Ettore Bastianini
Ettore Bastianini (24 September 1922 – 25 January 1967) was an Italian operatic baritone who was particularly associated with the operas of the bel canto tradition.
Early training and career as a bass
Born in Siena, Bastianini first began performing at fifteen while apprenticed to a pastry chef, Gaetano Vanni, who discovered his vocal talent and encouraged him to join the choir of his hometown's cathedral. Between 1937 and 1938, he sang bass during Masses and religious functions at the church. In 1939 he began singing lessons under Fathima and Anselmo Ammanati, who continued training him as a bass. He sang his first professional concerts in 1940 and 1941 in Asciano and Siena at the Fortezza Medicea and Teatro dei Rozzi. In 1942 he won first prize in the 6th National Singing Contest at the Teatro Comunale, Florence, but was soon drafted into the Italian Air Force which prevented him from immediately enjoying the scholarship accompanying the prize.
After serving in the Italian Air Force between 1943 and 1944 toward the end of
In 1946, Bastianini was finally able to enjoy the scholarship he'd won four years earlier and began studying at the Teatro Comunale, Florence. He sang in recitals there alongside other future opera greats like Mirto Picchi, Fedora Barbieri and Rolando Panerai. That same year, he appeared in numerous operas with smaller Italian opera houses such as the Teatro Verdi in Florence. Among his roles that year were his first performances of Zio Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Sparafucile in Rigoletto.
In 1947, Bastianini toured Egypt, singing in
Bastianini gave his first broadcast recital for the Italian Radio on 29 December 1950. Earlier that year, he had toured Egypt again and appeared in operas in Italy. He toured Egypt once more, just before returning to Italy for his final bass performance in April 1951 at Turin's Teatro Alfieri as Colline. Believing his voice was better suited to the baritone repertoire and encouraged by his teacher, Luciano Bettarini, Bastianini left the stage for seven months, studying and re-training his vocal instrument.
Career as a baritone
Triumph on the international stage: 1952–1957
Bastianini made his debut as a baritone on 17 January 1952, in Siena, as Giorgio Germont in Verdi's
In 1953, Bastianini performed opposite
In fall 1954, Bastianini joined the roster of the
While performing regularly at the Met during the mid-1950s, Bastianini continued to perform occasionally in Europe and in other opera houses in the United States. On 28 May 1955, he appeared opposite Maria Callas and
After leaving the Met in May 1957, Bastianini made his first appearance on Italian television in a filmed version of Il trovatore with
Golden years: 1958–1962
In 1958, Bastianini sang his first Scarpia at the
In September 1958, Bastianini sang for the first time at the Vienna State Opera as Scarpia opposite Tebaldi's Tosca. He performed regularly there until the end of his career, in 1965. In the fall of 1959, he debuted at the Dallas Opera singing Enrico opposite Callas's Lucia, and Figaro as well. The following December, he sang his first Michonnet in Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur at the Teatro di San Carlo, starring Magda Olivero. He returned to that house in 1960 to sing Don Carlo in Ernani, a role he also portrayed at the Salzburg Festival that year. Also in 1960, he sang Severo in Donizetti's Poliuto in a famous production that marked the return of Callas to La Scala.
In February 1961, he debuted with the
Battling illness and the end of a career: 1963–1967
In November 1962 Bastianini was diagnosed with a throat
On 2 July 1963, he won the
Bastianini's health declined steadily over the last two years of his career. His performances were inconsistent, some excellent and others poor. In 1964, he sang his last new role, Mephisto in La damnation de Faust, at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, to good reviews, but his Conte di Luna in Il trovatore in Prato that year was reportedly disastrous. In 1965, his final year on stage, he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Amonasro. He also portrayed Scarpia at the Teatro Comunale Florence, and Iago at the Cairo Opera House. He spent most of 1965 at the Met with mixed results. Some performances were well received, but he was booed during a performance of Tosca. His final operatic appearance was as Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo at the Met, on 11 December 1965. He finally succumbed to cancer in January 1967, and was buried in his hometown of Siena.
The Associazione Internazionale Culturale Musicale Ettore Bastianini (www.associazioneettorebastianini.org) keeps alive the artistic legacy of this great singer.
Recordings
Most of his studio recordings were made for Decca Records, and a few for Deutsche Grammophon as well, and accurately represent his rich and expressive voice. They include:
- Verdi: Aida with Curtis-Verna, Dominguez, Borso, Scott. Franco Capuana (cond.) La Fenice 1952. (Remington)
- G. Donizetti: (cond.) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 1955. (Decca)
- Verdi: Callas, Di Stefano. Carlo Maria Giulini(cond.) 1955. (EMI)
- Verdi: La forza del destino with Tebaldi, del Monaco, Simionato, Siepi. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (cond.) 1955. (Decca)
- G.Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia with Simionato, Misciano, Siepi, Fernando Corena. Erede (cond.) 1956. (Decca)
- P.Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana with Tebaldi, Björling. Alberto Erede (cond.) 1957. (Decca)
- A.Ponchielli: La Gioconda with Cerquetti (her only complete opera recording in studio), Simionato, del Monaco, Siepi. Gavazzeni (cond.) 1957. (Decca)
- U.Giordano: Andrea Chénier with Tebaldi, del Monaco. Gianandrea Gavazzeni (cond.) 1957. (Decca)
- G.Puccini: La bohème with Tebaldi, Carlo Bergonzi, Gianna D'Angelo, Cesare Siepi. Tullio Serafin (cond.) 1958. (Decca)
- Puccini: Tosca with Tebaldi, di Stefano. Gianandrea Gavazzeni (cond.) Live in Brussels. 1958. (Myto)
- Verdi: La forza del destino with Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Renato Capecchi, Boris Christoff. Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (cond.) 1958. (Hardy Classic)
- Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor with Scotto, Di Stefano, Vinco. Nino Sanzogno (cond.) La Scala 1959. (Mercury/Ricordi)
- Verdi: Rigoletto with Scotto, Kraus, Cossotto, Vinco. Gianandrea Gavazzeni (cond.) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino 1960. (Mercury/Ricordi)
- Verdi: Don Carlo with Stella, Cossotto, Labò, Christoff, Vinco. Gabriele Santini(cond.) La Scala 1961 (DG)
- Verdi: Un ballo in maschera with Stella, Poggi, Lazzarini, Tavolaccini. Gavazzeni (cond.) La Scala 1961 (DG)
- Verdi: Il trovatore with Stella, Cossotto, Bergonzi and Vinco. Tullio Serafin (cond.) La Scala 1962 (DG)
- Verdi: La traviata with Scotto and Gianni Raimondi. Antonino Votto (cond.), La Scala 1963. (DG)
- G.Donizetti: Poliuto with Callas, Franco Corelli. Antonino Votto (cond.) Live from Scala, 1960. (EMI)
- Verdi: Don Carlo with Sena Jurinac, Simionato, Eugenio Fernandi, Siepi. Von Karajan (cond.) Live in Salzburg. 1958. (DG)
- Verdi: Ernani with Cerquetti, del Monaco, Boris Christoff. Mitropoulos (cond.) Live in Florence. 1957. (Bel Canto)
- Verdi: Il trovatore with Corelli, Price, Simionato. Karajan [cond.] Live in Salzburg. 1962. (DG)
In addition to the recordings included above, there is a live album of his concert in Chicago with Tebaldi and Simionato, conducted by Sir
References
- ^ http://www.contradadellapantera.it, La Nazione, 12 agosto 2000. Canale 3 Toscana, Siena's local television, has a film of this dinner.
Sources
- ISBN 0-8019-5516-5.
- Boagno, Marina; Starone, Gilberto (1991). Ettore Bastianini. Una voce di bronzo e di velluto. Parma: Azzali. p. 272.
- Rizzacasa, Alessandro, ed. (1999). Ettore Bastianini. Siena: nuova immagine editrice. p. 205. ISBN 978-88-7145-162-6.
- Marina Boagno, Ettore Bastianini: i suoi personaggi, Azzali Editore, Parma 2004
- Antonio Mazzeo, Ettore Bastianini basso: stralci di vita e di arte degli inizi, Siena, 1996.
- Angela Rigoli (cur.), Ettore Bastianini:Un nido di memorie (raccolta di testimonianze), 2012 edito inproprio dall'Associazione Bastianini.
- Marina Berti - Marcello Vanni, Egli ci fu rapito.... Viaggio nella breve vita di Ettore Bastianini e nella sua Siena, (Romanzo), Siena, 2016
- Manuela Bianchi Porro, La finestra sul lago - Ricordo di Ettore Bastianini (testo raccolto da Luisella Franchini), Youcanprint 2018 (edito in proprio dall'Associazione Bastianini) e poi Youcanprint 2021 ISBN 979-12-203-8867-2
- Luisella Franchini, Valerio Lopane, Il mio pensiero per te – La vita e l’arte di Ettore Bastianini nelle lettere a Manuela Bianchi Porro, Cantagalli Editore Siena 2021 ISBN 978-88-6879-931-1
- Vito Stabile, Lietamente filosofando in lirica (Saggio dedicato a Ettore Bastianin), Youcanprint 2021, ISBN 979-12-203-7802-4
- Maurizio Modugno, Luisella Franchini, Valerio Lopane, Ettore Bastianini. La più bella voce al mondo, pp. XIV+314, Zecchini Editore, 2022, ISBN 978-88-6540-393-8.
- Gilberto Starone, Le cronologie originali di Ettore Bastianini (sponsored by Associazione Ettore Bastianini), Youcanprint 2023, ISBN 979-12-214-7338-4
External links
- Opera Voices: Bob Rideout's Biographies
- The story of Ettore Bastianini
- Ettore Bastianini
- https://web.archive.org/web/20060818060110/http://chalosse.free.fr/masterpieces/step-one/bastianini.htm
- http://davidmacchi.tripod.com/Bastianini.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070609175754/http://www.ettorebastianini.com/
- http://associazioneettorebastianini.org
- https://www.youtube.com/@bastianinifansempre/featured
- https://www.youtube.com/@ingriddoppler/featured
- https://www.youtube.com/@luisellafranchini5434
- https://www.youtube.com/@associazioneinternazionale9838