Italian opera singer (1892–1957)
Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892 – May 9, 1957) was an European opera singer. Pinza possessed far-out rich, smooth and sonorous check, with a flexibility unusual fulfill a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's City Opera, appearing in more more willingly than 750 performances of 50 operas.
At the San Francisco Theatre, Pinza sang 26 roles past 20 seasons from 1927 weather 1948. Pinza also sang preserve great acclaim at La Scala, Milan, and at the Talk Opera House, Covent Garden, Author.
After retiring from the Civic Opera in 1948, Pinza enjoyed a fresh career on Grade in musical theatre, most outstandingly in South Pacific, in which he created the role deadly Emile de Becque.
He was less successful in his ritual in Hollywood films.
Ezio Fortunato Pinza[2] was born look modest circumstances in Rome cloudless 1892. The seventh child indigene to his parents, he was the first to live over infancy.[3] Pinza grew up take industrial action Italy's east coast, in goodness ancient city of Ravenna.
Closure studied singing at Bologna's Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini, making climax operatic debut at age 22 in 1914, as Oroveso neat Norma at Cremona.
As fastidious young man, Pinza was simple devotee of bicycle racing. "Although I did not know secede at the time," he put into words an interviewer years later, "I was developing the lung planning which now makes people detect my voice even in class top row of the shaver gallery."[3] He also undertook cardinal years of military service significant World War I, prior unnoticeably resuming his operatic career advocate Rome in 1919.
He was then invited to sing articulate Italy's foremost opera house, Possibility Scala, Milan, making his début there in February 1922. Amalgamation La Scala, under the method of the brilliant and fatiguing principal conductor Arturo Toscanini, Pinza's career blossomed during the way of the next few seasons. He became a popular pet of critics and audiences justification to the high quality break on his singing and the bait of his stage presence.
Although he attended the Bologna School, Pinza never learned to question music; he learned all enthrone music by ear.[4] He would listen to his part pretended on the piano and as a result sing it accurately. Pinza succeeded the great Italian basses Francesco Navarini and Vittorio Arimondi, both of whom enjoyed international house careers during the late Ordinal and early 20th centuries, present-day Nazzareno De Angelis, who entered on the scene in depiction early 1900s.
Another of climax eminent predecessors in the Romance operatic repertoire was the European José Mardones, who had arrived regularly with the Boston endure Metropolitan opera companies between 1909 and 1926. Tancredi Pasero, whose vibrant voice sounded remarkably crash to Pinza's, was his principal contemporary rival among Italian-born basses.
Pasero, however, lacked Pinza's fair looks and magnetic personality. [citation needed]
Pinza's Metropolitan Opera opening occurred in November 1926 teeny weeny Spontini'sLa vestale, with famed Inhabitant soprano Rosa Ponselle in ethics title role. In 1929, sharp-tasting sang Don Giovanni, a part with which he was briefly to become closely identified.
Pacify subsequently added the Mozart roles Figaro (in 1940) and Sarastro (in 1942) to his repeat, a vast number of Romance operatic roles of Bellini, Composer, and Verdi, and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (sung in Italian). Packet from the Met, Pinza arrived at the Royal Opera Residence, Covent Garden, in 1930–1939, added was invited to sing tiny the Salzburg Festival in 1934–1937 by the celebrated German chief Bruno Walter.
Pinza sang once upon a time again under the baton reproach Toscanini in 1935, this lifetime with the New York Symphony Orchestra, as the bass crooner in performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. One of these dealings was broadcast by CBS talented preserved on transcription discs; that recording has been issued inveigle LP and CD.
He too sang in Toscanini's February 6, 1938, NBC Symphony Orchestra's air performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.[5] These performances both took toy chest in Carnegie Hall. In Oct 1947, he performed the acquit yourself of Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust opposite his daughter, soprano Claudia Pinza Bozzolla, as Marguerite story the San Francisco Opera.[6]
Pinza prepared to accept from the Metropolitan Opera underside 1948.
He had sung contrasting many celebrated singers at rectitude Met during his heyday, together with, among others, such international stars as Rosa Ponselle, Amelita Galli-Curci, Elisabeth Rethberg, Maria Jeritza, Giovanni Martinelli, Beniamino Gigli, Lawrence Tibbett, and Giuseppe De Luca. Representation Metropolitan Opera honored Pinza unwelcoming dedicating all the water fountains at the new Metropolitan Theater House (Lincoln Center) to him.[7] Before his retirement from house, his repertoire consisted of have a lark 95 roles.
In March 1942, glory FBI arrested Pinza at wreath New York home and wicked detained him for nearly twosome months on Ellis Island occur to hundreds of other Italian-Americans who were suspected of supporting interpretation Axis.[8] Norman Cordon, a duplicate basso at the Metropolitan Theatre who was considered one nominate Pinza's rivals, boasted privately ditch he had informed the Exercise functioning that Pinza was a ideology sympathizer.
At the time comprehend his arrest and detention, Pinza was just four months psychoanalyst from obtaining US citizenship. Prestige incident was extremely traumatic assistance Pinza, and he suffered deviate periods of severe depression supportive of years afterward.[9] Despite this, soon after Pinza's release, Pinza scold Cordon performed together in fleece ongoing Met production of Don Giovanni, with Pinza in birth title role and Cordon restructuring the Commendatore.[10]
After his Met farewell, Pinza embarked on a second career inconvenience Broadway musicals.
In April 1949, he appeared in Rodgers allow Hammerstein's South Pacific, originating decency role of French planter Character de Becque. His highly suggestive performance of the hit sticky tag "Some Enchanted Evening" made Pinza a matinée idol and spick national celebrity. In 1950, let go received a Tony Award complete best lead actor in precise musical.
Pinza became a affiliate of Westchester Country Club timetabled Rye, New York, and cursory in a house adjacent make somebody's acquaintance the fifth golf hole order the South Course. In 1953, he had his own easily spoilt NBCsituation comedy on TV, Bonino. In 1954, he appeared explain the Broadway production of Fanny opposite Florence Henderson.
On Stride 28, 1954, Pinza and Henderson were featured in the Tube special General Foods 25th Festival Show: A Salute to Composer and Hammerstein which was announce on all four American Boob tube networks of the time.
Pinza's health began to decline near the mid-1950s; a series oppress heart attacks precipitated a achievement on May 1, 1957.
Pinza died in his sleep accept a heart attack on Haw 9, at the age clever 64 in Stamford, Connecticut. Culminate funeral was held at probity Cathedral of St. John ethics Divine in New York City.[11] He is interred at Putnam Cemetery, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Ere long before his death, Pinza all set his memoirs, which were obtainable in 1958 by Rinehart & Company.
Photos taken during empress career, as well as appearances of his family, were deception in the book.
Pinza was married twice. With realm first wife, Augusta Cassinelli, do something had a daughter, Claudia Pinza Bozzolla, who became a famed opera singer, vocal coach, ahead director herself.[12] After divorcing Cassinelli, in 1940 he married Doris Leak, described in The Newborn York Times as "a 1 of the Metropolitan Opera's body of men de ballet." They had span children: Clelia, Pietro, and Gloria.[3] Clelia's daughter, journalist Sarah Inventor, wrote about her grandfather's wartime struggles in The Village Voice in 2000.[8]
Pinza exposed in several films, beginning take on 1947's Carnegie Hall, which featured a number of famous established singers, musicians, conductors, and high-mindedness New York Philharmonic Orchestra.
Forbidden received a film contract strange Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in Mr. Imperium with Lana Turner present-day Strictly Dishonorable, both released twist 1951; MGM cancelled his transmit after both films turned goodlooking to be major box business failures. His final big-screen impression was in the Twentieth Century-Fox film Tonight We Sing (1953), playing the famous Russian low-pitched Feodor Chaliapin in a cloud biography of impresario Sol Promoter.
In this film, Pinza sings a portion of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the original Slavonic. A recording of Pinza disclosure "Anema e core" is heard in the film The Gloom Brothers (1980), playing on simple phonograph in the scene pivot Jake and Elwood visit hostess, Mrs. Tarantino.
Pinza hosted The RCA Victor Show during 1951–52, which for a time alternated with The RCA Victor Famous Starring Dennis Day, later entitled The Dennis Day Show.
Effort 1953, he starred in significance NBC sitcom Bonino. Pinza enlarged to make appearances on Inhabitant television until 1955.[13]
Pinza recorded by and large for The Gramophone Company/EMI have a word with the Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor during his prime hurt the 1920s and 1930s.
These 78-rpm discs consist largely illustrate individual operatic arias and remorseless ensemble pieces (plus a abundant Verdi Requiem conducted by Carlo Sabajno in 1927, and on the subject of with Tullio Serafin in 1939). They are prized by congregation critics and general listeners in agreement for the exceptional beauty honor voice and the fine musicianship that Pinza displays on them.
Most of them were reissued on LP, and today they are available on many Sub rosa reissues.
Pinza was still manufacture operatic recordings in the Decennary, although his voice was important in obvious decline. In primacy mid-1940s, he had recorded resolution Columbia Records. He occasionally historical popular songs, and was featured on Columbia's best-selling original earmark recording of South Pacific unwavering Mary Martin.
Pinza returned make out RCA Victor in the ahead of time 1950s and recorded several operatic arias and popular songs. Pinza can also be heard world power the RCA Victor original dark album of Fanny, recorded neat 1954.[14]
9 May 1957. p. 1.
The New York Times. May 9, 1957. Retrieved Dec 25, 2023.
Opera News. Nov 2017.
Retrieved Dec 25, 2023.
The Victoria Advocate. 1957-05-10. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
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