Italian Dramatic tenor Giuseppe Giacomini dies at 80

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The tenor Giuseppe Giacomini died July 28 at the age of 80 in the town of Veggiano (Padua), where he was born on Sept. 7, 1940. Giacomini specialized in the verismo and dramatic repertoire and had great success in roles such as Otello, Don Alvaro, Radamès, Calaf, Poliione, Andrea Chénier and Canio.

La Scala in Milan, the San Carlo in Naples, the Liceu in Barcelona, ​​the National Theatre in Munich, the Vienna State Opera, the Paris Opera and Covent Garden in London as well as the Metropolitan in New York were some of the stages on which his brilliant career unfolded.

Giacomini possessed a particularly thick, dark, powerful and ringing tone that made him one of the most important Italian tenors of the 20th century.

Here is Giacomini singing “Nessun dorma,” the celebrated aria from Puccini’s Turandot, in Moscow in 1989. This encore was preceded by a five-minute standing ovation.

Here is a concert performance of the aria “Ch’ella mi creda” from La fanciulla del West by Puccini with Orchestra dei Teatri di Padova e Treviso under the baton of Enrico De Mori (Modena 1994).
 

 

Here Giacomini sings the duet “Si, pel ciel” from Verdi’s Otello with baritone Sherrill Milnes under the baton of Anton Guadagno.

Ever wondered how a dramatic voice sounds in lighter bel canto repertoire? Here is a rarity, Giacomini singing “Tombe degli avi miei” from Donizetti’s  Lucia di Lammermoor. This was intended to be sung by a lyric tenor, but Giacomini does a remarkable job considering the density and depth of his thunderous tenor.

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