Giorgio Ronconi

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Ronconi
• https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Ronconi_(baritono)

Giorgio Ronconi ( Milan , August 6, 1810 - Madrid , January 8, 1890 ) was an Italian baritone , renowned for its brilliant acting and the thrilling stage presence. In 1842 he created the character in Nabucco by Giuseppe Verdi , the Scala of Milan .

Ronconi studied singing with his father, Domenico Ronconi , who was a prominent tenor . He debuted in Pavia in 1831 , as Valdeburg in the Straniera di Bellini , and continued singing at the Scala and other Italian theaters. In the 1830s and 1840s he sang and baptized numerous works by Donizetti ( The Furious on the Island of San Domingo , ' The Bell , Maria Padilla , Maria di Rohan ).

On 8 October 1837 he married in Naples the soprano Elguerra Giannoni . According to some reports, Giannoni had sung with some success at the Lyceum Theater and at King's Theater in London . [1] Harold Rosenthal wrote: "This lady, who had virtually fired on all European operative stages, was only considered a good singer for concert halls, but her husband was so indispensable to any Italian theater that, willing or nil You also had to hire her. " [2]

In 1842 , Ronconi appeared for the first time in London at Her Majesty's Theater , playing Henry Ashton's role in Lucia of Lammermoor of Donizetti. Ronconi's success with the public outside of Italy was immediate, and he continued to be one of the most popular and influential opera artists until the early 1870s, when he retired. It appeared, for example, in London at Covent Garden from 1847 to 1866; He was able to listen to him in Vienna in 1843; Sang in St. Petersburg between 1850 and 1860 and in New York between 1866 and 1872.

His voice was neither extensive nor of excellent quality, but the talents for acting and the strength of the personality sheltered the vocal defects. He felt at ease in comedy as in tragedy, and the two roles for which is remembered in a particular way, the Rigoletto of Verdi and Figaro in Barber of Seville of Rossini , testify to the wide range of its critical doti.Il Henry Chorley , In his Recollections , he dedicates an extensive section to Ronconi's strength. [3] In recent years, Ronconi founded a singing school in Granada in Spain and accepted a professorship at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid.

Ronconi was the initiator of a series of great Italian baritons, which lasted until modern times. Among his most contemporaries or immediate successors are Felice Varesi , Leone Giraldoni , Francesco Graziani and Antonio Cotogni , all outstanding Verdi interpreters.

Another famous 19th-century baritone , Charles Santley , recounted this episode in his memoirs: "The word freedom was eliminated from the theatrical vocabulary by Austrian occupants. In the duet Suoni the trumpet ( The Puritans ) on one occasion Ronconi pronounced the words Screaming with such vigor and excitement that the audience was excited, and a great hustle and bustle was born.The next morning Ronconi was reproached for using the word forbidden and was asked to use the word in his place on future occasions Loyalty . Shortly afterwards, by interpreting the sergeant in the Elisir d'amore , in response to this request,He replaced losing his freedom with loyalty , losing loose laughter and great embarrassment of loyalists . "

Roles Created

• Cardenio in The furious island of San Domingo di Donizetti (January 2, 1833, Rome)
• The title role in Torquato Tasso di Donizetti (September 9, 1833, Rome)
• Henry in The bell of Donizetti (June 1, 1836, Naples)
• In the Stone in Pia de 'Tolomei by Donizetti (February 18, 1837, Venice)
• Corrado Waldorf in Maria de Rudenz of Donizetti (January 30, 1838, Venice)
• Don Cesare in The Bride of Messina of Vaccaj (March 2, 1839, Venice)
• Don Pedro of Castile in Mary Padilla of Donizetti (December 26, 1841, Milan)
• The title role in Nabucco di Verdi (March 9, 1842, Milan)
• Enrico Duke of Chevreus in Maria di Rohan of Donizetti (June 5, 1843, Vienna)