Ruggero Raimondi
Raimondi's voice is actually somewhat closer to a bass-baritone than a true bass, but this did not prevent him from successfully singing most of the great bass roles -- King Philip in Don Carlo, Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, Boris Godunov, and Silva in Ernani being his most celebrated -- as well as the roles more associated with bass-baritones, such as Escamillo, Mozart's Figaro, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and Don Giovanni, and even a concert version of Scarpia. He is also quite celebrated as a singing actor, and has occasionally directed operas.
His voice matured early into its adult timbre, and at the age of 15, he auditioned for Francesco Molinari-Pradelli, who encouraged him in hopes for an operatic career. He began vocal studies with Ettore Campogalliani, and was accepted at age 16 as a student in the Milan Conservatory, where he studied with Teresa Pediconi and Antonio Piervenanzi.
He won the Adriano Belli Singing Competition and made his opera debut at the Spoleto Sperimentale (a program for young singers) as Colline in La bohème in 1964. This was followed shortly the same year by his Rome Opera debut as Procida in Verdi's I Vespri Siciliani, where he had been understudying for Nicola Rossi-Lemeni. Mario Labroca, of the Teatro La Fenice, heard of that performance, invited him to audition for him, and afterwards offered him a five-year contract for lead roles at that theater. There he worked with Leone Magiera, who taught him interpretation and vocal coloring, and Piero Faggioni, who taught him how to coordinate vocal production and physical motion. At the time, Raimondi was painfully shy and almost immovably stiff on stage, and almost incapable of vocal inflection, but the combined work of Magiera and Faggioni helped him develop into a singing actor.
His La Scala debut was as Timur in Turandot in 1968, his Met debut as Silva in 1970, and his Covent Garden debut was as Fiesco in 1972. In 1975, he made his Paris Opera debut as Procida, and his Salzburg Festival debut in 1980 as the King in Aida. In 1986, he first directed a production of Don Giovanni, and decided to continue his career as a director as well.
He also made some notable opera films, including the celebrated Joseph Losey Don Giovanni (1978); Escamillo in Francesco Rosi's 1984 film of Carmen, opposite Julia Migenes-Johnson (as she was then known) and Plácido Domingo; and the television film Six arias in search of a singer.
While his Scarpia did attract some controversy, the recording (DG) does show his powers as a singing actor, aristocratic, sinuous, and brutal. On Erato, he recorded a recital disc with scenes from many of his best-known roles.
© TiVo
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Discography
14 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Puccini: Turandot
Katia Ricciarelli, Plácido Domingo, Barbara Hendricks, Ruggero Raimondi, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 (Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 27 Feb 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Tosca
Catherine Malfitano, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Orchestra Sinfonica Di Roma Della RAI, Zubin Mehta
Opera - Released by Warner Classics on 31 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Turandot - Highlights
Katia Ricciarelli, Plácido Domingo, Barbara Hendricks, Ruggero Raimondi, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Deutsche Grammophon (DG) on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto
June Anderson, Ruggero Raimondi, Philharmonia Orchestra, Claudio Scimone
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Don Carlo - Highlights
Plácido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, Shirley Verrett, Ruggero Raimondi, Sherrill Milnes, Giovanni Foiani
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: I Lombardi
Cristina Deutekom, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Ambrosian Singers, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Attila
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
GRANDI VOCI RUGGERO RAIMONDI Una collana dedicata con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica
Ruggero Raimondi, Gioachino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 9 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Francesco Paolo Tosti: Recital Italiano
Cecilia Gasdia, Leo Nucci, Ruggero Raimondi
Classical - Released by Classic art on 17 Sep 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto (Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on 1 Jan 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Attila
Ruggero Raimondi, Cristina Deutekom, Sherrill Milnes, Carlo Bergonzi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Falstaff (Live)
Opera - Released by Dynamic on 19 Mar 2021
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: I Lombardi
Cristina Deutekom, Plácido Domingo, Ruggero Raimondi, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lamberto Gardelli
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo