Giuseppe Lugo - Che gelida manina - r.1939

Italian tenor Giuseppe Lugo 1899 - 1980
Lugo was born in Rosolotti di Sona (14 kilometres from Verona), the son of a farmer. As a child his family moved to Belgium due to financial hardship. He was over forty years of age when the Italian impresarios discovered him.

In August 1937, he sang Cavaradossi at the Arena di Verona in front of 18,000 spectators. The Italians were over excited. A raving review of the night said: "Bepi Lugo (as he was called) was a prophet in his own country. He gave an encore of Recondita armonia and raised an endless ovation after emitting Vittoria in act II. For the andante E lucevan le stelle in act III, the encores were not enough to placate the enthusiastically vociferous public." It should be remembered that encores were forbidden in Italy at the time.

He sang in all major opera houses of Italy and extended his repertoire with new roles. Lugo had the most beautiful tenor voice that Italy heard between the two World Wars. In 1937, he was most sought after by the Italian impresarios, the most celebrated and applauded tenor. His renditions of arias from Tosca and Boheme brought the theatres down with applauses. His Italian career lasted only a few years but they were all inflamed and strewn with huge ovations. In Verona, many of 20,000 spectators still remember his Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto). A review of that performance filled two whole pages of the newspaper Arena.

The great soprano Magda Olivero says in her memoirs: "Lugo had a stupendous voice. I sang La Boheme with him at the San Carlo. He was a handsome man with a beautiful voice. His voice was easily recognisable because of its fresh quality. He has recently been re-evaluated and his records re-issued. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us. The beauty of that voice! He was a singer whose brain was not on a par with his voice. Imagine that he suddenly stopped singing at the peak of his career."

Between 1946 and 1949 he made a few wrong financial investments so he decided to return to Belgium to make a fresh start there, with the hope of becoming successful again.

He appeared in small theatres with little success. He went back to Italy but never made it to the big theatres. In 1949 he made an appearance as Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Teatro Manzoni of Pistoia and in 1950 at Asti, which marked the end of his career. He went back to his native Rosolotti, where he devoted himself to farming for a few years. He died in Milan on 18 September 1980.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• italian
• opera
• tenors
• giuseppe
• lugo
• di
• stefano
• pavarotti
• domingo
• puccini
• la
• boheme
• che
• gelida
• manina
• classical
• singers

[Ameans2anend]

Sorry that the first posting of this was corrupted and didn't play all the way through....This one however plays to completion....enjoy.

[abracadabranque]

Un timbre ouvert et plat,peu flatteur, compensé amplement par un beau métier!

[karifrid]

Nice sounding voice.I think he sings a semitone lower.Rigth ? Kári Friðriksson ,tenor.I studied for some time in Italy so I hope my Che gelida manina here on youtube sounds a bit "Italian" The newest is a video of me singing a rehersal for an audition. Di quella pira,Donna non vidi mai,Morgenlich leuchtend ans Che gelida manina. All in 16 minutes. I think my voice is a bit "old style" .My teacher studied with Pertile.....

[MrSkylark1]

Lugo, representative of the Golden Era of Singing, knew how to sing unlike

the bellowing, shouting "name" tenors of today. Their Vocal Teachers (?) are accoustically challenged as are the impressarios/conductors who hire them.

[francoissoons]

what a great voice!!

[MegaParzifal]

Bella voce e canta bene. Complimenti

[MegaParzifal]

Bella voce e canta bene. Complimenti

[erial80]

Giuseppe Lugo fue un gran tenor, pero desgraciadamente vivi´´o en una época en que estaban Gigli, Schipa, Lauri Volpi, Ziliani, Albanese...

No fue nunca un gran propagandista de sí mismo y la guerra terminó su carrera.

Existe una recopilación de todos sus grabaciones, incluso del "vivo" en Tima Records.

Erial 80

[Holahola963]

SIamo proprio nel '39 eh?!!

Complimenti lo stesso....

[cely132]

Una voz inigualable!! Unos registros increíbles. Gracias por esta joya.Cely