Emilio de Marchi

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Emilio de Marchi (January 6, 1861, Voghera – March 20, 1917, Milan) was an Italian operatic tenor, he created the role of Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca.

His voice was discovered during his military service. He made his debut at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan, as Alfredo in La traviata, in 1886. He sang in leading houses throughout Italy and Spain, and was a member of the distinguished Italian company that visited Buenos Aires in 1890.

He made his debut at La Scala in Milan, as Stolzing, in 1898. He was chosen by Puccini for the coveted role of Cavaradossi in Tosca, created at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14, 1900. He was to sing the role at the premiere of the opera at the Royal Opera House in London (1901). Cavaradossi was also his debut role at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1902. While at the Met, he sang at the premiere of Verdi's Ernani in 1903, other roles there included; Radames, Alfredo, Rodolfo, Riccardo, Turiddu, Canio, Don Jose.

In his last seasons at La Scala, his roles included Max in Der Freischütz, and Licinius in La Vestale. He made no commercial recordings but he can be heard in a few fragments from Tosca recorded on cylinder at the Metropolitan Opera.