereni enjoyed a long and steady career at the Metropolitan Opera.
Mario Sereni (born March 25, 1928) is an Italian
baritoneBaritone is a type of classical male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek βαρύτονος, meaning 'deep sounding', music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second G below middle C to the F above...
, who sang leading roles at the New York
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....
for many years.
Sereni was born in
PerugiaPerugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the Tiber River, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city symbol is the griffin, which can be seen in the form of plaques and statues on buildings around the city.Perugia is a notable artistic center of Italy...
, Italy. He attended the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Accademia Chigiana in
SienaSiena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site.- History :...
where he was a pupil of Mario Basiola. His professional career began in 1953, at the
Maggio Musicale FiorentinoMaggio Musicale Fiorentino is an annual opera festival which was founded in April 1933 by conductor Vittorio Gui with the aim of presenting contemporary and forgotten operas in visually dramatic productions. It was the first music festival in Italy. The first opera presented was Verdi's early...
and within four years he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera on November 9, 1957, as Gérard in
Andrea ChénierAndrea Chénier is an opera in four acts by the verismo 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....
.
Sereni enjoyed a long and steady career at the Metropolitan Opera. In twenty-seven seasons, he sang most of the important baritone roles of the Italian repertory in opera such as
ErnaniErnani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo...
,
Luisa MillerLuisa Miller is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play Kabale und Liebe by Friedrich von Schiller. The first performance was given at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on December 8, 1849...
,
Il trovatoreIl trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Leone Emanuele Bardare and Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez....
,
La traviataLa traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on the novel La dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils, published in 1848. The title "La traviata" means literally The Woman Who Strayed, or perhaps more figuratively, The...
,
Un ballo in mascheraUn ballo in maschera , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The opera's first production was at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, 17 February 1859....
,
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...
,
Don Carlo, and
AidaAida 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...
. He also sang 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....
,
Cavalleria rusticanaCavalleria 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...
,
Manon LescautFor other versions of the Manon story, see Manon .Manon Lescaut is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini. The story is based on the 1731 novel L’histoire du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut by the Abbé Prévost....
,
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
Madama ButterflyMadama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, as well as
L'elisir d'amoreL'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel-François-Esprit Auber's Le philtre .The premiere was at the Teatro della Canobbiana, Milan on 12 May 1832.- Performance...
and
Lucia di LammermoorLucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
.
Sereni was also a regular guest at the opera houses of Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas. He also enjoyed a successful international career appearing frequently 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...
,
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...
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...
, the
Royal Opera House Covent GardenThe 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...
in London and the Teatro Colón in
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
.
Despite his success, Sereni always remained in the shadow of the more charismatic baritones of his time, principally
Leonard WarrenLeonard Warren was a famous American opera singer. A baritone, he was associated for many years with the Metropolitan Opera in New York...
,
Robert MerrillRobert Merrill was an American operatic baritone.-Early life:Merrill was born Morris Miller in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, to tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife Lillian, née Balaban, immigrants from Warsaw, Poland...
,
Ettore BastianiniEttore Bastianini was an Italian opera singer who was particularly associated with the operas of Verdi. He had a prolific international career between 1945 and 1965 which was tragically cut short due to throat cancer...
,
Rolando PaneraiRolando Panerai Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, he enjoyed a long and distinguished career in both comic and dramatic roles.Rolando Panerai was born in Ciampi Bisenzio, near Florence, Italy....
and
Piero CappuccilliPiero Cappuccilli was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with Verdi roles, especiallyMacbeth and Simon Boccanegra; he was renowned for his extraordinary breath control and smooth legato, and is widely regarded as one of the finest Italian baritones of the second half of the 20th...
, yet his many recordings reveal a singer and musician of considerable distinction, with a handsome voice, a solid technique, and a fine sense of style.
Sereni sang Germont in two famous performances of
La traviata. The first, with
Maria Callas Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts...
and
Alfredo KrausAlfredo Kraus Trujillo was a distinguished Spanish tenor of partly Austrian descent, particularly known for the artistry he brought to opera's bel canto roles...
in 1958, became known as the "Lisbon Traviata". The second, from La Scala in 1964, with
Anna MoffoAnna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
and
Renato CioniRenato Cioni is an Italian operatictenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.Born on the Isle of Elba, the son of a fisherman, Cioni received his main musical education at the Cherubini Conservatory in Florence...
, became known as the "Karajan Traviata".
Studio recordings
- Donizetti - L'elisir d'amore - Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni is an Italian opera soprano much admired for the youthful quality of her voice, her phrasing and thoughtful character interpretations and acting skills. Her repertoire encompasses some forty roles, Verdi and Puccini in particular but also Mozart and Tchaikovsky...
, Nicolai GeddaThe Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda is a famous opera singer and recitalist. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
, Renato CapecchiRenato Capecchi was an Italian baritone, actor, and opera director.He sang in the Italian premiere of Shostakovich's The Nose and Prokofiev's War and Peace, and in the world premieres of Gian Francesco Malipiero's La donna è mobile, Giorgio Federico Ghedini's Billy Budd and Lord Inferno, and...
- Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Francesco Molinari-PradelliFrancesco Molinari-Pradelli was a prominent Italian opera conductor. He studied piano and composition at Bologna, and graduated from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome in 1938. He made his debut at La Scala in 1946 and his Covent Garden debut in 1956...
- EMI (1966)
- Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor - Anna Moffo
Anna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
, Carlo Bergonzi, Ezio FlagelloEzio Flagello was an Italian-American bass, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1957 to 1984.- Career :...
- RCA Italiana Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Georges PrêtreGeorges Prêtre is a French conductor.He was born in Waziers , and attended the Douai Conservatory and then studied harmony under Maurice Duruflé and conducting under André Cluytens among others at the Paris Conservatoire. Amongst his early musical interests were jazz and trumpet...
- RCA (1965)
- Verdi - Ernani - Leontyne Price
Mary Violet Leontyne Price is an American operatic soprano. She was best known for the title role of Verdi's Aida. Born in the segregated Deep South, she rose to international fame during a period of racial change in the 1950s and 60s, and was the first African-American to become a leading prima...
, Carlo Bergonzi, Ezio FlagelloEzio Flagello was an Italian-American bass, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1957 to 1984.- Career :...
- RCA Italiana Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Thomas SchippersThomas Schippers was an American conductor. He was highly-regarded for his work in opera.-Biography:...
- RCA (1967)
- Verdi - La traviata - Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s...
, Carlo del Monte - Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Tullio SerafinTullio Serafin was an Italian conductor.-Biography:Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th century bel canto operas by Bellini, Rossini and Donizetti to become staples of 20th century repertoire...
- EMI (1959)
- Verdi - Aida - Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
, Franco CorelliFranco Corelli was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated universally for his thrilling upper register...
, Grace BumbryGrace Bumbry , is an American opera singer of great renown, considered one of the leading mezzo-sopranos of her generation, as well as a major soprano for many years...
- Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Zubin MehtaZubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of Western classical music.-Early life:Zubin Mehta was born into a Parsi family in Bombay , India, the son of Mehli and Tehmina Mehta. His father Mehli Mehta was a violinist and founding conductor of the Bombay Symphony Orchestra.Mehta is an alumnus of St. Mary's...
- EMI (1967)
- Giordano - Andrea Chénier - Franco Corelli
Franco Corelli was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was celebrated universally for his thrilling upper register...
, Antonietta StellaAntonietta Stella is an Italian operatic soprano, one of the finest Italian spinto sopranos of the 1950s and 1960s, possessing a beautiful and ample voice, and particularly associated with Verdi and Puccini roles....
- Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Gabriele SantiniGabriele Santini was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory....
- EMI (1963)
- Puccini - La bohème - Mirella Freni
Mirella Freni is an Italian opera soprano much admired for the youthful quality of her voice, her phrasing and thoughtful character interpretations and acting skills. Her repertoire encompasses some forty roles, Verdi and Puccini in particular but also Mozart and Tchaikovsky...
, Nicolai GeddaThe Swedish tenor Nicolai Gedda is a famous opera singer and recitalist. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
, Mariella AdaniMariella Adani is an Italian classical soprano who has had an active career in operas, concerts, and recitals during the 1950s through the 1980s...
- Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Thomas Schippers - EMI - (1963)
- Puccini - Madama Butterfly - Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s...
, Jussi BjörlingJohan Jonatan was a Swedish operatic tenor...
, Miriam PirazziniMiriam Pirazzini was a well-known Italian mezzo-soprano. Born in Vicenza, she made her formal debut in Rome, in 1944, as Laura Adorno in La Gioconda. For the next twenty years, she was one of Italy's foremost mezzo-sopranos....
- Rome Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Gabriele Santini - EMI (1959)
- Puccini - La Rondine - Anna Moffo
Anna Moffo was an Italian-American opera singer and one of the leading lyric-coloratura sopranos of her generation...
, Daniele BarioniDaniele Barioni is an Italian opera singer who had a prolific career during the 1950s through the 1970s. Early on in his career he rose to fame as a leading tenor at the Metropolitan Opera between 1956 and 1962...
, Graziella SciuttiGraziella Sciutti was an Italian soprano opera singer.Referred to as "The Callas of the Piccola Scala" Sciutti was renowned for her interpretation of Mozart's "soubrette" characters, Susanna, Despina, and perhaps especially for her 1959 role as Zerlina in one of the evergreen opera recordings of...
, Piero de PalmaPiero de Palma is an Italian operatic tenor, particularly associated with comprimario roles.He began his career in 1948 by singing on Italian radio and made his stage debut in 1952 at the San Carlo in Naples, where he was to performed regularly until 1980...
- RCA Italiana Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli - RCA (1966)
- Puccini - Turandot - Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson was a celebrated Swedish dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works...
, Renata TebaldiRenata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano, popular in the post-war period...
, Jussi BjörlingJohan Jonatan was a Swedish operatic tenor...
, Giorgio TozziGiorgio Tozzi was for many years a leading bass with the Metropolitan Opera, and was seen playing lead roles in nearly every major opera house world-wide.- Career :...
- Rome Opera Orchestra, Erich LeinsdorfErich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conductor. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality...
- RCA (1959)
Sources
- Black Dog Opera Library, La Bohème, EMI Classics. ISBN 1-884-82283-5
- The Metropolitan Opera Guide to recorded Opera, edited by Paul Gruber, ISBN 0-393-03444-5
- The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia, edited by David Hamilton, (Simon & Schuster, New York, 1987). ISBN 0-671-16732-X