|
|
Beniamino Gigli
|
     | |||
| Beniamino Gigli was born on March 20th 1890 in Recanati near Ancona on the Adriatic coast of Italy.
Like his great predecessor Enrico Caruso he came from a very poor family, the youngest of six children. His father eked out a meagre living as a shoemaker. There wasn't any money for education so this came from the church, with musical education from the organist and choirmaster. From an early age it was recognised that Gigli had a unique ability to communicate through his singing; he said in later life that he was born to sing. At the age of ten he joined the cathedral choir school which further developed his musicianship but once his voice broke he had to begin work in order to earn money for the family. It wasn't until 1911 that he was given a scholarship to enter the Liceo Musicale di Santa Cecilia in Rome his teachers being the veteran baritone Antonio Cotogni and Enrico Rosati. In 1914 he entered a singing competition. Out of 102 participants, 32 of them tenors, Gigli was judged to be the outstanding singer and won first prize. One of the judges was the world famous tenor Alisandro Bonci who wrote in his notes 'at last we have found the Tenor'. Gigli made his début at the Teatro Sociale in Rovigo on 15th October 1914 as Enzo in La Gioconda. The next two years were spent in Italy developing his repertoire with Manon, Tosca, Adriana Lecouvreur, Mefistofele, Cavalleria Rusticana, La Favorita, Lucia and Iris. His voice was a pure lyric of exceptional beauty and ease of delivery, reminding his Italian audiences of the young Caruso and generating the same enthusiasm. In 1917 he travelled out of Italy for the first time, to Spain, again winning great enthusiasm from the audiences. 1918 was the most important year of his life for he made his first gramophone records and was invited by Toscanini to join La Scala for the season 1918-19. During 1917 HMV had opened an Italian office and recording studios in Milan, the musical director being Maestro Carlo Sabaino. In May 1918 the composer Mascagni introduced Gigli to Sabaino who invited him to make a test record the result being the following letter to Will Gaisberg of HMV head office. "Dear Will Sabajno will be writing to you about a new tenor named "Gigli" who has been singing in Rome and here and making an awful hit. I have heard him and today I made a test of his voice. I tell you he is wonderful and don't hesitate to follow Sabajno's advice about securing him because he is going to have a great career. You can describe him as a 2nd Caruso except he has greater vocal flexibility. It is a real lyric voice that rings out all over the place giving you the impression of illimitable reserve. He is about 24 and robust health, average height and shows extraordionary intelligence for a tenor. The Columbia have already made him an offer so we are not alone in the ring. We lost Schipa and for goodness sake don't let us lose Gigli." HMV didn't lose Gigli and except for a period of nine years from 1921-30 when he recorded for Victor in New York his association with HMV lasted the full length of his international career 1918-55. It is in the early recordings, rarely heard today, that the fabulous lyrical quality of his then unmannered singing can be enjoyed at its best. From the 1918 Milan session we hear the passionate performance of 'Cielo e mar' from La Gioconda, reputed to be Gigli's rarest commercial recording. The more forward recordings made by Victor in New York show his impeccable line and natural musicianship in a wide ranging repertoire, from the forthright declamation of Andrea Chénier to the ease of mezzo voce in 'Apri la tua finestra' from Iris. After his successful début at La Scala in Boïto's Mefistofele with Toscanini conducting he was invited to South America to perform in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. In 1920 with Caruso ill he was invited to join the Metropolitan Opera. His début was as Faust in Mefistofele on November 26th 1920, when he was described as uninvolved phisically but showing a voice of fine quality and style. Gigli's acting and stage appearance didn't improve as his figure grew rounder, but this didn't seem to matter because of his wonderful gift of communication through the great variety of colours he could paint with his voice. After leaving the Met in 1932 he returned to Italy and continued his career based in Europe while still performing throughout the world. His stage and concert career lasted for more than forty years, he recorded more than three hundred records and made over twenty films, and he quite rightly earned the title "The Peoples' Singer". Beniamino Gigli died in Rome of a heart attack on November 30th 1957. |
|
| All rights of the producer and of the owner of the recorded work reserved. Unauthorised copying, public performance and broadcasting of this recording prohibited. |