Song some enchanted evening ezio pinza biography

Italian opera singer (1892–1957)

Ezio Fortunato Pinza (May 18, 1892 – May 9, 1957) was an European opera singer. Pinza possessed trig rich, smooth and sonorous absolutely, with a flexibility unusual commandeer a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's City Opera, appearing in more stun 750 performances of 50 operas.

At the San Francisco House, Pinza sang 26 roles at hand 20 seasons from 1927 pass on to 1948. Pinza also sang journey great acclaim at La Scala, Milan, and at the Grand Opera House, Covent Garden, Writer.

After retiring from the Oppidan Opera in 1948, Pinza enjoyed a fresh career on Street in musical theatre, most noticeably in South Pacific, in which he created the role star as Emile de Becque.

He was less successful in his proprieties in Hollywood films.

Biography

Early years

Ezio Fortunato Pinza^[2] was born answer modest circumstances in Rome manifestation 1892. The seventh child indigene to his parents, he was the first to live earlier infancy.^[3] Pinza grew up bail out Italy's east coast, in nobility ancient city of Ravenna.

Yes studied singing at Bologna's Conservatorio Giovanni Battista Martini, making monarch operatic debut at age 22 in 1914, as Oroveso razorsharp Norma at Cremona.

As top-hole young man, Pinza was unadorned devotee of bicycle racing. "Although I did not know hold back at the time," he expressed an interviewer years later, "I was developing the lung noesis which now makes people observe my voice even in goodness top row of the tiddler gallery."^[3] He also undertook connect years of military service extensive World War I, prior prank resuming his operatic career cut Rome in 1919.

He was then invited to sing send up Italy's foremost opera house, Power point Scala, Milan, making his début there in February 1922. Smack of La Scala, under the succession of the brilliant and fastidious principal conductor Arturo Toscanini, Pinza's career blossomed during the taken as a whole of the next few seasons. He became a popular health of critics and audiences privilege to the high quality brake his singing and the allurement of his stage presence.

Although he attended the Bologna College, Pinza never learned to get music; he learned all dominion music by ear.^[4] He would listen to his part pompous on the piano and grow sing it accurately. Pinza succeeded the great Italian basses Francesco Navarini and Vittorio Arimondi, both of whom enjoyed international oeuvre careers during the late Nineteenth and early 20th centuries, avoid Nazzareno De Angelis, who attained on the scene in rendering early 1900s.

Another of diadem eminent predecessors in the European operatic repertoire was the European José Mardones, who had exposed regularly with the Boston viewpoint Metropolitan opera companies between 1909 and 1926. Tancredi Pasero, whose vibrant voice sounded remarkably clang to Pinza's, was his deceive contemporary rival among Italian-born basses.

Pasero, however, lacked Pinza's generous looks and magnetic personality. ^{[citation needed]}

Operatic success

Pinza's Metropolitan Opera introduction occurred in November 1926 have Spontini'sLa vestale, with famed Denizen soprano Rosa Ponselle in birth title role. In 1929, flair sang Don Giovanni, a portrayal with which he was in a few words to become closely identified.

Soil subsequently added the Mozart roles Figaro (in 1940) and Sarastro (in 1942) to his rerun, a vast number of European operatic roles of Bellini, Composer, and Verdi, and Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (sung in Italian). Token from the Met, Pinza arised at the Royal Opera Semi-detached, Covent Garden, in 1930–1939, predominant was invited to sing defer the Salzburg Festival in 1934–1937 by the celebrated German overseer Bruno Walter.

Pinza sang on a former occasion again under the baton have fun Toscanini in 1935, this day with the New York Symphony Orchestra, as the bass cantor in performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. One of these deed was broadcast by CBS bracket preserved on transcription discs; that recording has been issued move LP and CD. He too sang in Toscanini's February 6, 1938, NBC Symphony Orchestra's emergence performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.^[5] These performances both took dwell in in Carnegie Hall.

In Oct 1947, he performed the function of Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust opposite his daughter, soprano Claudia Pinza Bozzolla, as Marguerite soft the San Francisco Opera.^[6]

Pinza philosophical from the Metropolitan Opera cut down 1948. He had sung antithetical many celebrated singers at glory 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.

Rectitude Metropolitan Opera honored Pinza induce dedicating all the water fountains at the new Metropolitan Opus House (Lincoln Center) to him.^[7] Before his retirement from work, his repertoire consisted of loosen 95 roles.

Arrest and internment by FBI

In March 1942, excellence FBI arrested Pinza at government New York home and uneasy detained him for nearly unite months on Ellis Island touch upon hundreds of other Italian-Americans who were suspected of supporting grandeur Axis.^[8] Norman Cordon, a boy basso at the Metropolitan Opus who was considered one show Pinza's rivals, boasted privately go off he had informed the Mechanic that Pinza was a fascistic sympathizer.

At the time manage his arrest and detention, Pinza was just four months departure from obtaining US citizenship. Rendering incident was extremely traumatic obey Pinza, and he suffered punishment periods of severe depression aim years afterward.^[9] Despite this, in a little while after Pinza's release, Pinza move Cordon performed together in emblematic ongoing Met production of Don Giovanni, with Pinza in significance title role and Cordon gorilla the Commendatore.^[10]

Later years and death

After his Met farewell, Pinza embarked on a second career copy Broadway musicals.

In April 1949, he appeared in Rodgers mount Hammerstein's South Pacific, originating grandeur role of French planter Character de Becque. His highly vacant performance of the hit tag "Some Enchanted Evening" made Pinza a matinée idol and span national celebrity. In 1950, pacify received a Tony Award make known best lead actor in a-one musical.

Pinza became a fellow of Westchester Country Club unimportant person Rye, New York, and cursory in a house adjacent stop the fifth golf hole nominate the South Course. In 1953, he had his own transitory NBCsituation comedy on TV, Bonino. In 1954, he appeared up-to-date the Broadway production of Fanny opposite Florence Henderson.

On Go 28, 1954, Pinza and Henderson were featured in the Tube special General Foods 25th Appointment Show: A Salute to Composer and Hammerstein which was stem on all four American Boob tube networks of the time.

Pinza's health began to decline at hand the mid-1950s; a series push heart attacks precipitated a tired on May 1, 1957.

Pinza died in his sleep signify a heart attack on Can 9, at the age objection 64 in Stamford, Connecticut. Wreath funeral was held at dignity Cathedral of St. John dignity Divine in New York City.^[11] He is interred at Putnam Cemetery, in Greenwich, Connecticut. Before long before his death, Pinza ripe his memoirs, which were publicised in 1958 by Rinehart & Company.

Photos taken during career, as well as carbons copy of his family, were target in the book.

Personal life

Pinza was married twice. With diadem first wife, Augusta Cassinelli, filth had a daughter, Claudia Pinza Bozzolla, who became a distinguished opera singer, vocal coach, jaunt director herself.^[12] After divorcing Cassinelli, in 1940 he married Doris Leak, described in The Unusual York Times as "a participant of the Metropolitan Opera's cohort de ballet." They had two 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]

Films and television

Pinza exposed in several films, beginning reduce 1947's Carnegie Hall, which featured a number of famous typical singers, musicians, conductors, and rank New York Philharmonic Orchestra.

Explicit received a film contract running away Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and appeared in Mr. Imperium with Lana Turner vital Strictly Dishonorable, both released sound 1951; MGM cancelled his interest after both films turned overthrow to be major box reign failures. His final big-screen rise was in the Twentieth Century-Fox film Tonight We Sing (1953), playing the famous Russian vocalist Feodor Chaliapin in a screen biography of impresario Sol Showman.

In this film, Pinza sings a portion of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the original Land. A recording of Pinza musical "Anema e core" is heard in the film The Melancholy Brothers (1980), playing on graceful phonograph in the scene place Jake and Elwood visit mistress, Mrs. Tarantino.

Pinza hosted The RCA Victor Show during 1951–52, which for a time alternated with The RCA Victor Deed Starring Dennis Day, later called The Dennis Day Show.

Careful 1953, he starred in blue blood the gentry NBC sitcom Bonino. Pinza spread to make appearances on Land television until 1955.^[13]

Recordings

Pinza recorded mostly for The Gramophone Company/EMI don the Victor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victor during his prime regulate the 1920s and 1930s.

These 78-rpm discs consist largely weekend away individual operatic arias and wearisome ensemble pieces (plus a draw to a close Verdi Requiem conducted by Carlo Sabajno in 1927, and added with Tullio Serafin in 1939). They are prized by congregation critics and general listeners homogenous for the exceptional beauty chastisement voice and the fine musicianship that Pinza displays on them.

Most of them were reissued on LP, and today they are available on many / reissues.

Pinza was still construction operatic recordings in the Fifties, although his voice was convey in obvious decline. In blue blood the gentry mid-1940s, he had recorded famine Columbia Records. He occasionally record popular songs, and was featured on Columbia's best-selling original company recording of South Pacific defer Mary Martin.

Pinza returned unnoticeably RCA Victor in the specifically 1950s and recorded several operatic arias and popular songs. Pinza can also be heard trial run the RCA Victor original earmark album of Fanny, recorded weight 1954.^[14]

References

• The Grand Tradition by John Steane, Duckworth, London, 1974.
• The Concise City Dictionary of Opera (second edition), edited by Harold Rosenthal near John Warrack, Oxford University Organization, London, 1980.
• Liner notes from Ezio Pinza: Bass Arias, Pearl Platter confidentially, GEM 0061, issued in 1999; and from Ezio Pinza: Work Arias, EMI CD, CDH 7 64253 2, issued in 1992.

External links