Anselmo Colzani | |
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| Background information | |
| Born | Budrio, nearBologna, Italy |
| Died | March 19, 2006(2006-03-19) (aged 87) Milan |
| Genres | Opera |
Anselmo Colzani (March 28, 1918 – March 19, 2006) was an Italian operaticbaritone who had an international opera career from the late 1940s through 1980. He particularly excelled in the Italian repertory and was most associated with the works ofGiuseppe Verdi andGiacomo Puccini. He began his career in Italy in 1947 where he quickly became a regular presence at that country's best opera houses, includingLa Scala. In the mid-1950s he began appearing at major opera houses throughout Europe and the United States. In 1960 he joined the roster at theMetropolitan Opera where he spent most of his time through 1978.Opera News commented that while his voice may have "lacked the sheer beauty [of other baritones], his performances had an Italianate urgency and forthright thrust that were unique, which established himself as a powerful, striking presence."[1]
Leandro was born inBudrio, nearBologna, Italy into a family of talented amateur musicians. His parents encouraged him in musical pursuits as a child but he did not pursue seriously until years later. In 1936, at the age of eighteen, he joined theItalian Army where he served during World War II. It wasn't until towards the end of the war that he started pursuing serious studies withCorrado Zambelli in Bologna.[2]
Colzani made his stage debut in 1947 at theTeatro Comunale Bologna, as the Herald inWagner'sLohengrin alongsideRenata Tebaldi who was making her first appearance at that opera house singing Elsa.[1] A few years later he was invited back to that house to sing the title role in Verdi'sRigoletto, a performance which greatly rose his profile as an opera singer.[2] His career truly took off with his 1952 debut atLa Scala in Milan, as Alfio inMascagni'sCavalleria rusticana, other roles included de Sirex inGiordano'sFedora, Escamillo inBizet'sCarmen, Marcello inPuccini'sLa bohème, and Telramund inLohengrin among others.[3] He took part in the creation ofDarius Milhaud'sDavid, in 1955, and sang Thoas inGluck'sIphigénie en Tauride, oppositeMaria Callas in 1957.[1] He made his first appearance at theTeatro dell'Opera di Roma in 1954 as Telramund and returned there many times throughout his career. In 1955 he made his first appearance at theBaths of Caracalla music festival as Severo inDonizetti'sPoliuto. He also appeared regularly at the opera houses inGenoa,Naples,Palermo, and at theVerona Arena.[3]
Outside Italy, he appeared at many houses throughout Europe and in the United States. In 1955 he made his first appearance at theTeatro Nacional Sao Carlos in Lisbon as Alfio.[3] In 1956 he made his American debut at theSan Francisco Opera as Count di Luna inVerdi'sIl trovatore.[1] He sang several more roles with that house that season including Amonasro in Verdi'sAida, Gianciotto inZandonai'sFrancesca da Rimini, Sharpless in Puccini'sMadama Butterfly, and Scarpia in Puccini'sTosca.[4] In 1957 he made his first appearance with theVienna State Opera as Iago in Verdi'sOtello. In 1959 he sang in the world premiere ofLuciano Chailly'sLa riva delle sirti at theMonte Carlo Opera and made his debut at theLyric Opera of Chicago. In 1960 he made his debut with thePhiladelphia Lyric Opera Company as Amonasro withLeontyne Price in the title role. In 1966 he sang Amonasro for the inauguration ofJesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts with theHouston Grand Opera.[3]
In March 1960 Colzani was approached byRudolf Bing, General Manager of theMetropolitan Opera in New York City, with an invitation to join the roster at the Met after the sudden death ofLeonard Warren during a performance ofLa forza del destino left a vacancy at the house.[1] He agreed and on April 7, 1960, Colzani made his debut at the Met in the title role of Verdi'sSimon Boccanegra withRenata Tebaldi as Amelia,Richard Tucker as Gabriele Adorno,Jerome Hines as Jacopo Fiesco, andDimitri Mitropoulos conducting. He stayed with the company for sixteen more seasons, portraying such roles as Amonasro, Barnaba inPonchielli'sLa Gioconda, Don Carlo in Verdi'sLa forza del destino, Enrico in Donizetti'sLucia di Lammermoor, Gérard in Giordano'sAndrea Chénier, Iago, Jack Rance in Puccini'sLa fanciulla del west, Scarpia, Tonio inLeoncavallo'sPagliacci, and the title roles inFalstaff,Macbeth,Nabucco, andRigoletto among others.[5]
Colzani's most frequent role at the Met was Scarpia; portraying the role more than forty times.Opera News stated that, "Undoubtedly Colzani's highest-profile assignment at the Met was Falstaff in the first performances ofFranco Zeffirelli's much-loved 1964 production of Verdi's opera, conducted at its premiere byLeonard Bernstein."[1] His final and 272nd performance at the Met was on February 16, 1978, as Michonnet inAdriana Lecouvreur withMontserrat Caballé in the title role,José Carreras as Maurizio,Mignon Dunn as Princess di Bouillon, and conductorJesús López-Cobos.[5]
After leaving the Met in 1978, Colzani continued performing for two more years, making his last appearance on the opera stage as Scarpia in 1980. He retired to Milan where he died after a long illness in 2006. During his later years he enjoyed time with his family. He had two daughters, Bianca and Miriam, from his first marriage which ended when his first wife died at a very young age. He was married to his second wife, Ada, for more than 50 years.[2]
In 2002 Colzani's home city, Budrio, established an annual international opera competition named in his honor.[2]
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