Cesare Valletti
Cesare Valletti was among the more admired operatic tenors of his generation. He appeared in many of the popular operas of Verdi and Puccini, but regularly sang Mozart roles, as well, in particular Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. Valletti was born in Rome on December 18, 1922. His father was a physician and provided him with a good education. Valletti studied music privately in Rome; among his teachers was the popular tenor Tito Schipa. In 1947 Valletti made his official debut at the Teatro Petruzelli in Bari, singing Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata. His breakthrough came in 1950 when he sang in two important productions -- first, at the Teatro Eliseo in Rome in Rossini's Il turco in Italia with Maria Callas, and then at La Scala, where he sang Fenton from Verdi's Falstaff, a role he reprised when the company took the production to Covent Garden later that year.
Thereafter, Valletti frequently sang at La Scala. His American debut was at San Francisco singing Massenet's Werther in 1953. He debuted at the Met in December that same year singing Don Ottavio. From December 1953 to February 1960 he appeared in over 100 Met productions, nearly 80 in the 1958-1959 season alone. In 1955 Valletti sang Elvino in Bellini's La sonnambula at La Scala, with Callas as Amina and Leonard Bernstein conducting. A recording of this memorable live performance surfaced on several smaller labels later on and in the new century. The pair sang together again, in 1958 at Covent Garden in Verdi's La Traviata.
Valletti made most of his recordings in the 1950s, among them a Madama Butterfly with Anna Moffo for RCA and several of Don Giovanni and The Barber of Seville. At the height of his career Valletti suffered a crushing embarrassment: in 1960 Met manager Rudolf Bing replaced him in a production of L'elisir d'amore, and thereafter the tenor refused numerous offers to return.
Valletti remained active in the 1960s, appearing at major operatic venues mostly in Italy, such as the Maggio Musicale Festival in 1962 and 1965. He also gave recitals and concerts. Valletti retired in 1967, but made a final appearance the following year at the Caramoor Festival in New York. Besieged by liver cancer, Valletti died of a heart attack in Genoa on May 14, 2000.
© TiVo
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Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Donizetti: Don Pasquale (1952 Recording)
Sesto Bruscantini, Alda Noni, Cesare Valletti, Mario Rossi
Klassiek - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on 27 aug. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Valletti - The Art of Song
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 18 nov. 2016
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La traviata (Live at the Coven Garden, 20/06/1958)
The Covent Garden Orchestra, Nicola Rescigno, Maria Callas, Cesare Valletti
Klassiek - Released by Ica Classics on 27 mei 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il mito dell'opera: Cesare Valletti (Recorded 1950-1963)
Opera - Released by Bongiovanni on 1 okt. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Valletti: 1949-1952
Klassiek - Released by Urania on 25 apr. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Cesare Valletti Sings Schumann
Klassiek - Released by Sony Classical on 18 nov. 2016
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: L'élixir d'amour, extraits (Mono Version)
Cesare Valletti, Alda Noni, Gianandrea Gavazenni
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1958
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Falstaff
Victor De Sabata, Cesare Valletti, Mariano Stabile
Opera - Released by Urania on 30 apr. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Favorite Songs from His Town Hall Recital, October 1960 (Live, Stereo Version)
Klassiek - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1961
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Cendrillon (Mono Version)
Giulietta Simionato, Cesare Valletti, Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI di Torino, Mario Rossi
Divers - Released by BNF Collection on 1 jan. 1953
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Art Of The Song - New York Town Hall Town Hall Recitals 1959 & 1960
Vocale jazz - Released by Master Classics Records on 1 mrt. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
L'elisir d'amore (Gaetano Donizetti)
Cesare Valletti, Bruna Rizzoli
Klassiek - Released by La Magia de la Ópera on 11 mei 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: La Donna Del Lago
Tullio Serafin, Rosanna Carteri, Cesare Valletti
Opera - Released by Urania on 5 feb. 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini - madama butterfly
Anna Moffo, Cesare Valletti, Erich Leinsdorf, Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
Klassiek - Released by G.O.P. on 29 mrt. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Il mito dell'opera: Gino Bechi (Recorded 1948-1959)
Gino Bechi, Studio pianist, Gina Bernelli, Virginia Zeani, Cesare Valletti
Opera - Released by Bongiovanni on 1 jan. 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Voices · Cesare Valletti
Opera - Released by G.O.P. on 8 mrt. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527
Giuseppe Taddei, Italo Tajo, Cesare Valletti
Opera - Released by Urania on 4 feb. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo