Ezio Flagello

Ezio Domenico Flagello (January 28, 1931 – March 19, 2009) was born in New York City to Italian Americans. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera from 1957 to 1984; a bass particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Career

Flagello first studied at the

Flagello made his professional debut at the Empire State Festival, in

Flagello possessed a dark and very rich voice with a remarkable upper register extending to high A. He left an impressive discography which includes Così fan tutte, opposite Leontyne Price, Tatiana Troyanos, George Shirley, Sherrill Milnes, under Erich Leinsdorf, Lucrezia Borgia, opposite Montserrat Caballé, Alfredo Kraus, Shirley Verrett, Lucia di Lammermoor and Luisa Miller, both opposite Anna Moffo and Carlo Bergonzi, Rigoletto, opposite Robert Merrill and under Georg Solti, Ernani, Ballo in maschera, Forza del destino, all opposite Leontyne Price. He also recorded Handel's Alcina and Bellini's I Puritani, both opposite Joan Sutherland. He also interpreted the role of Harapha in the famous Archiv recording of Handel's oratorio Samson (1968).

Flagello also enjoyed a successful international career, appearing frequently in Vienna, Milan, Berlin, London, and other places. In addition to his operatic career, he had a small role in the flashback sequences in The Godfather Part II (1974) as an impresario threatened by Don Fanucci. Ezio Flagello retired from the stage in 1987. He was the brother of the composer Nicolas Flagello. He was married to Italian-American writer Anna Mione, with whom he had four children. He died at his Palm Bay, Florida, home on March 19, 2009.

Filmography

References

• The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia, edited by David Hamilton, (Simon & Schuster, New York 1987).
  ISBN 0-671-61732-X
• The Complete Dictionary of Opera & Operetta, James Anderson, (Wings Books, 1993)
  ISBN 0-517-09156-9