‘The Lucio Dalla I knew’ with Baldassarre Giardina

Baldassare Giardina is an archeologist and Lucio Dalla specialist.

It’s not very often that one gets to hear about a great musician’s life from the grass roots up as Baldassare’s first encounters with Dalla were listening to his father’s jazz band rehearse with the very young and unknown Lucio. Baldassare devotes his time now to imparting his extensive knowledge on Lucia Dalla to lucky visitors of Dalla’s 15th century extraordinary landmark house in Bologna.

Beniamino Gigli, 20. März 1890

Beniamino Gigli, dessen Nachname ins Englische übersetzt „Lilien“ bedeutet, hat heute Geburtstag. Sicherlich war seine Lirico-Spinto-Stimme genauso perfekt, süß und schön wie sein Namensvetter.
Giglis Karriere erlangte im englischsprachigen Raum Superstar, als er von der Metropolitan Opera New York engagiert wurde und die wenig beneidenswerte Aufgabe hatte, nach dessen frühem und plötzlichem Tod in die Fußstapfen von Enrico Caruso zu treten. Vergleiche waren unvermeidlich; aber das war nicht der Fall
Es dauert lange, bis der honigsüße Gigli sein Publikum mit seiner flexiblen, lyrisch klingenden Stimme und der meisterhaften Umsetzung des Mezzosoprans überzeugt.

Beniamino Gigli, 20. März 1890

Beniamino Gigli, dessen Nachname ins Englische übersetzt „Lilien“ bedeutet, hat heute Geburtstag. Sicherlich war seine Lirico-Spinto-Stimme genauso perfekt, süß und schön wie sein Namensvetter.
Giglis Karriere erlangte im englischsprachigen Raum Superstar, als er von der Metropolitan Opera New York engagiert wurde und die wenig beneidenswerte Aufgabe hatte, nach dessen frühem und plötzlichem Tod in die Fußstapfen von Enrico Caruso zu treten. Vergleiche waren unvermeidlich; aber das war nicht der Fall
Es dauert lange, bis der honigsüße Gigli sein Publikum mit seiner flexiblen, lyrisch klingenden Stimme und der meisterhaften Umsetzung des Mezzosoprans überzeugt.

Lauritz Melchior, Tenor, March 20, 1890

In Die Walküre Astrid Varnay wondered at the vocal prowess of Lauritz Melchior holding the ‘Wälse’ cries for a full twelve seconds. Varnay asked rhetorically, ‘…what tenor ever matched that? Maybe Melchior himself – he has been timed at eighteen!’

Such is the testimony of a great vocal colleague to a giant of a man and arguably the greatest of all Wagnerian tenors. But Lauritz Melchior was not always destined to be a tenor. He had started his professional career in his native Denmark at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. Around 1916 Madame Charles Cahier, who had become by this stage a highly regarded vocal teacher, urged young Lauritz to consider switching to tenor. Madame Cahier heard something in the voice of the young baritone that indicated really a great tenor in the making. In 9 October 1918 he therefore commenced his career as a tenor with the role of Tannhäuser. Incidentally, Cahier herself had been a pupil of Jean de Reszke and in turn greatly influenced the career of Marian Anderson. We should also mention that the then well-known English novelist Hugh Walpole, supported Melchior throughout this period, arranging singing lessons with Victor Beigel in Vienna in 1922 with the purpose of ‘making him the greatest Wagner tenor in the world’, and opened the doors of society enabling him to sing before Queen Alexandra at Marlborough House. In 1924 he was engaged at Bayreuth in the Ring Cycle and proved an unforgettable Siegfried that members of the audience wept openly. Walpole had the satisfaction by 1925 of having his protege acclaimed ‘the greatest Heldentenor in the world.’

Allowing for this early adulation, Melchior remained a modest and generous colleague. Varnay later recalled her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1942. She was the novice, thrown in at the deep end with the a who’s who list of Wagnerian greats, to sing Sieglinde, as Lotte Lehmann had a cold. Melchior’s presence, supportive attitude, and reassurance, ‘“Verlass dich auf mich”. What a beautiful thing to tell a newcomer. This great artist and gracious gentleman was telling the new kid on the block to leave things to him, and he would take care of me.’ The experience of another Wagnerian great, Kirsten Flagstad, tallies as in her memoirs she wrote, ‘I met Mr. Melchior for the first time while was rehearsing Siegfried. I had attended the rehearsal, and we were presented to one another by the manager. He was very helpful and encouraging, and as usual in excellent humour.’

Melchior’s career centred on all the demanding Heldentenor roles and his activity throughout the 1920s and 30s are a testament to his capacity, reliability and sheer artistry. He appeared in each role over 100 times and Tristan over 200 times. Such was Melchior’s fame, he appeared in five Hollywood musicals from 1945 to 1953 which has somewhat impacted his reputation among purists. But listen to his recordings and be blown away by the power and beauty. Add to this the fact that throughout his heyday no Wagner opera at a major house could do without Melchior, and you have a rare testament to a unique talent and artist.

However, as fashions change with time, in 1950 the new director of the Metropolitan Opera, Rudolf Bing moved the repertoire away from Wagner. Lauritz Melchior, who had done so much was not included in the change of direction and he could not come to terms with the new manager. To add insult to injury, the greatest Wagnerian tenor of the age was later accused by Bing of being ‘a sloppy performer with a casual attitude toward rehearsals and a penchant for practical jokes…’ Setting the record straight, Astrid Varnay wrote, “I never once witnessed the kind of conduct that Bing and Mayer claimed was so deplorable. On the contrary, no soprano could have asked for a more professional and caring tenor by her side on the stage.’ To underscore his concern for young singers and professionalism, he set up the Lauritz Melchior Heldentenor Foundation to provide scholarships for gifted singers.

Born on the 20 March 1890 in Copenhagen, Lauritz Melchior passed away on the 18 March 1973 in Santa Monica, California. There are many recording of his singing, including some from 1913 prior to his switch from baritone to tenor. His final performance was with the Danish Radio Orchestra in 1960 in celebration of his 70th birthday.

Lauritz Melchior, Tenor, March 20, 1890

In Die Walküre Astrid Varnay wondered at the vocal prowess of Lauritz Melchior holding the ‘Wälse’ cries for a full twelve seconds. Varnay asked rhetorically, ‘…what tenor ever matched that? Maybe Melchior himself – he has been timed at eighteen!’

Such is the testimony of a great vocal colleague to a giant of a man and arguably the greatest of all Wagnerian tenors. But Lauritz Melchior was not always destined to be a tenor. He had started his professional career in his native Denmark at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. Around 1916 Madame Charles Cahier, who had become by this stage a highly regarded vocal teacher, urged young Lauritz to consider switching to tenor. Madame Cahier heard something in the voice of the young baritone that indicated really a great tenor in the making. In 9 October 1918 he therefore commenced his career as a tenor with the role of Tannhäuser. Incidentally, Cahier herself had been a pupil of Jean de Reszke and in turn greatly influenced the career of Marian Anderson. We should also mention that the then well-known English novelist Hugh Walpole, supported Melchior throughout this period, arranging singing lessons with Victor Beigel in Vienna in 1922 with the purpose of ‘making him the greatest Wagner tenor in the world’, and opened the doors of society enabling him to sing before Queen Alexandra at Marlborough House. In 1924 he was engaged at Bayreuth in the Ring Cycle and proved an unforgettable Siegfried that members of the audience wept openly. Walpole had the satisfaction by 1925 of having his protege acclaimed ‘the greatest Heldentenor in the world.’

Allowing for this early adulation, Melchior remained a modest and generous colleague. Varnay later recalled her debut at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1942. She was the novice, thrown in at the deep end with the a who’s who list of Wagnerian greats, to sing Sieglinde, as Lotte Lehmann had a cold. Melchior’s presence, supportive attitude, and reassurance, ‘“Verlass dich auf mich”. What a beautiful thing to tell a newcomer. This great artist and gracious gentleman was telling the new kid on the block to leave things to him, and he would take care of me.’ The experience of another Wagnerian great, Kirsten Flagstad, tallies as in her memoirs she wrote, ‘I met Mr. Melchior for the first time while was rehearsing Siegfried. I had attended the rehearsal, and we were presented to one another by the manager. He was very helpful and encouraging, and as usual in excellent humour.’

Melchior’s career centred on all the demanding Heldentenor roles and his activity throughout the 1920s and 30s are a testament to his capacity, reliability and sheer artistry. He appeared in each role over 100 times and Tristan over 200 times. Such was Melchior’s fame, he appeared in five Hollywood musicals from 1945 to 1953 which has somewhat impacted his reputation among purists. But listen to his recordings and be blown away by the power and beauty. Add to this the fact that throughout his heyday no Wagner opera at a major house could do without Melchior, and you have a rare testament to a unique talent and artist.

However, as fashions change with time, in 1950 the new director of the Metropolitan Opera, Rudolf Bing moved the repertoire away from Wagner. Lauritz Melchior, who had done so much was not included in the change of direction and he could not come to terms with the new manager. To add insult to injury, the greatest Wagnerian tenor of the age was later accused by Bing of being ‘a sloppy performer with a casual attitude toward rehearsals and a penchant for practical jokes…’ Setting the record straight, Astrid Varnay wrote, “I never once witnessed the kind of conduct that Bing and Mayer claimed was so deplorable. On the contrary, no soprano could have asked for a more professional and caring tenor by her side on the stage.’ To underscore his concern for young singers and professionalism, he set up the Lauritz Melchior Heldentenor Foundation to provide scholarships for gifted singers.

Born on the 20 March 1890 in Copenhagen, Lauritz Melchior passed away on the 18 March 1973 in Santa Monica, California. There are many recording of his singing, including some from 1913 prior to his switch from baritone to tenor. His final performance was with the Danish Radio Orchestra in 1960 in celebration of his 70th birthday.

Enrico Caruso’s Birthday Tribute Episode

Today February 25, 2025 is the birthday of the legendary Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso, who for nearly all tenors, including myself Gyaan Lyon, regard as the pinnacle of voice, technique and artistry. Today is also the second anniversary of The Voice Detective Show. To mark both occasions, join me, Gyaan Lyon and my alter ego, The Voice Detective, as I go on the trail of this icon of the Tenor World is his home country of Italy and in particular, his home town of Naples, neighbouring Sorrento and his Villa Bellosguardo in Lastra a Signa, near Florence.

Enrico Caruso’s Birthday Tribute Episode

Today February 25, 2025 is the birthday of the legendary Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso, who for nearly all tenors, including myself Gyaan Lyon, regard as the pinnacle of voice, technique and artistry. Today is also the second anniversary of The Voice Detective Show. To mark both occasions, join me, Gyaan Lyon and my alter ego, The Voice Detective, as I go on the trail of this icon of the Tenor World is his home country of Italy and in particular, his home town of Naples, neighbouring Sorrento and his Villa Bellosguardo in Lastra a Signa, near Florence.

ROSA PONSELLE, SOPRANO, JANUARY 22, 1897

When Caruso tripped due to blacking out from pain below his left kidney on stage on 8 December 1920 at The Metropolitan Opera at the conclusion of a performance of Pagliacci, it was an indication of his declining health that would eventually take his life. As the pain grew worse and Caruso could not perform, on 16 February 1921, distressed colleagues at his sickbed could not restrain their tears. Among them were some of the greatest singers of the day, and perhaps the most famous of them was Rosa Ponselle.[1]

Born on the 22nd January 1897 in Meriden, Connecticut, Rosa Ponselle has assumed a legendary status. Indeed, the great conductor Tullio Serafin, named three “miracles of singing’ he had known in his lifetime.  These were Caruso, Titta Ruffo and Rosa Ponselle[ii]

Ponselle’s career was remarkable in a number of ways. Hailing from a family, with roots in Caserta in the Campania region near Naples, (the actual name being Ponzelle ) she began not as an opera singer but as vaudeville artist performing with her sister Carmella in 1912 at the age of 15. This precocious beginning was equally amazing upon the opera stage, which was to be her artistic home for the duration of her career when in November 1918 that she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Leonora in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.[iii] The legend of her discovery has different nuances depending upon the source, but what is indisputable is the role Caruso played in encouraging her to audition for the great director of the Met, Giulio Gatti-Casazza. Rosa would later recall about her singing before Caruso, “He sat down next to me—I was nervous as a kitten—and said, pointing to his throat, ‘You have it here.’ Then he pointed to his heart and said, ‘And you have it here.’ Then he raised his hand to his head and tapped his temple with his finger. ‘And whether you have it up here, only time will tell.’”[iv]

Her roles included Santuzza, Rachel in La Juive where she sang with Caruso, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Aida, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Maddalena in Andrea Chenier, but her greatest role by all judges of the time was Norma.[v]

Despite her great vocal talent and artistry, Rosa Ponselle had a reputation of being a nervous performer and the all too short duration of her career – she ceased performing in 1937 – is perhaps a reflection of this. In her mere 19 years as an opera singer she created a legend that has never faded..

Martin Bernheimer, writing in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, had this to say about Ponselle’s voice and recordings:

“Ponselle’s voice is generally regarded as one of the most beautiful of the century. She was universally lauded for opulence of tone, evenness of scale, breadth of range, perfection of technique and communicative warmth. Many of these attributes are convincingly documented on recordings. In 1954 she made a few private song recordings, later released commercially, revealing a still opulent voice of darkened timbre and more limited range”.[vi]

We have recordings of her voice from early in her career until private recordings made after she had left the stage. Some idea of her remarkable voice can be gleaned from these.

Ponselle died at the age of 84 in 1981, 44 years after her last performance with the Metropolitan Opera.

[1]

[ii] IBID p.345

[iii] THOMASON, P., THE QUEEN OF QUEENS IN ALL OF SINGING’ – A DEEP DIVE INTO THE GENIUS OF SOPRANO ROSA PONSELLE https://operawire.com/the-queen-of-queens-in-all-of-singing-a-deep-dive-into-the-genius-of-soprano-rosa-ponselle/

[iv] IBID. https://operawire.com/the-queen-of-queens-in-all-of-singing-a-deep-dive-into-the-genius-of-soprano-rosa-ponselle/

[v] IBID. https://operawire.com/the-queen-of-queens-in-all-of-singing-a-deep-dive-into-the-genius-of-soprano-rosa-ponselle/

[vi] BERNHEIMER, MARTIN. THE NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF OPERA, ARTICLE ON ROSA PONSELLE, NEW YORK 2013

ROSA PONSELLE, SOPRANO, JANUARY 22, 1897

When Caruso tripped due to blacking out from pain below his left kidney on stage on 8 December 1920 at The Metropolitan Opera at the conclusion of a performance of Pagliacci, it was an indication of his declining health that would eventually take his life. As the pain grew worse and Caruso could not perform, on 16 February 1921, distressed colleagues at his sickbed could not restrain their tears. Among them were some of the greatest singers of the day, and perhaps the most famous of them was Rosa Ponselle.[1]

Born on the 22nd January 1897 in Meriden, Connecticut, Rosa Ponselle has assumed a legendary status. Indeed, the great conductor Tullio Serafin, named three “miracles of singing’ he had known in his lifetime.  These were Caruso, Titta Ruffo and Rosa Ponselle[ii]

Ponselle’s career was remarkable in a number of ways. Hailing from a family, with roots in Caserta in the Campania region near Naples, (the actual name being Ponzelle ) she began not as an opera singer but as vaudeville artist performing with her sister Carmella in 1912 at the age of 15. This precocious beginning was equally amazing upon the opera stage, which was to be her artistic home for the duration of her career when in November 1918 that she debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of Leonora in Verdi’s La Forza del Destino.[iii] The legend of her discovery has different nuances depending upon the source, but what is indisputable is the role Caruso played in encouraging her to audition for the great director of the Met, Giulio Gatti-Casazza. Rosa would later recall about her singing before Caruso, “He sat down next to me—I was nervous as a kitten—and said, pointing to his throat, ‘You have it here.’ Then he pointed to his heart and said, ‘And you have it here.’ Then he raised his hand to his head and tapped his temple with his finger. ‘And whether you have it up here, only time will tell.’”[iv]

Her roles included Santuzza, Rachel in La Juive where she sang with Caruso, Elvira in Ernani, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Aida, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Maddalena in Andrea Chenier, but her greatest role by all judges of the time was Norma.[v]

Despite her great vocal talent and artistry, Rosa Ponselle had a reputation of being a nervous performer and the all too short duration of her career – she ceased performing in 1937 – is perhaps a reflection of this. In her mere 19 years as an opera singer she created a legend that has never faded..

Martin Bernheimer, writing in The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, had this to say about Ponselle’s voice and recordings:

“Ponselle’s voice is generally regarded as one of the most beautiful of the century. She was universally lauded for opulence of tone, evenness of scale, breadth of range, perfection of technique and communicative warmth. Many of these attributes are convincingly documented on recordings. In 1954 she made a few private song recordings, later released commercially, revealing a still opulent voice of darkened timbre and more limited range”.[vi]

We have recordings of her voice from early in her career until private recordings made after she had left the stage. Some idea of her remarkable voice can be gleaned from these.

Ponselle died at the age of 84 in 1981, 44 years after her last performance with the Metropolitan Opera.

[1]

[ii] IBID p.345

[iii] THOMASON, P., THE QUEEN OF QUEENS IN ALL OF SINGING’ – A DEEP DIVE INTO THE GENIUS OF SOPRANO ROSA PONSELLE https://operawire.com/the-queen-of-queens-in-all-of-singing-a-deep-dive-into-the-genius-of-soprano-rosa-ponselle/

[iv] IBID. https://operawire.com/the-queen-of-queens-in-all-of-singing-a-deep-dive-into-the-genius-of-soprano-rosa-ponselle/

[v] IBID. https://operawire.com/the-queen-of-queens-in-all-of-singing-a-deep-dive-into-the-genius-of-soprano-rosa-ponselle/

[vi] BERNHEIMER, MARTIN. THE NEW GROVE DICTIONARY OF OPERA, ARTICLE ON ROSA PONSELLE, NEW YORK 2013

Jean de Reszke, Tenor, January 14, 1850

Jean de Reszke ‘inspired a degree of admiration among his followers, both on and off the stage, which hardly fell short of love – something that can be said of no other male singer.’ Born in Warsaw in 1850, Jean de Reszke also shared something few classical singers has had – siblings who also performed at the highest level. Less well known, there was also a cousin the soprano, Felia Litvinne. Jean actually debuted as a baritone in 1874 but soon withdrew from the stage as his voice was challenged by the demands of the vocal type. Interestingly, his name at his baritone debut was listed as Jan di Reschi. So it was his younger brother Edouard, one of the finest basses of the age, in fact who was the first to establish himself in major opera houses making his debut in Paris in 1876. The even younger Josephine, a soprano, made her Paris debut in 1875. But it was Jean who became the greatest star of the 1880s and 1890s surpassing both his precocious and extremely talented siblings.

The decision to change from baritone to tenor may have been partly due to the fact that there were excellent many baritones in the early 1870s. It was in fact the baritone Antonio Cotogni who influenced young Jean to make the change, ‘it was on his [Cotogni’s] advice that Jean de Reszke re-studied voice production as a tenor.’ Some idea of the time taken may be gleaned by the fact that when his sister Josephine was singing in London in 1881, Jean although singing at house concerts, declared he was not yet ready to sing professionally. Nevertheless, it is also recorded that he sang as a tenor in Madrid as early as 1879 and that ‘his great fame as a singer dates from this time’

However, according to P.G. Hurst it was in 1887 in London that, ‘Jean de Reszke comes into his kingdom’, which was nothing less than an operatic revolution.

Part of the reason Jean delayed his tenor career is explained by the fact that he, ‘preferred to travel around with Josephine and Edouard, helping them with his advice, and hearing the finest singers. This he afterwards wrote, was the happiest time of his life, but finally he was run to earth in Paris by Massenet and Maurel, who practically compelled him to return to the stage…’ The most glowing description of Jean’s vocal achievement is given by Maurel, ‘I heard him very often in nearly all his greatest successes. It was no exaggeration to describe him as the ideal artist. It seemed impossible in him to find anything to criticise. His voice had a timbre so beautiful that the very listening to it filled the heart with emotion and the eyes with tears….his ringing high notes thrilled me a hundred times, although the voice had not the trumpet-like quality of the great Tamagno. But his control of it was just perfect,..’

In the 1891 season in London he sang 32 performances alongside the very greatest of the age. Jean excelled particularly in Italian and French repertoire. One of the greatest Carmen performances took place that year when ten performances were given with Jean, Melba, Zelie de Lussan, and Lassalle. The list of his roles is such that we need only know that these included the most demanding tenor roles – Radames, Faust, Lohengrin, Don José, Siegfried, Tristan, and Otello.

Due to ill health – especially frequent influenza – exacerbated by a heavy work schedule, and the demands of the Wagnerian roles he was encouraged to take on by admirers who were avid Wagnerites, a vocal decline had set in by 1900. At the same time, a new generation of singers were making their mark, including one Enrico Caruso. It is however noted that by 1900, if his singing was inferior ‘that the inferiority was only relative to his own best, and that even his worst performance would have been a triumph for any other tenor.’ He had retired from performing by 1904 but returned his knowledhe and wisdom with many students of singing including Maggie Teyte and Leo Slezak. He lived in France and died of influenza in 1925.