Cesare Siepi (10 February 1923 – 5 July 2010^[1]) was an Italian operatic bass, generally considered to have been one of the finestbasses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, a full, resonant, wide-ranging lower register with relaxed vibrato, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. Although renowned as a Verdian bass, his tall, striking presence and the elegance ofphrasing made him a natural for the role ofDon Giovanni. He can be seen in that role onPaul Czinner's 1954 film of the opera made during an edition of the Salzburg Festival under the baton ofWilhelm Furtwängler.

Born inMilan (his year of birth is debated between 1919 and 1923, though 1923 is given as official), he began singing as a member of amadrigal group. He often claimed to have been largely self-taught, having attended the music conservatory in his home city for just a short time. His operatic career was interrupted by World War II. After his debut in 1941 (in Schio, near Vicenza, as Sparafucile inRigoletto), Siepi, an opponent of the fascist regime, fled to Switzerland.

After the end of the war his career immediately took off. Success as Zaccaria inNabucco atLa Fenice in Venice was followed by the first of many engagements atLa Scala, Milan. His early engagements there were in theVerdi bass roles, the title role inBoito'sMefistofele underArturo Toscanini, as Colline inLa bohème, and inLa Gioconda,La favorite, andI puritani.

Siepi debuted abroad in 1947, at theLiceu inBarcelona in Donizetti'sAnna Bolena, but his international reputation was established in 1950, when SirRudolf Bing brought him to theMetropolitan Opera in New York to open the 1950 season as King Philip II inDon Carlos. He was to remain principal bass at the Met until 1974, adding roles such asBoris Godunov (in English) and Gurnemanz inParsifal (in German), and singing all the major roles of the bass repertoire.

His debut at theRoyal Opera House,Covent Garden, was in 1950, and he appeared there regularly until the mid-1970s.

In 1953, Siepi debuted at theSalzburg Festival with a legendary production ofDon Giovanni conducted byWilhelm Furtwängler, staged byHerbert Graf, and designed byClemens Holzmeister. He made an immediate impact in the title role of the opera, which became perhaps his best known role, as it had been for the most famous Italian bass of the generation before,Ezio Pinza. This performance has been released on CD, and a 1954 mounting of this production was filmed in color and released in 1955.

Siepi was a frequent guest at theVienna State Opera. In 43 performances he sang Don Giovanni, more often than any other singer in modern times except forEberhard Wächter. In 1967 Siepi was Don Giovanni in a controversially received production staged byOtto Schenk and designed byLuciano Damiani that showed Mozart's masterpiece in the light of thecommedia dell'arte, emphasizing the comic and ironic elements of this opera (conductorJosef Krips strongly opposed this production's concept). In Vienna he also sang Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Colline (La bohème), Fiesco (Simon Boccanegra), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Padre Guardiano (La forza del destino 1974 in a new production conducted byRiccardo Muti), Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Méphistophélès (Faust), Filippo II (Don Carlos), and Ramphis (Aida). His final performance at Vienna was in Norma (Oroveso) at the Austria Center Vienna in 1994.

He was a particularly fine recital artist, especially in Community Concerts under Columbia Artist Management, and a sensitive interpreter of German Lieder. He married Met ballerina Louellen Sibley and they had two children.

Siepi enjoyed a long career, and performed regularly until the 1980s, including lead roles in the ill-fated Broadway musicalsBravo Giovanni andCarmelina. In addition to his studio recordings, there are also many live recordings of performances of his major roles.

Siepi's formal farewell to the operatic stage occurred at the Teatro Carani inSassuolo on 21 April 1989. Indeed, Capon's List shows live recordings made as late as 1988.

Siepi's last studio recording was as the old King Archibaldo inRCA's 1976 taping ofItalo Montemezzi'sL'amore dei tre re, withAnna Moffo andPlácido Domingo in the cast.

Siepi died at Piedmont Hospital inAtlanta,Georgia on 5 July 2010 after suffering a stroke more than a week earlier.

• Discography of opera recordings (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
• His signature role (YouTube)

• Mozart:Don Giovanni (Grümmer, della Casa, Berger, Dermota, Edelmann; Furtwängler, Graf, 1954) VAI
• "Six Great Basses" [aria fromDon Carlos, 1970] Bel Canto Society

• Le nozze di Figaro (Kleiber recording)

• 1923 births
• 2010 deaths
• Italian operatic basses
• Singers from Milan
• 20th-century Italian male opera singers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata