25:
213:, from 1898 through into the early 1900s, and proceeded to master all the main tenor parts of the Wagnerian repertoire, namely, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser, Walther, Tristan, Siegmund, Siegfried and, finally, Parsifal. In 1898, he toured South America with a first-class troupe of Italian singers which included his fellow tenor
300:
theatre in his home town of Cento was named in his honour in 1924. By this juncture, he was blind in both eyes. His last public performance occurred in
Bologna in 1928. He taught singing in Milan following the curtailment of his opera house career. His best known pupils were the English lyric tenor
393:
by Robert
Schumann. Like the Wagner pieces, they are sung in Italian. Borgatti's acoustic recordings are available on various CD anthologies, including those issued by the Symposium label (catalogue number 1199), EMI's "La Scala Edition, Volume One" (CHS 7 64860 2) and Nuova Era Records (PH 5110).
299:
At the height of his career, in 1907, Borgatti began losing his sight due to glaucoma. This affliction grew steadily worse, obliging him to retire from the operatic stage seven years after its onset, even though his voice was still in excellent condition. He kept giving concerts, however, and the
276:
Good-looking and solidly built—as photographs attest—Borgatti is described in contemporary reviews of his performances as having possessed abundant reserves of stamina and strong histrionic ability in addition to a smooth, well-schooled voice of robust size. Modern-day critics, including Scott,
162:
in northern Italy and grew up illiterate, according to the music-performance historian John
Rosselli. This handicap did not prevent Borgatti from finding work as a bricklayer/stone-cutter. He was also called up by the authorities to discharge a compulsory period of military service. Luckily, a
90:
281:
and John
Freestone, have praised him, too, for the clarity of his diction, the limpidity of his tone and the fineness of his phrasing. He took pride in the fact that even after he took on the heavy Wagnerian repertoire, he was still able to put across a
238:
In 1901, he took part in a "grand concert" at La Scala that had been organised to mark the recent death of Verdi. Toscanini conducted the concert and among the array of soloists participating in it with
Borgatti were Tamagno and the rising tenor star
163:
wealthy patron happened to hear him sing. Struck by the inherent quality of
Borgatti's voice, the patron arranged for him to have professional singing lessons and acquire basic educational skills. His voice teachers included Alessandro Busi in
178:. A string of performances at other Italian opera houses ensued in mainly lyric parts. Eighteen ninety-four saw Borgatti successfully undertake the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in a notable production in Venice of
198:(his first assumption of a Wagnerian part). His career was now gaining real momentum but he would not become a major opera star until 1896 when, at Milan's La Scala, he sang in the premiere performance of
335:
company in 1905 and 1919 respectively. They include extracts from four different operatic works by Wagner, all sung in
Italian, and one aria each by Verdi ("Niun me tema" from
54:
209:, Puccini and the various verismo composers, he fell strongly under the spell of Wagner's music dramas. He worked closely with La Scala's principal conductor,
471:
296:) with lyrical ease. Oddly enough, despite his exceptional attainments as a singer and interpretive artist, he never performed in London or New York City.
255:
praised
Borgatti's voice and artistry. In 1906, he made a different venture into the field of German opera when he sang Herod in the La Scala premiere of
205:
Although
Borgatti continued to appear in a number of Italian operas after 1896, earning particular renown for his performances in works by
476:
113:
76:
466:
347:; Borgatti had been La Scala's original Cavaradossi in 1900). For some reason, he recorded nothing from his breakthrough opera,
37:
47:
41:
33:
305:
58:
252:
292:
408:
461:
456:
369:
351:, or from some of the other Italian operas with which he had become especially associated, such as
327:
Giuseppe
Borgatti's singing is preserved on fewer than 20 acoustic discs that he made in Milan for
171:
159:
243:. Borgatti was accorded the honour of being the first Italian tenor invited to sing at Germany's
328:
287:
244:
232:
214:
194:
135:
126:
221:
210:
189:
117:
116:, cited below, for a laudatory appraisal of his singing.) The creator of the title role in
312:
262:
179:
429:
Freestone, John, liner notes to Symposium Records, UK, Compact Disc 1199, published 1997.
266:
251:(the composer's widow and the festival's director) and the important Wagnerian conductor
150:
put a premature end to his stage career, after which he turned successfully to teaching.
385:
315:(1894–1964), who became a concert pianist. Borgatti died at a resort town near Italy's
257:
228:
206:
175:
131:
89:
450:
316:
248:
240:
184:
270:
311:
Borgatti married one of his singing teachers, Elena Cuccoli. They had a daughter,
363:
353:
301:
278:
397:
In 1928, he recorded several rare sides electrically for the Columbia company.
389:. He did, however, commit to wax his interpretations of two short examples of
375:
283:
436:, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, published 1992 and reprinted 1995.
332:
225:
147:
139:
105:
218:
164:
121:
130:, he subsequently earned renown for his performances of the music of
390:
337:
170:
In 1892 (some sources say 1893), Borgatti made his operatic debut at
424:
The Grand Tradition: Seventy Years of Singing on Record, 1900-1970
419:, second edition, Oxford University Press, London, published 1979.
343:
143:
109:
101:
88:
188:. Later that same year he appeared at another major venue, the
18:
174:, singing the role of Faust in the opera of the same name by
146:, from 1896 until 1914, but deteriorating eyesight caused by
265:. Two years later, he was called upon to perform at the new
134:, becoming in 1904 the first Italian tenor to appear at the
443:, Northeastern University Press, Boston, published 2002.
158:
Borgatti was born into a poor rural family from the
46:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
412:, Volume 1, Duckworth, London, published 1977.
8:
108:, 18 October 1950) was an Italian dramatic
341:) and Puccini ("E lucevan le stelle" from
304:(1894–1961) and the German lyric baritone
77:Learn how and when to remove this message
138:. He sang a variety of leading roles at
415:Rosenthal, Harold & Warrack, John,
417:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera
286:aria like "Una furtiva lagrima" (from
7:
235:. He also visited Spain and Russia.
472:People from the Province of Ferrara
14:
112:with an outstanding voice. (See
23:
167:and, later, Carlo d'Ormeville.
1:
493:
439:Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane,
426:, Duckworth, London, 1974.
477:Fonotipia Records artists
306:Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender
434:Singers of Italian Opera
32:This article includes a
467:Italian operatic tenors
61:more precise citations.
94:
409:The Record of Singing
92:
441:Puccini: A Biography
16:Italian opera singer
172:Castelfranco Veneto
160:Province of Ferrara
319:in 1950, aged 79.
202:to great acclaim.
104:, 17 March 1871 –
95:
34:list of references
329:Fonotipia Records
288:Gaetano Donizetti
245:Bayreuth Festival
233:Eugenio Giraldoni
215:Francesco Tamagno
136:Bayreuth Festival
98:Giuseppe Borgatti
93:Giuseppe Borgatti
87:
86:
79:
484:
432:Rosselli, John,
406:Scott, Michael,
293:L'elisir d'amore
222:Luisa Tetrazzini
211:Arturo Toscanini
190:Teatro Dal Verme
118:Umberto Giordano
106:Reno di Leggiuno
82:
75:
71:
68:
62:
57:this article by
48:inline citations
27:
26:
19:
492:
491:
487:
486:
485:
483:
482:
481:
447:
446:
403:
325:
313:Renata Borgatti
263:Richard Strauss
180:Giacomo Puccini
156:
83:
72:
66:
63:
52:
38:related reading
28:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
490:
488:
480:
479:
474:
469:
464:
459:
449:
448:
445:
444:
437:
430:
427:
422:Steane, John,
420:
413:
402:
399:
349:Andrea Chénier
324:
321:
247:in 1904. Both
229:Mario Sammarco
207:Giuseppe Verdi
200:Andrea Chénier
176:Charles Gounod
155:
152:
132:Richard Wagner
127:Andrea Chénier
85:
84:
42:external links
31:
29:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
489:
478:
475:
473:
470:
468:
465:
463:
460:
458:
455:
454:
452:
442:
438:
435:
431:
428:
425:
421:
418:
414:
411:
410:
405:
404:
400:
398:
395:
392:
388:
387:
382:
381:Manon Lescaut
378:
377:
372:
371:
366:
365:
360:
356:
355:
350:
346:
345:
340:
339:
334:
330:
322:
320:
318:
317:Lake Maggiore
314:
309:
308:(1897–1978).
307:
303:
297:
295:
294:
289:
285:
280:
274:
272:
268:
264:
260:
259:
254:
250:
249:Cosima Wagner
246:
242:
241:Enrico Caruso
236:
234:
230:
227:
223:
220:
216:
212:
208:
203:
201:
197:
196:
192:in Milan, as
191:
187:
186:
185:Manon Lescaut
181:
177:
173:
168:
166:
161:
153:
151:
149:
145:
141:
137:
133:
129:
128:
123:
119:
115:
114:Michael Scott
111:
107:
103:
99:
91:
81:
78:
70:
67:November 2010
60:
56:
50:
49:
43:
39:
35:
30:
21:
20:
440:
433:
423:
416:
407:
396:
384:
380:
374:
368:
362:
358:
352:
348:
342:
336:
326:
310:
298:
291:
275:
271:Buenos Aires
267:Teatro ColĂłn
256:
253:Hans Richter
237:
204:
199:
193:
183:
169:
157:
125:
97:
96:
73:
64:
53:Please help
45:
462:1950 deaths
457:1871 births
370:La Gioconda
364:La traviata
354:Mefistofele
302:Heddle Nash
279:J.B. Steane
59:introducing
451:Categories
401:References
323:Recordings
376:Pagliacci
284:bel canto
226:baritones
195:Lohengrin
154:Biography
331:and the
224:and the
148:glaucoma
140:La Scala
219:soprano
165:Bologna
122:verismo
55:improve
391:lieder
386:Fedora
338:Otello
258:Salome
217:, the
124:opera
344:Tosca
333:Pathé
144:Milan
110:tenor
102:Cento
40:, or
383:and
359:Aida
231:and
290:'s
269:in
261:by
182:'s
120:'s
453::
379:,
373:,
367:,
361:,
357:,
273:.
142:,
44:,
36:,
100:(
80:)
74:(
69:)
65:(
51:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
