Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Tall, well-built, handsome, with a dramatic presence, bass Nicola Rossi-Lemeni made a powerful impression in the decade following the end of WWII. He was particularly popular in Italy where audiences admired his immense, forceful voice. In America, he was celebrated in San Francisco and Chicago, but less well-liked in New York. His voice went into decline early, eroding at both ends of its compass and becoming perceptibly less voluminous. Rossi-Lemeni continued performing, however, making an estimable impression with his acting and effective declamation.
Rossi-Lemeni's father, a colonel in the Italian military, and his Russian mother both knew the children of the great Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin, and Nicola found himself absorbed with that artist's legacy from an early age; he collected every Chaliapin recording he could find. After initial training with his mother, he studied repertory with Gigli's accompanist, Vito Carnevale and, at 18, began coaching with Ferruccio Cusinati, an assistant to conductors Serafin and Guarneri. With Italy's entry into WWII, Rossi-Lemeni was conscripted and sent to the Russian front in his father's division. Soon after the war's end, Rossi-Lemeni made his concert debut in Verona, singing for Allied personnel. His first stage appearance followed in 1946 as Varlaam in a Venice production of Boris Godunov. Engagements in other Italian theaters ensued and he sang at La Scala in 1947, remaining there until 1961. His first performance in Milan was as Varlaam, with Tancredi Pasero as Boris and Boris Christoff as Pimen.
In Buenos Aires, Rossi-Lemeni made his debut in the title role of Boris Godunov in 1949. His first North American appearance took place in San Francisco on October 2, 1951, once again as the tortured Tsar. Critic Alfred Frankenstein hailed the bass as "a new star" and described his talents as "immense." He observed: "The adjective 'king-sized' has been done to death in contemporary journalism, but you don't know what it really means until you have seen this man, his overwhelming physique and his imperial bearing."
During the 1952 - 1953 London season, Rossi-Lemeni made his Covent Garden debut, also as Boris. His December 30 performance was found more realistic and restrained than that of Boris Christoff, heard in two earlier seasons. Rossi-Lemeni's Metropolitan Opera debut took place on November 16, 1953, as Méphistophélès in Faust. While critics were impressed with his stage persona and acting, reservations were expressed about what many considered rough singing.
When Carol Fox, Lawrence Kelly, and Nicola Rescigno sought to bring large-scale opera back to Chicago, they mounted two performances of a "calling card" Don Giovanni with Rossi-Lemeni in the lead. Cheered by critic Claudia Cassidy, the production opened the door to a successful fall season for the Chicago Lyric Opera and, soon, a permanent place among the world's major companies. Rossi-Lemeni returned in the fall for Norma with Maria Callas, when Cassidy described his Oroveso as having "the magnificence of Michelangelo's Moses." He also sang Rossini's Basilio, showing a rare gift for comedy. In two subsequent Chicago seasons, Rossi-Lemeni sang in I puritani, La bohème, Faust, L'Elisir d'Amore, and L'Amore dei tre Re.
During the 1950s, Rossi-Lemeni made a number of recordings for EMI, several with Maria Callas. Ildebrando Pizzetti wrote his Assassinio nella Cattedrale (one of five operas dedicated to the singer) for Rossi-Lemeni in 1958. Rossi-Lemeni and his wife, soprano Virginia Zeani, taught at Indiana University beginning in the early 1980s.
© TiVo
Discographie
16 album(s) • Trié par Meilleures ventes
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Rossini: Il turco in Italia
Maria Callas, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Gianandrea Gavazzeni
Opéra - Paru chez Warner Classics le 1 janv. 1955
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La Forza Del Destino
Maria Callas, Richard Tucker, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Opéra - Paru chez Past Classics le 1 janv. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Puritani - Bellini
Maria Callas, Tullio Serafin, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Rolando Panerai, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Angelo Mercuriali
Classique - Paru chez Warner Classics le 22 avr. 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Moïse et Pharaon (Sung in Italian, Mono Version)
Caterina Mancini, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Orchestra Del Teatro San Carlo Di Napoli, Tullio Serafin
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1900
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pietro Mascagni - Il Piccolo Marat
Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Virginia Zeani, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Orchestra del Teatro La Gran Guardia
Opéra - Paru chez G.O.P. le 12 août 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: La Serva Padrona
Carlo Maria Giulini, Rossana carteri, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Opéra - Paru chez Urania le 1 janv. 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Anna Bolena
Maria Callas, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Milano, Giulietta Simionato, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Classique - Paru chez Warner Classics le 1 janv. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: La serva padrona (Mono Version)
Rosanna Carteri, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Carlo Maria Giulini
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pergolesi: La serva padrona - Cimarosa: Il maestro di cappella
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Opéra - Paru chez Profil le 3 juin 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lebendige Vergangenheit - Nicola Rossi-Lemeni
Classique - Paru chez Preiser Records le 18 août 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Airs d'opéra (Mono Version)
Opéra - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1954
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Famose arie liriche (Mono Version)
Classique - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1950
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini Il turco in Italia
Maria Callas, Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Franco Calabrese, Nicolai Gedda, Jolanda Gardino
Classique - Paru chez Warner Classics le 1 janv. 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pietro Mascagni - Il Piccolo Marat
Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Virginia Zeani, Oliviero de Fabritiis, Orchestra del Teatro Giuseppe Verdi
Opéra - Paru chez G.O.P. le 16 août 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arii din opere
Nicola Rossi-Lemeni, Mihai Brediceanu, Orchestra Operei Române din București
Classique - Paru chez Electrecord.com le 2 nov. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cântecele și dansurile morții
Nicola Rossi Lemeni, Corneliu Gheorghiu
Classique - Paru chez Electrecord.com le 1 janv. 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo