History of Vocal art in quotes part 7 Rosati Gigli Lanza (To cover or not to cover?) - YouTube Close History of Vocal art in quotes part 7 Rosati Gigli Lanza (To cover or not to cover?) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Mar 6, 2011 History of Vocal art in quotes and ideas by Franco Tenelli. Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957)[1] was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations. Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent, he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music.

Biography Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoe-maker who loved opera. His brother Lorenzo became a famous Italian painter. In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma. His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914 when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda in Rovigo, following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo di Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan (November 26, 1920).

Two other great Italian tenors present on the roster of Met singers during the 1920s also happened to be Gigli's chief contemporary rivals for tenor supremacy in the Italian repertory—namely, Giovanni Martinelli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi. Some of the roles with which Gigli became particularly associated during this period included Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier, both of which he would later record in full. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo." In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's honey-toned lyric instrument. Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut.

Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Met's then general manager, was furious at his company's most popular male singer; he told the press that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut. There were in fact several others, Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle among them; and it is well-documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in 1932 his salary remained the same as it had been originally. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counter offer to the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars saved was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut. After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe, and in South America. He was criticized for being a favorite singer of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and toward the end of World War II was able to give few performances. However he immediately returned to the stage when the war ended in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever.

In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of Farewell Concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his Memoirs (based primarily on an earlier Memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957. [edit] Personal lifeLike many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On the one hand, he gave more fund raising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history, with close to one thousand benefit concerts. He was deeply devoted to Padre Pio, his confessor, to whom he donated a large amount of money. Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in the 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi. On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were often tainted by scandal.

He lied in his memoirs, saying that he was married six months earlier than he really was. This was to conceal that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza: Enzo and Rina. (The latter was a well-known soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well-known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumored to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Gigli's exact number of offspring may never be known. Category Beniamino Gigli [Memoirs; Italian Edition] Availability: Usually ships the same business day Product Description B1188. BENIAMINO GIGLI. Memoirs. Italy, Mondadori, 1957. 354p. Photos; DJ; in Original Monadori slipcase. (Italian Text) First Edition [stated] Beautiful copy has exceedingly minor wear on slipcase & DJ. (Italian Text) CRITIC REVIEW: �Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer, the most famous tenor of his generation, renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique.

Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations. Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent, he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called �Caruso Secondo�, though he much preferred to be known as �Gigli Primo�. In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's honey-toned lyric instrument. In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on the operatic stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of farewell concerts.

This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his memoirs.� - Zillah Dorset Akron TIMELINE OF WORLD HISTORY TIMELINE OF WORLD HISTORY Beniamino Gigli Beniamino Gigli (pronounced [benjaˈmiːno ˈdʒiʎʎi]; March 20, 1890 ï¿½ November 30, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations. Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent, he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music. Biography Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoemaker who loved opera. They did not, however, view music as a secure career. Beniamino's brother Lorenzo became a famous Italian painter. In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma.

His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914, when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda in Rovigo, following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo in Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala, Milan (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan Opera, New York (November 26, 1920). Two other great Italian tenors present on the roster of Met singers during the 1920s also happened to be Gigli's chief contemporary rivals for tenor supremacy in the Italian repertoryï¿½namely, Giovanni Martinelli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi.

Some of the roles with which Gigli became particularly associated during this period included Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohï¿½me and the title role in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chï¿½nier, both of which he would later record in full. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo." In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's sizable yet honey-toned lyric instrument. Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Met's then general manager, was furious at his company's most popular male singer; he told the press that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut.

There were in fact several others, Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle among them; and it is well documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in 1932 his salary remained the same as it had been originally. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counter offer from the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars saved was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut. After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe, and in South America. He was criticised for being a favourite singer of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, having recorded the Fascist anthem "Giovinezza" in 1937 (it is noticeably excluded from his "Edizione Integrale," released by EMI[4]). Toward the end of World War II, he was able to give few performances. However, he immediately returned to the stage when the war ended in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever.

In addition to his stage performances, Gigli appeared as an actor in over twenty films from 1935 to 1953. Some notable appearances include 1936's Johannes Riemann-directed musical drama Ave Maria opposite actress Kï¿½the von Nagy and Giuseppe Fatigati's 1943 drama I Pagliacci (English release title: Laugh Pagliacci), opposite Italian actress Alida Valli. In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of farewell concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his memoirs (based primarily on an earlier memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957. Personal life Like many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On one hand, he gave more fund-raising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history, with close to one thousand benefit concerts.

He was deeply devoted to Padre Pio, his confessor, to whom he donated a large amount of money. Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in the 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi. On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were often tainted by scandal. He lied in his memoirs, saying that he was married six months earlier than he really was. This was to conceal that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza: Enzo and Rina. (The latter was a well-known soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumoured to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Gigli's exact number of offspring is unknown. Legacy Such is Gigli's popularity that most of his recordings, including complete operas with Maria Caniglia, Rina Gigli, Licia Albanese and Toti dal Monte, have been reissued on CD.

His recorded legacy dates back to the 1920s and provides a good insight into the beauty of his voice. Talanca's music: marzo 2010 Talanca's music "Nuestras grabaciones serán cada vez más perfectas y encontrarán en ustedes oyentes cordiales e interesados" jueves, 25 de marzo de 2010 ·"The Very Best of Beniamino Gigli" - Beniamino Gigli Beniamino Gigli, (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian opera singer. The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations. Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent that he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music. Gigli was born in Recanati, in the Marche, the son of a shoe-maker who loved opera. His brother Lorenzo became a famous Italian painter.

In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma. His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914 when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli's La Gioconda in Rovigo, following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo di Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan (November 26, 1920). Two other great Italian tenors on the roster of the Met during the 1920s were also Gigli's chief rivals, Giovanni Martinelli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi.

Some of the roles with which Gigli became particularly associated during this period included Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano's Andrea Chénier, both of which he would later record in full. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo." In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's honey-toned lyric instrument. Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the Met's then general manager, was furious at his company's most popular male singer; he told the press that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut.

There were in fact several others, Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle among them; and it is well-documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in 1932 his salary remained the same as it had been originally. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counter offer to the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars saved was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut. After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe, and in South America. He was criticized for being a favorite singer of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, and toward the end of World War II was able to give few performances. However he immediately returned to the stage when the war ended in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever. In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of Farewell Concerts.

This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his Memoirs (based primarily on an earlier Memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957. ·"Play Boy" - The Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American singing girl group on the Tamla (later Motown) label. Motown's first successful female vocal group, the Marvelettes are most notable for recording the company's first #1 Pop hit, "Please Mr. Postman", and for setting the precedent for later Motown girl groups such as Martha & the Vandellas and The Supremes. During their eight-year run on the Billboard music charts, the group scored nineteen top forty American R&B Singles and ten Top 40 American Pop singles. Of these hits, three were Top 10 Pop singles, nine were top Top 10 R&B singles, and their debut was #1 one on both charts.

(Between 1961 and 1969 they charted a total of 25 Pop singles.) "Playboy" is a song composed by Brian Holland, Robert Bateman, Mickey Stevenson and singer Gladys Horton, lead vocalist of The Marvelettes, who recorded the song and released it as a single on Motown's Tamla imprint in 1962. The single, led by Horton, is about a man who fools around with a lot of women and the woman who narrates the story warns him to stay away from her due to the stories she heard of him "running around with every woman in town". Horton is helped out in the song by her Marvelettes cohorts Wanda Young, Georgeanna Tillman, Katherine Anderson & Juanita Cowart. This was released as the third single by the Marvelettes and was their second top ten pop hit reaching number seven on the charts while reaching number four on the R&B chart. Playboy was the third album by The Marvelettes, released to capitalize on their hit singles "Playboy" and "Beechwood 4-5789", in 1962.

It also includes the single, "Someday, Someway", and heartfelt standard, "Forever", which would be released as a single the following year. Other compositions include "Goddess of Love", "Cry Over You", and "Mix It Up". George Gordy, William "Mickey" Stevenson, and Marvin Gaye, who had produced "Beechwood 4-5789", all did some work on the Playboy LP as well. ·"Lo Mejor 1966-1970" - Sandro Sandro was born in Buenos Aires to Irma Nydia Ocampo and Vicente Sánchez in 1945. He was raised in the southern suburb of Valentín Alsina, and learned to play the guitar as a child, identifying his music as Romani. His paternal grandfather was Russian Rom from Hungary – Roma are known in Argentina as Gitanos (Gypsies). Considered a precursor to Rock music in Spanish. Initially, in his schooldays, he imitated King of Rock and Roll Elvis Presley, but afterwards created a personal style that marked his career.

He started the musical group Sandro & los de Fuego in 1961, which gained popularity on the TV show Sábados Circulares, and became wideley-known in the 1960s. With songs such as 'Ave de Paso', 'Atmosfera Pesada', 'Quiero Llenarme de Ti', 'Tengo', '¿A esto le llamas amor?', 'Eres el Demonio Disfrazado' ( cover of '(You're The) Devil in Disguise)', 'Porque Yo Te Amo', 'Penumbras' , 'Una Muchacha y Una Guitarra', 'Trigal' or 'Rosa Rosa', the success of his career kept growing steadily. Sandro also had the leading role in various films, including ("I Want to Fill Myself with You" – 1969) and Subí que te llevo ("Hop On, I'll Give You a Ride" – 1980), and directed one feature, Tú me enloqueces ("I'm Crazy About You"), in 1976.

His co-star in the latter film, argentine actrees Susana Giménez, was offered a TV variety show after he refused to host it; Later on, Giménez's show, named Hola Susana, would become a ratings leader shortly after its 1987 launch. He was the first Latino singer to sell out Madison Square Garden five times during the 1970s. Sandro was also the first singer to perform a television concert via satellite in the World's History. The concert was broadcast live from Madison Square Garden on April 1970, and marked the debut of a Latin american artist for a world audience. Sandro's songs were re recorded by international artists such us Shirley Bassey, Liza Minnelli, Burt Bacharach, Dalida, Shirley MacLaine,Toto Cutugno, Nancy Wilson, Mary Hopkins, Loredana Berté, Umberto Tozzi, Gilbert Bécaud, Milva, Julio Iglesias or Engelbert Humperdinck, among others. In the 1990s Argentine and other Latin American artists released an album called Padre del rock en castellano ("Father of Spanish Rock") in his honor.

Sandro continued releasing studio albums in the beggining of the 1990s and reappeared on stage in 1993 with a new show, that was presented at Teatro Gran Rex, the most prestigious venue of Buenos Aires, performing 18 attendance-record–breaking consecutive concerts. The news that he suffered from emphysema were made public in 1998, causing a great generalized concern among his followers from all over the world. Sandro had been a self declared longtime cigarette smoking addict, which undoubtedly was the main cause of the disease. On November 20, 2009, Sandro received a double transplant (heart and lungs) in Mendoza, Argentina, the operation was a success. Five days later, in a daily press conference held by his doctors, it was reported that Sandro, although still kept in intensive care, was breathing without a respirator and that he had started a slow recovery.

Nevertheless, in the evening of January the 4th of 2010, after 45 days of receiving a double cardio-pulmonary transplant, and after many complications, he died of septic shock, mesenteric ischemia and disseminated intravascular coagulation in the Italian Hospital of Mendoza, Argentina. 01- Como Caja de Música 02- Ayer Aún 04- Con Los Ojos del Recuerdo 05- Después de la Guerra 06- Las Manos 07- Quiero Llenarme de Ti 08- Como Lo Hice Yo 09- Una Muchacha y Una Guitarra 10- Porque Yo Te Amo 11- Tengo ·"The Heavy Heavy Hits" - Madness Madness are a British pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. In 2009, the band have continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2 Tone ska revival.

Madness achieved most of their success in the early to mid 1980s. Both Madness and UB40 spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts over the course of the decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts. However, Madness achieved this in a shorter time period (1980–1986). Map of Beniamino Gigli - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki Wikipedia article: Map showing all locations mentioned on Wikipedia article: Beniamino Gigli, (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian opera singer . The most famous tenor of his generation, he was renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations. Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent that he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music. Biography Gigli was born in Recanati , in the Marche , the son of a shoe-maker who loved opera.

His brother Lorenzo became a famous Italian painter. In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma . His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914 when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli 's La Gioconda in Rovigo , following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in Mefistofele: Teatro Massimo di Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro San Carlo di Napoli (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan (November 26, 1920).

(Two other great Italian tenors on the roster of the Met during the 1920s were also Gigli's chief rivals, Giovanni Martinelli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi .) Some of the roles with which Gigli became particularly associated during this period included Edgardo in Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor , Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini 's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano 's Andrea Chénier , both of which he would later record in full. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo." In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's honey-toned lyric instrument. Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut.

Giulio Gatti-Casazza , the Met's then general manager, was furious at his company's most popular male singer; he told the press that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut. There were in fact several others, Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle among them; and it is well-documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in 1932 his salary remained the same as it had been originally. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counter offer to the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars saved was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut. After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe, and in South America. He was criticized for being a favorite singer of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini , and toward the end of World War II was able to give few performances. However he immediately returned to the stage when the war ended in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever.

In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of Farewell Concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his Memoirs (based primarily on an earlier Memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957. Personal life Like many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On the one hand, he gave more fund raising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history, with close to one thousand benefit concerts. He was deeply devoted to Padre Pio , his confessor, to whom he donated a large amount of money. Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in the 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi . On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were often tainted by scandal. He lied in his memoirs, saying that he was married six months earlier than he really was.

This was to conceal that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza: Enzo and Rina. (The latter was a well-known soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well-known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumored to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Gigli's exact number of offspring will probably never be known. Biographies Beniamino Gigli [Memoirs; Spanish Edition] Availability: Usually ships the same business day Product Description B1189. BENIAMINO GIGLI. Memoirs. Buenos Aires, Troquel, 1962. 285p. List of Repertoire; Ricaldone Discography; Photos; DJ. (Spanish Text) Choice, uncut copy. CRITIC REVIEW: �Beniamino Gigli was an Italian opera singer, the most famous tenor of his generation, renowned internationally for the great beauty of his voice and the soundness of his vocal technique. Music critics sometimes took him to task, however, for what was perceived to be the over-emotionalism of his interpretations.

Nevertheless, such was Gigli's talent, he is considered to be one of the very finest tenors in the recorded history of music. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called �Caruso Secondo�, though he much preferred to be known as �Gigli Primo�. In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's honey-toned lyric instrument. In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on the operatic stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of farewell concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his memoirs.� - Zillah Dorset Akron beniamino gigli : definition of beniamino gigli and synonyms of beniamino gigli (English) 6 External links Biography Gigli was born in Recanati , in the Marche , the son of a shoemaker who loved opera. His brother Lorenzo became a famous Italian painter.

In 1914, he won first prize in an international singing competition in Parma . His operatic debut came on October 15, 1914, when he played Enzo in Amilcare Ponchielli 's La Gioconda in Rovigo , following which he was in great demand. Gigli made many important debuts in quick succession, and always in Mefistofele : Teatro Massimo in Palermo (March 31, 1915), Teatro di San Carlo in Naples (December 26, 1915), Teatro Costanzi di Roma (December 26, 1916), La Scala , Milan (November 19, 1918), and finally the Metropolitan Opera , New York (November 26, 1920). Two other great Italian tenors present on the roster of Met singers during the 1920s also happened to be Gigli's chief contemporary rivals for tenor supremacy in the Italian repertory—namely, Giovanni Martinelli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi .

Some of the roles with which Gigli became particularly associated during this period included Edgardo in Donizetti 's Lucia di Lammermoor , Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini 's La Bohème and the title role in Umberto Giordano 's Andrea Chénier , both of which he would later record in full. Gigli rose to true international prominence after the death of the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921. Such was his popularity with audiences he was often called "Caruso Secondo", though he much preferred to be known as "Gigli Primo." In fact, the comparison was not valid as Caruso had a bigger, darker, more heroic voice than Gigli's honey-toned lyric instrument. Gigli left the Met in 1932, ostensibly after refusing to take a pay cut. Giulio Gatti-Casazza , the Met's then general manager, was furious at his company's most popular male singer; he told the press that Gigli was the only singer not to accept the pay cut.

There were in fact several others, Lily Pons and Rosa Ponselle among them; and it is well documented that Gatti-Casazza gave himself a large pay increase in 1931, so that after the pay cut in 1932 his salary remained the same as it had been originally. Furthermore, Gatti was careful to hide Gigli's counter offer from the press, in which the singer offered to sing five or six concerts gratis, which in dollars saved was worth more than Gatti's imposed pay cut. After leaving the Met, Gigli returned again to Italy, and sang in houses there, elsewhere in Europe, and in South America . He was criticised for being a favourite singer of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini , and toward the end of World War II was able to give few performances. However, he immediately returned to the stage when the war ended in 1945, and the audience acclaim was greater and more clamorous than ever. In addition to his stage performances, Gigli appeared as an actor in over twenty films from 1935 to 1953.

Some notable appearances include 1936's Johannes Riemann-directed musical drama Ave Maria opposite actress Käthe von Nagy and Giuseppe Fatigati's 1943 drama I Pagliacci ( English release title: Laugh Pagliacci), opposite Italian actress Alida Valli . In the last few years of his life, Gigli gave concert performances more often than he appeared on stage. Before his retirement in 1955, Gigli undertook an exhausting world tour of farewell concerts. This impaired his health in the two years that remained to him, during which time he helped prepare his memoirs (based primarily on an earlier memoir, fleshed out by a series of interviews). Gigli died in Rome in 1957. Personal life Like many artists, Gigli was a man of contradictions. On one hand, he gave more fund-raising concerts and raised more money than any other singer in history, with close to one thousand benefit concerts. He was deeply devoted to Padre Pio , his confessor, to whom he donated a large amount of money.

Also, Gigli sang an unusual amount of sacred music (especially in the 1950s), atypical of a leading operatic tenor. Additionally, he was throughout his life deeply devoted to the sacred music of Don Lorenzo Perosi . On the other hand, Gigli's relationships with women were often tainted by scandal. He lied in his memoirs, saying that he was married six months earlier than he really was. This was to conceal that his wife Costanza was pregnant before reaching the altar. Gigli had two children with Costanza: Enzo and Rina. (The latter was a well-known soprano in her own right.) Later, Gigli is well-known to have had a second family with Lucia Vigarani, producing three children. Gigli is rumoured to have had at least three other children with as many different women. Gigli's exact number of offspring is unknown. Gigli's musical legacy Such is Gigli's popularity that most of his recordings, including complete operas with Maria Caniglia , Rina Gigli, Licia Albanese and Toti dal Monte , have been converted to CD and are freely available.

His disc legacy dates back to recordings in the 1920s, which provide a good insight into the beauty of his voice due to EMI's digital enhancement of the recordings quality using the CEDAR process. He was liked by many composers and was the first to sing the title role in Andrea Chénier . Listen to his rendition of the complete opera Cavalleria Rusticana and you will hear Pietro Mascagni 's voice welcoming you. However, if you want to hear his recordings from his Italian years in the early 1930s until just after the war including his rendition of the "Giovinezza" you will have to go to Italy. His leaving the Met in New York following a pay cut meant he fell into the arms of Mussolini and allegedly became his favorite. This would have been fatal to most singers and for a while after the war he had to sing with his daughter Rina as many sopranos would not sing with him. This ended with a concert in Covent Garden , London when the world and the critics saw what they had been missing. He described himself as a simple man with a gift from God.

He was a generous man and would always end every concert by remaining on stage with the offer he would sing any song the audience wanted for a fee with the money going to charity. Gigli was the principal tenor at the Metropolitan Opera alongside Giovanni Martinelli for good reason and his version of Nessun Dorma will amaze many by its similarity to that made famous by Luciano Pavarotti many years later. He has what all great singers have, which is a voice easily recognisable and the ability to put a stamp on a song and make it his own. Like Jussi Björling , he sings in an apparently effortless way. There are examples on YouTube which clearly show how easy and marvelous his voice production was. In addition to his opera skills he is considered by many to be the greatest exponent of Neapolitan singing, he has a sound which is so definitively Italian and he sings convincingly in all Italian dialects. The double CD from EMI called O Sole Mio ranks as one of the best collections of this style of music, his version of Mamma still stands the test of time and no one sings Santa Lucia like he does with all the power of a true opera tenor coupled to a rapier-like sweet falsetto .

Unlike many opera stars today who sing can belto not bel canto, Gigli had the power of a truly great tenor coupled to a melting falsetto and tingling pianissimo. His emotional renditions complete with sobs which caused the critics so much concern were loved by the masses. Like Plácido Domingo , Roberto Alagna and Juan Diego Flórez do now, he could sell a song and he knew the way an audience liked it. Described as foxy by his accompanist his recordings reflect this in some of the unusual songs in his repertoire. He also was prone to including unusual twists and endings to the standards. For example he sings Chopin and English songs and his version of In the depths of the temple from Les pêcheurs de perles by Georges Bizet sung with Giuseppe De Luca contains such a unique ending. At the end of his career his voice may have lost its power, but it retained its beauty till the end; listen to the Dream from Manon in the live recording of a concert he gave in Rio de Janeiro just prior to his death. Biographies Marchand, Miguel Patrón (1996).

Como un Rayo de Sol: El aureo legado de Beniamino Gigli. Brander, Torsten (2001). Beniamino Gigli: Il tenore di Recanati. Inzaghi, Luigi (2005). Beniamino Gigli. p. 608. References

Question: Which Italian opera singer, considered to be one of the finest tenors in the recorded history of music rose to international prominence after the death of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso in 1921, and was often called "Caruso Secondo"?
Answer: Beniamino Gigli