Tito Schipa

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Tito Schipa

Tito Schipa (27 December 1888 – 16 December 1965) was an Italian

Italy

Italy , 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....
tenor

Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
. He is considered one of the finest tenore di grazia

Tenore di grazia

'Tenore di grazia', also called 'tenore leggiero', is a lightweight, flexible tenor type of voice. The tenor roles written in the early 19th century Italian operas are invariably di grazia roles, especially those by Gioacchino Rossini such as Lindoro in L'italiana in Algeri, Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, and Almaviva in Il bar...
in operatic history. He was endowed with a natural, sensuous voice which he deployed with great intelligence and taste.

pa was born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa in Lecce

Lecce

Lecce is a historic city in southern Italy Italy, the Capital of the province of Lecce as well as the one of the most important cities of Apulia....
, his birthday was recorded as January 2, 1889 for conscription purposes. He studied in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
and made his operatic debut at age 21 in 1910 at Vercelli.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Tito Schipa'

Start a new discussion about 'Tito Schipa'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Tito Schipa (27 December 1888 – 16 December 1965) was an Italian

Italy

Tenor

Tenore di grazia

Biography

Schipa was born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa in Lecce

Lecce

Milan

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the Capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southern shore of the R?o de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent....
. In 1917, he created the role of Ruggiero in Puccini

Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italians composer whose operas, including La boh?me, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the List of important operas....
's La rondine
La rondine

La rondine is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian language libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on a libretto by A. M. Willner and Heinz Reichert....
.

In 1919, Schipa traveled to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, joining the Chicago Opera Company

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1952, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicol? Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria Callas's American debut in Norma ....
, singing with it until 1932, whereupon he appeared with the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The 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 and James Levine is music director....
from 1932 to 1935 and again in 1941. From 1929 to 1949, he continued to perform regularly in Italy, and returned to Buenos Aires in 1954. In 1957, he toured the USSR.

Schipa's repertoire eventually encompassed about twenty Italian and French opera roles, such as Massenet's Werther
Werther

Werther is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by ?douard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann based on the German novella The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe....
, Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore
L'elisir d'amore

L'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe's libretto for Daniel-Fran?ois-Esprit Auber's Le philtre ....
and Cilea's L'Arlesiana, where he achieved his best results. In concert, Schipa performed opera arias as well as Neapolitan and Spanish popular songs.

Schipa made numerous recordings during his career, including a famous recording of Donizetti's

Gaetano Donizetti

Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italy composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. Donizetti's most famous work is Lucia di Lammermoor , and arguably his most immediately recognizable piece of music is the aria "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'elisir d'amore ....
Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale

Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The composer Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
in 1932, which was one of the first complete opera recordings, and is still in circulation.

Tito Schipa was an early exponent of that peculiar breed of tenor who conducts. Today Plácido Domingo

Plácido Domingo

Jos? Pl?cido Domingo Embil Order of the British Empire , better known as Pl?cido Domingo, is a Spanish tenor, known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range....
carries on that tradition. Although some considered Schipa's voice to be ordinary in size and timbre, he caused riots in the streets on some occasions not only by his superior musicianship but a solid, masterful technique.

Schipa retired from the stage in 1958 to teach voice in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the Capitals of Hungary of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it serves as the country's principal political, cultural, commerce, Industry, and transportation center and is considered an important hub in Central Europe....
and he died from diabetes in 1965 at the age of 77 in New York, NY while teaching there.

External links

- English version of the Italian site run by the Schipa family.
- A 1929 video of Schipa singing the aria "Una furtiva lagrima
Una furtiva lagrima

Una furtiva lagrima is the romanza taken from Act II, Scene 2 of the Italian opera, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti. It is sung by Nemorino when he finds that the love potion he bought to win his dream lady?s heart, Adina, works....
" from Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti

Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italy composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. Donizetti's most famous work is Lucia di Lammermoor , and arguably his most immediately recognizable piece of music is the aria "Una furtiva lagrima" from L'elisir d'amore ....
's L'elisir D'amore
L'elisir d'amore

L'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe's libretto for Daniel-Fran?ois-Esprit Auber's Le philtre ....
.