Fernando De Lucia (1860 - 1925)

Note by Alan Bilgora











To devotees of vocal art, and in particular to those collectors of recordings of artists active in the last years of the 19th and early decades of the 20th centuries the name of Fernando De Lucia has epitomised what has generally become accepted as the ‘Bel Canto’ style. To modern ears the actual timbre may not always be found to be attractive, as it has, like other tenors of his generation, a pronounced vibrato. Nonetheless it is the languid emission of tone combined with a refinement of phrasing and individual and charming chiaro-schuro effects (contrasts of light and shade) which make his singing of operatic arias so fascinating. This is particularly so when these qualities are applied to his interpretation of Neopolitan songs by composers such as Tosti, Barthélemy, Denza, di Curtis, and di Capua and where much of his singing is quite irresistible. His ability to float the tone in a delicate mezza-voce and produce filature (the fading of tone to a thread of sound) are combined with facile florid technique. In spite of transpositions to more congenial keys (as was the fashion of the time) in order to achieve his desired results in the music of Donizetti, Rossini and Bellini, De Lucia's recordings always demonstrate a morbidezza (tenderness) as well as a dramatic thrust. This talent enables him to be effective in both the music of those older traditions, and also that of the Verismo school, which was quickly coming to the fore in the period covering his career. A comprehensive and highly detailed biography of the singer by Michael Henstock, published in 1990 by Duckworth gives a wonderful account of De Lucia's early endeavours and subsequent rise to fame. More importantly it not only traces his life and times, with cogent critical reviews of his performances, but outlines the expectations contemporary composers had of their interpreters, especially those who created roles for them, and also highlights the public's taste of the day.

Fernando de Lucia was born in Naples on 11 October 1860 and studied music at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella, his singing teachers being Beniamino Carelli and Vicenzo Lombardi. His theatrical debut was made at the Teatro San Carlo Naples in 1885 in Gounod's Faust and following engagements in Bologna and Florence he made his South American debut in 1887 in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. That same year he appeared in London at the Drury Lane Theatre as Alfredo in La Traviata. where the main interest for English audiences that season was the emergence of the former baritone Jean de Reszké as a tenor. However with performances in Paris, Barcelona, Brussels, and Lisbon he established himself as an artist of the front rank. On 31 October 1891 at the Teatro Costanzi he created the role of Fritz Kobus in the première of Mascagni's L'Amico Fritz with Emma Calve as Suzel. From 1892-1900 he was heard regularly at Covent Garden where he sang in the English premières of L'Amico Fritz and also the first performances of Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, Puccini's La Tosca and Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana. As part of the glittering International Seasons he sang with the most distinguished singers of the day and was invited to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle several times to sing at command performances for Queen Victoria. On 25 March 1895 he sang in the première of Mascagni's Silvana at the La Scala Milan and on 22 November 1898 he created the role of Osaka in Mascagni's Iris. He was also asked to appear in the première of the composers Le Maschere but for various personal reasons declined.

Such was the importance of his name attached to any new work during the 1890's that Puccini also approached him to create the role of Rodolfo in La Bohème. However, politics and other commitments prevented this, although he did follow Evan Gorga the creator of the role, in subsequent performances immediately following the première of the opera in 1896.

In 1893 he had made his New York Metropolitan Opera debut as Canio in the American première of Pagliacci with Melba as Nedda and Ancona as Tonio. De Lucia was well received by the critics who appreciated both his histrionic and vocal accomplishments. Whilst in the USA he made appearances in the Auditorium at Chicago, in Boston and Philadelphia following which he seems to have appeared, generally with great success, in most of the leading operas houses of the Americas and Western Europe, including St. Petersburg, and was always a member of the most distinguished casts. A fervent Neopolitan he was a favourite tenor at the San Carlo Opera in Naples throughout his career.

He made his first recordings for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company in Milan in 1902. Later he worked for the Fonotipia Company and also from 1917 until 1922 the Phonotype Company. From 1910 he had been appointed a professor of vocal studies at the San Pietro a Majella. His many pupils included the stylish Italian tenor Antonio Notariello, the thrilling Hungarian soprano Maria Nemeth, the Italian Mezzo-soprano Gianna Pederzini, the famous French tenor Georges Thill and the Bulgarian tenor Peter Raitscheff. He retired from the operatic stage in 1917 but continued a concert career. Although he was not a close friend, he was asked to take part in Caruso's funeral service on 4 August 1921 at the Naples Cathedral. He sang the prayer 'Pieta Signore' by Niedermeyer in honour of his illustrious dead colleague. His last public appearance, before his beloved Neopolitan audiences, was on 24 May 1924 when he sang the aria Amor ti vieta from Giodano's opera Fedora. Fernando De Lucia died in Naples on the 21 February 1925.

Because the original recording speeds of these early discs vary enormously, and taking into account De Lucia's frequent penchant for transposing, his records (and previous transfers of them) have often been played too fast and consequently give a very false impression of the quality of his voice. Care has been taken by Nimbus to establish the correct pitch, and in doing so reveal the darker and more robust timbre that enabled him not only to sing the lyric ‘Bel Canto’ roles, but also successfully encompass and ride the heavier orchestrations of the 'Verismo' school.

The selections chosen for this Compact Disc are sung in Italian, and show him in a number of roles he sang with distinction. Allowing for the downwards transposing of some items by a half tone, (or in one or two cases a whole tone), and the occasional open vowels to facilitate a penetrating tone, he demonstrates a remarkable ability to create effects that make the hearing of familiar arias, duet and songs seem entirely fresh.

Listen carefully to the dulcet opening phrases of the duet from the Bizet's Pearl Fishers where his use of mezza-voce, subtle rubato and poised high tones coupled with mesa di voce (the swelling and diminishing of tone) all employed with taste so that in the final bars he ensures a perfect blend of tone with the Spanish soprano Huguet. He finds similar nuances in the love duet from Gounod's Faust which he sings with one of Italy's leading dramatic sopranos Celestina Boninsegna. His singing of one verse only of Ah! Non mi ridestar, Ossian's verses from Massenet's Werther still enables him to show the desperation that haunts the character in the title role. Addio Mignon really evokes that sense of farewell that Wilhem Meister feels as he is about to leave the heroine. As one would expect there is a real intimacy in his version of the Dream (Il sogno) from Massenet's Manon. Justly famous for his singing of the role of Count Almaviva, De Lucia here demonstrates his florid technique and sense of fun in both the solos and the duet from the first Act of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. And in the concerted piece his light hearted manner and his singing of the fiorature raises an involuntary smile. It has long been considered that his version of Alfredo's De' miei bollenti spiriti from La Traviata is definitive, containing a beautifully articulated recitative that is full of character, superbly executed with breathtaking morendi on the lingering high A flats. There is a gracefulness in his singing of the Sonambula excerpts with the exciting Spanish soprano Maria Galvany, which feature his sustained cantilena and the florid technique that supported his success in the role of Elvino. Like so many other Latin tenors De Lucia finds a lyricism in the Lohengrin excerpts that frequently goes unnoticed by those listeners only familiar with a more Teutonic approach. Of course in the featured songs by Tosti, Barthelémey and De Curtis he is in his element, and combined with the more serious selections on this CD they show his considerable art to perfection.


© 2003 Alan Bilgora

All rights of the producer and of the owner of the recorded work reserved.
Unauthorised copying, public performance and broadcasting of this recording prohibited.