Renato Bruson
Bruson was one of the foremost bel canto and Verdi baritones of his generation, and while this side of his artistry is lesser-known in the United States, he was also an accomplished song performer, specializing again in Romantic-era Italian works. He frequently championed the songs of Tosti, and was named an honorary citizen of Cortona, Tosti's home city, in recognition of this. While his Verdi roles are perhaps his best-known, especially Macbeth, Rigoletto, Renato (Un Ballo in Maschera), and Simon Boccanegra, he sang in no fewer than seventeen Donizetti operas during the 1970s and 1980s, just ahead of the crest of a great resurgence of interest in lesser-known nineteenth-century works.
Bruson's family was unable to afford any kind of musical schooling, but encouraged him to sing in the local church choir, and after finishing regular school, he auditioned for the Padova Conservatory, and was offered a five-year scholarship. There he studied with Elena Fava Cerati, who trained him thoroughly in the bel canto style and technique.
He made his opera debut as the Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore at Spoleto in 1961. He appeared at the Met for the first time in 1969, as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and made his La Scala debut in Linda di Chamonix in 1972. In 1973, he made his Chicago Lyric Opera debut as Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, and in 1975 he made his Covent Garden debut in the same role, substituting for an ill Piero Cappuccilli. His Vienna State Opera debut was in 1978, as Verdi's Macbeth. He sang with Riccardo Muti for the first time in 1970, and over the years became an adherent of Muti's insistence on singing come scritto, without singer-interpolated high notes, believing that this focuses attention on the music and drama rather than the singer.
His Rigoletto on Philips (289 462 158-2) captures one of his major roles quite well, and among his many Tosti recordings on Nuova Era, Romanze su Testi Italiani (7233) is one of the strongest.
© TiVo
Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Ernani
Plácido Domingo, Riccardo Muti, Mirella Freni, Renato Bruson, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, Jolanda Michieli
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Tosca
Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo, Renato Bruson, James Levine, Philharmonia Orchestra
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Highlights - Donizetti, G. / Bellini, V.
Renato Bruson, Lucia Aliberti, Andreas Juffinger, Giuseppe Sabbatini, Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Roberto Paternostro
Opera - Released by CapriccioNR on 1 Jan 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giuseppe Verdi : Luisa Miller
Katia Ricciarelli, Plácido Domingo, Elena Obraztsova, Renato Bruson, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
La Traviata
Lucia Aliberti, Renato Bruson, Peter Dvorský, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Westopera on 19 Feb 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arie antiche
Rias-Sinfonietta Berlin, Renato Bruson, Roberto Paternostro
Opera - Released by Arts Productions Ltd on 7 Nov 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Il trittico (The Triptych) [Wiener Staatsoper Live]
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Manon Lescaut - Highlights
Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Renato Bruson, Robert Gambill, Philharmonia Orchestra, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 8 Nov 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renato Bruson: 35 Anni di bel Canto (Paolo Carignani)
Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Renato Bruson, Paolo Carignani
Opera - Released by Bongiovanni on 1 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tosti: Romanze su testi italiani
Renato Bruson, Robert Kettelson
Classical - Released by EG Classics on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Otello
Cornelius Murgu, Renato Bruson, Maria Guleghina, Gustav Kuhn, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
Opera - Released by Koch Schwann on 21 Feb 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Gemma Di Vergy
Montserrat Caballé, Renato Bruson, Casellato Lamberti, Bianca Maria Casoni, Mario Rinaudo, Mario Machi
Opera - Released by Opera d'Oro on 1 Jan 1995
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi, G.: Simon Boccanegra [Opera]
Opera - Released by CapriccioNR on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renato Bruson Sings Favourite Songs
Mélodies - Released by Chandos on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Liederabend
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by CapriccioNR on 1 Aug 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Finest Music Selection - Famous Arias
Rias-Sinfonietta Berlin, Renato Bruson
Classical - Released by Art Productions Ltd on 27 Feb 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo