Mario del Monaco
The stentorian dramatic tenor of Mario del Monaco was heard throughout the world during the 1950s and 1960s. While often berated by critics for his unsubtle vocal production, del Monaco was a favorite of audiences who appreciated his power and sincerity of approach while tackling the heaviest roles in the Italian tenor repertory. A contract with Decca (London in the United States) produced a long series of recordings, many of them in partnership with Renata Tebaldi, and most of which have been reissued in CD format.
After having studied the early recordings of many tenors, del Monaco studied for a short time at the Pesaro Conservatory before gaining entry in 1935 to the school attached to the Rome Opera, largely through the urging of conductor Tullio Serafin. His formal debut occurred in 1941 at the Teatro Puccini as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly -- while on leave from the army. Engagements were quickly forthcoming once WW II ended. A successful Radames (Aïda) at Verona was followed by appearances at Covent Garden with the Neapolitan Opera (Canio, Cavaradossi, and Pinkerton). Central and South America offered performances in Mexico City, at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and in Rio de Janeiro.
His North American debut took place at the San Francisco Opera as Radames in 1950. He was thereupon engaged by Rudolf Bing for a November 1950 appearance at the Metropolitan as des Grieux in Manon Lescaut. Subsequently, he sang more than 100 performances at the Met over the course of seven seasons, appearing also at Chicago's Lyric Opera during the 1950s. In that time, del Monaco became the world's leading Otello, performing the role (according to his own tally) 427 times. Other roles which formed the core of his repertory included Enzo in Ponchielli's La Gioconda, the title role in Giordano's Andrea Chénier (next to Otello perhaps his most authoritative role), Don Alvaro in La forza del destino, Don José and Saint-Saëns' Samson (despite his less-than-fluent French), Verdi's Ernani, Dick Johnson in Puccini's La fanciulla del West and Pollione in Bellini's Norma. In Italy, he occasionally ventured into the Wagnerian repertory, although these performances were sung in Italian. He did, however, record Siegmund's "Winterstürme" from Die Walküre in German. It was not regarded as a success.
From the 1960s to his retirement from the stage in 1973, del Monaco increasingly confined his appearances to Italy, although he continued to record for Decca. His Loris in Giordano's Fedora (with Magda Olivero as the heroine) was taped when the singer was in his mid-fifties, by which time his voice had lost what little pliancy it had possessed earlier.
Among del Monaco's most prominent recordings are his two as Otello, each with the same principals (Tebaldi as Desdemona and Aldo Protti as Iago), but the second with Herbert von Karajan as conductor. His Andrea Chénier was preserved by Decca with Tebaldi as Maddalena and Ettore Bastianini as Gérard as well as in a live recording from Tokyo with Tebaldi and Protti.
The un-orthodox method of vocal production favored by del Monaco allowed him an overwhelming measure of strength in his middle and upper-middle registers, but lent a metallic buzz to his timbre and precluded his singing softly. Still, critics, following his death, rued his passing as they recalled performances of unsurpassed excitement.
© TiVo
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Puccini · manon lescaut
Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale Di Santa Cecilia
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on 20 Mar 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ponchielli · la gioconda
Anita Cerquetti, Mario del Monaco, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin
Classical - Released by G.O.P. (2016) on 28 Feb 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Rigoletto
Aldo Protti, Hilde Güden, Mario del Monaco
Opera - Released by Urania on 11 Aug 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mario Del Monaco Greatest Hits
Classical - Released by GynMusic Srl on 18 Mar 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Song For You (Sing Romantic Songs)
Lounge - Released by GynMusic Srl on 5 Feb 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Umberto Giordano: Andrea Chénier
Mario del Monaco, Zinka Milanov, Leonard Warren, Fausto Cleva, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,The Metropolitan Opera Chorus
Classical - Released by ArnebAudio on 10 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il mito dell'opera: Mario Del Monaco (Live Recordings 1951, 1954 & 1956)
Classical - Released by Bongiovanni on 25 Sep 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giordano - Andrea Chénier
Mario del Monaco, Antonietta Stella, Angelo Questa, Orchestra di Milano della Rai
Opera - Released by G.O.P. on 1 Jan 1964
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana
Mario del Monaco, Elena Nicolai, Franco Ghione, Orchestra di Milano della Rai
Opera - Released by G.O.P. on 25 Jan 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'incredibile Mario del Monaco
Lounge - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on 24 Feb 1951
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Del Monaco in Moscow (Live)
Classical - Released by JSC Firma Melodiya on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sings Highlights From Carmen
Opera - Released by Everest Records on 25 Mar 1967
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
G. Puccini & G. Verdi: Recital de Puccini y Verdi
World - Released by Vintage Music on 1 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Boito · mefistofele
Cesare Siepi, Mario del Monaco, Tullio Serafin, Orchestra dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on 7 Apr 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gold Italia Collection (Premium-Riserva)
Pop - Released by Goodwind Records on 1 Oct 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Song For You
Classical - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Aida
Maria Callas, Mario del Monaco, Giusseppe Taddei
Opera - Released by Urania on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vintage Opera Masters
Classical - Released by Carinco AG on 17 Nov 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il mio primo Angelo
Classical - Released by Logo Records on 22 Apr 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Nessun dorma (Turandot)
Pop - Released by JB Production on 13 Apr 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Canzoni e romanze
Opera - Released by Music Market on 1 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo