Part II - Your Favorites: FRANCESCO TAMAGNO

THIS PART IS FOR YOUR FAVORITES! Please discuss this artist with your comments!

Francesco Tamagno, Tenor (1850-1905)

Giuseppe Verdi - Otello
Entrance and Death of Otello
(Recorded 1903)

My personal opinion: The son of an innkeeper, Tamagno studied at Turin. He began his career in the choir of the Teatro Regio at Turin (1870). In 1873 he attracted attention with his powerful B in Donizetti's "Poliuto". He sang his first principal role in 1874 in Palermo (Riccardo in "Un ballo in maschera"). That same year he also sang "Roberto il diavolo" at Rovigo. The press reports of the time credit him with a firm, bright voice with squillanti high notes reaching high C. A critic of his Edgardo said that even though he possessed a good mezzavoce, he preferred to sing throughout using full voice. Tamagno made his international debut at Barcellona's Liceu in the 1875-76 season, and in 1877 made his first appearence at La Scala as Vasco da Gama. This was the beginning of a major career at La Scala: He sang Don Carlo, Ernani, "Simon Boccanegra" (Adorno) and "Il figliuol prodigo". In the 1883-84 season he sang again in Ernani, then Meyerbeer's "Ugonotti" and "Il profeta", followed in 1884-85 by Mefistofele (Faust), Il profeta and Ponchielli's "Marion Delorme" (creating the role of Didier). During this period Tamagno sang in all the major Italian theatres and made several visits to Madrid, Lisbon, and Buenos Aires. His favorite roles were in "Guglielmo Tell", "Ugonotti", "Il Profeta" and "Il Trovatore" - they all provided the opportunity of showing off his powerful high notes. But he was also appreciated for his phrasing and the sweetness of his "mezzavoce", even if the middle of the range was more ordinary and his acting appeared clumsy. His limited education did not help his acting and interpretation. When planning the production of "Otello", Verdi objected strongly to Tamagno: The critics claimed that he had a poor "legato" and tended to go off pitch when singing "mezzavoce". Nevertheless, Tamagno was choosen for the première. Otello became the high point of his career and opened the doors of all the world's major opera houses. He brought the role to London in 1889 and to Chicago and the Metropolitan in 1890. He also sang the role in Buenos Aires, Madrid, Monte Carlo and Moscow.With the last years of the century came his decline. His repertoire was restricted to Otello, Guglielmo Tell and "Il Profeta". The colour and power of the voice were still impressive, but the pitch was flawed and he could no longer sing "piano". Tamagno retired in 1904. He was one of the great tenors of the last 30 years of the 19th century. During his last years (1903-1905) Tamagno made several recordings with piano accompaniment. The recording quality is poor. However the specific characteristics of his voice are recognizable. The middle is light but the voice seems effortless in reaching the high notes. The diction is clear, giving an impressive declamation in Otello's "Esultate". The successor of this remarkable artist became a young man from Naples: Enrico Caruso. You gave Francesco Tamagno position 17 with 48 nominations! This is a great result for a man who only left us several recordings in bad acoustic!

THE COMPLETE OVERVIEW: GO TO ALL SINGERS IN THIS LIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBsScnQWVlU

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Francesco
• Tamagno
• Giuseppe
• Verdi
• Otello
• Giacomo
• Meyerbeer
• L´Africaine
• Robert
• il
• diavolo
• Verismo
• Enrico
• Caruso

[tomzoricic]

My dear friend "100 singers" , are you realy put Tamagno (God bless his soul) infront of Mario Del Monaco?!?!

[100Singers]

My dear friend tomzoricic: It´s not me who put someone in front of another one - all decisions were made by votings of YouTuibe-users! Mike

[petereuropa]

Thank you for this short biography and this Tamagno recording. Perhaps there have been no more better Otello ever? I don't know.

[hobo1975]

@tomzoricic tamagno was king moron.

[bobom1]

Chaliapin heard Tamagno singing at La Scala in 1901 and described him as "an exceptional voice - tenore di forza - indeed, the voice of a Century."

[inter215]

@meltzerboy Thanks for the clarification. i stand corrected.

[meltzerboy]

@inter215 I think you may have misunderstood my comment. I was detailing some of the reasons why certain musicians and critics of the era, who in fact heard Tamagno in live performance, did not like the sound they heard; for example, George Bernard Shaw. My own feelings are the opposite; that is, I do admire Tamagno's voice and singing even on the old acoustic recordings. Like you, his vibrato and open sound do not bother me in the least. I believe he is a great artist as well as singer.

[inter215]

@meltzerboy I respectively disagree. Your assessment is subjective. Others including myself love his vibrato and open sound. Remember that acoustic recordings do not allow us to know exactly how these voices sounded in the flesh. And what we know of his technique has been shaped by the mainly heroic "favorites' he recorded. Should we have heard him in other repertoire what would we have heard? His recording of Mapelli's Ave Maria, e.g. is a revelation of nuance, soft singing and broad phrasing!

[jeichacker]

Signor Tamagno was a commanding presence in the world of great Opera singers in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Opera houses all over the world paid him magnificent sums for his services. It is a pity that all we do not have him recorded in his prime. Verdi had reservations about his choice of Tamagno for Otello, but was more than satisfied with the results in the end. Otello made Tamagno and Tamagno made Otello, much like Caruso and the phonograph.

[papoocanada]

these old singers,,,,much overrated...always sound out of breath ............