Filippo Galli (bass)
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Filippo Galli (1783 – Paris, June 3, 1853) was an Italian opera singer who began his career as a tenor in 1801 but went on to become one of the most acclaimed basses of the Bel Canto era, with a voice known for its wide range, extreme agility, and expressivity, and a remarkable gift for acting
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[edit] Early life
Born in Rome, Galli was a marginal buffo tenor, appearing in Naples, Bologna, Parma, and Turin, primarily in the works of Nasolini, Generali, and Zingarelli. It is said that following an illness in 1810, his voice changed markedly into that of bass', but this may have been a cover story for his technical transition into the bass repertoire upon the advice of the composer Giovanni Paisiello or singer Luigi Marchesi.
[edit] Career as bass
His new career took rise in 1812: his meeting with Rossini allowed him to sing L'inganno felice on August 1 at the Teatro San Moisè, Venice (in the role of Tarabotto). After his creation of Polidoro in Pietro Generali's La Vedova stravagante, he appeared in a new opera by Rossini—La pietra del paragone (September 26, 1812). His performance in the "Sigillara" aria was the hit of the immensely successful opera.
His collaboration with Rossini increased: May 22, 1813 he sang the Mustafà in the premiere of L'italiana in Algeri at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice. Rossini then composed numerous other bass parts specifically for Galli: August 14, 1814, Il turco in Italia at la Scala; May 31, 1817 (again at la Scala), the very difficult role of Fernando in La gazza ladra; December 3, 1820, the title role in Maometto II at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples; and February 3, 1823, Assur in Semiramide at the Teatro alla Fenice, Venice.
Galli also created the role of Enrico (Henry) VIII in Donizetti's Anna Bolena at the Teatro Carcano, Milan.
[edit] Repertoire
This is an alphabetical list of Filippo Galli's roles (with their respective operas and composers), appended as sources permit:
- Adolfo, in Carlo Coccia's La donna selvaggia
- Adolfo, in Carlo Evasio Soliva's La testa di bronzo o sia La capanna solitaria
- Assur, in Gioacchino Rossini's Semiramide
- Batone, in Gioacchino Rossini's L'inganno felice
- Conte Asdrubale, in Gioacchino Rossini's La pietra del paragone
- Dandini, in Stefano Pavesi's Agatina ovvero La virtù premiata
- Dandini, in Gioacchino Rossini's La Cenerentola
- Don Giovanni, in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni
- Duca d'Ordowo, in Gioacchino Rossini's Torvaldo e Dorliska
- Elpino, in Gioacchino Rossini's Il vero omaggio
- Enrico VIII, in Gaetano Donizetti's Anna Bolena
- Fernando Villabella, in Gioacchino Rossini's La gazza ladra
- Figaro, in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro
- Gabriel, in François-Adrien Boieldieu's La dama bianca
- Geronimo, in Domenico Cimarosa's Il matrimonio segreto
- Giove, in Vittorio Trento's Andromeda
- Gondair, in Giovanni Pacini's Gli arabi nelle Gallie
- Ircano, in Gioacchino Rossini's Ricciardo e Zoraide
- Maometto II, by Gioacchino Rossini
- Mercurio, in Pietro Casella's Paride
- Mustafà, in Gioacchino Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri
- Oroveso, in Vincenzo Bellini's Norma
- Papageno, in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Die Zauberflöte
- Podesta di Firenze, in Giovanni Pacini's Isabella ed Enrico''
- Polidoro, in Pietro Generali's La vedova stravagante
- Richard, in Joseph Weigl's La famiglia svizzera
- Selim, in Gioacchino Rossini's Il turco in Italia'
- Teodoro, in Giovanni Pacini's Il Barone di Dolsheim
[edit] Sources
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
