Italian opera singer
Nazzareno De Angelis
(17 November 1881 ? 14 December 1962) was an Italian operatic
bass
, particularly associated with
Verdi
,
Rossini
and
Wagner
roles.
He was the grandfather of the nationalist militants
Nanni
and
Marcello De Angelis
.
Career
[
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]
De Angelis was born at
L'Aquila
,
Abruzzo
.
[1]
During his 36-year career, De Angelis appeared on stage on more than 1500 occasions, performing a repertoire of 57 different operas. He was especially celebrated for his powerful portrayal of the title role in
Arrigo Boito
's
Mefistofele
, which he sang at least 500 times between 1906 and 1938.
[2]
De Angelis began his working life as an apprentice printer, while his first serious exposure to music came in local choirs as a boy soprano. Earning praise for the excellence of his voice, he became a part of the choir of the Giulia Chapel and later the
Sistine Chapel
in the
Vatican
. He left the choir at puberty and began studying with Dr. Faberi at the
Accademia di Santa Cecilia
in Rome. For several years he and his teachers were uncertain about his true
voice type
, and he studied both
baritone
and
bass
parts. Eventually, it became clear that although the upper part of his voice was produced freely and easily he was more comfortable when singing in the lower bass
tessitura
. De Angelis spent his last two years at the Accademia developing his repertoire and performing in a number of recitals.
He made his professional opera debut at the Comunale of L'Aquila in May 1903 in a production of
Donizetti
's
Linda di Chamounix
as the Prefect. A month later he performed in another opera at that theater,
Emilio Usiglio
's
Le educante di Sorrento
. Impressed with his performances, the management of Rome's
Teatro Quirino
immediately engaged De Angelis to play Oroveso in
Bellini
's
Norma
in July 1903. Later that year, he appeared in two productions at the
Teatro Adriano
: as Il Spettro in
Ambroise Thomas
's
Hamlet
opposite
Maria Barrientos
as Ofelia and
Mattia Battistini
as Hamlet, and also as Sparafucile in
Verdi
's
Rigoletto
.
[3]
De Angelis toured The Netherlands during 1905. After this De Angelis was quickly invited to all the major opera houses of Italy, making his debut at
La Scala
in 1907 and appearing often under the baton of La Scala's principal conductor,
Arturo Toscanini
. In 1913, he created there the role of Archibaldo in
Montemezzi
's
L'amore dei tre re
. He also sang at the
Paris Opera
, in 1909, as the High Priest in
Spontini
's
La vestale
. Other than singing at the
Chicago Grand Opera Company
during 1910-11 and the
Chicago Opera Association
1915?1920, De Angelis's career was based almost entirely in Europe. He did, however, make a sequence of acclaimed appearances at the
Teatro Colon
in Buenos Aires, beginning with the 1911 season.
[2]
Outside the mainstream repertoire, he was admired for his portrayals of Creon in
Medea
(the Italian version of
Cherubini
French opera
Medee
) and Mose in
Mose in Egitto
.
De Angelis' voice showed signs of 'roughness' and deterioration during the 1930s and he retired from the operatic stage in 1939. Although he gave a few concerts during the 1940s, he henceforth concentrated his activities on providing voice lessons to pupils in Milan and Rome. He died in the latter city in 1962.
Recordings
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De Angelis possessed one of the most impressive bass voices produced by Italy, although he was not considered by critics to be a particularly suave stylist or subtle interpretive artist. His was a big, dark and well blended vocal instrument with strong top notes and plenty of stamina and carrying power. Chronologically, De Angelis succeeded the famous late-19th-century basses
Francesco Navarini
and
Vittorio Arimondi
and anticipated the rise to prominence in the 1920s of
Ezio Pinza
and
Tancredi Pasero
.
He cut his first audio discs in 1907/08 for
Fonotipia Records
and his last in the late 1920s and early '30s for
Columbia Records
. In 1931, he recorded
Mefistofele
in Milan for Columbia's Italian label. It is the only role that he recorded in its entirety.
Selections from his recorded output, consisting mainly of operatic arias and duets by
Meyerbeer
,
Halevy
, Verdi, Puccini, Wagner,
Gounod
, Thomas, Boito,
Rossini
, and
Weber
, have been issued by
Preiser Records
(Lebendige Vergangenheit) on two separate CDs (numbers 89042 and 89507). His complete
Mefistofele
was issued on CD by the
Naxos Records
in 2003 (number: 8.110273-74).
Sources
[
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]
- Le guide de l'opera, les indispensables de la musique
, R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1986)
ISBN
2-213-01563-5
References
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External links
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]
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