Ettore Bastianini (24 September 1922 – 25 January 1967) was an Italian operaticbaritone who was particularly associated with the operas of thebel canto tradition.
Born inSiena, Bastianini first began performing at fifteen while apprenticed to apastry chef, Gaetano Vanni, who discovered his vocal talent and encouraged him to join the choir of hishometown's cathedral. Between 1937 and 1938, he sang bass duringMasses and religious functions at the church. In 1939 he began singing lessons under Fathima and Anselmo Ammanati, who continued training him as a bass. He sang his first professional concerts in 1940 and 1941 inAsciano and Siena at the Fortezza Medicea and Teatro dei Rozzi. In 1942 he won first prize in the 6th National Singing Contest at theTeatro Comunale, Florence, but was soon drafted into theItalian Air Force which prevented him from immediately enjoying the scholarship accompanying the prize.
After serving in the Italian Air Force between 1943 and 1944 toward the end ofWorld War II, Bastianini resumed his career. On 28 January 1945, in a Siena concert, he sang the bass arias "Vecchia zimarra" fromPuccini'sLa bohème and "La calunnia è un venticello" fromRossini'sIl barbiere di Siviglia. That November, he made his operatic debut as Colline inLa bohème at the Teatro Alighieri inRavenna. His only son, Jago, was born in 1945.
In 1946, Bastianini was finally able to enjoy the scholarship he'd won four years earlier and began studying at the Teatro Comunale, Florence. He sang in recitals there alongside other future opera greats likeMirto Picchi,Fedora Barbieri andRolando Panerai. That same year, he appeared in numerous operas with smaller Italian opera houses such as the Teatro Verdi in Florence. Among his roles that year were his first performances of Zio Bonzo inMadama Butterfly, Don Basilio inIl barbiere di Siviglia and Sparafucile inRigoletto.
In 1947, Bastianini toured Egypt, singing inCairo,Alexandria andGiza, sharing the stage with baritoneGino Bechi and sopranoMaria Caniglia, reprising the roles of Don Basilio and Sparafucile. He also sang Raimondo inLucia di Lammermoor. He then spent the next year singing thebass repertoire in opera houses throughout Italy, including theTeatro Regio di Parma andTeatro Comunale di Bologna. On 24 April 1948, he made hisLa Scala debut asTeiresias inStravinsky'sOedipus Rex. In 1949, he toured Egypt again and flew toCaracas,Venezuela to sing in productions ofAida (Ramfis),La bohème,Lucia di Lammermoor andRigoletto.
Bastianini gave his first broadcast recital for theItalian Radio on 29 December 1950. Earlier that year, he had toured Egypt again and appeared in operas in Italy. He toured Egypt once more, just before returning to Italy for his final bass performance in April 1951 atTurin's Teatro Alfieri as Colline. Believing his voice was better suited to the baritone repertoire and encouraged by his teacher, Luciano Bettarini, Bastianini left the stage for seven months, studying and re-training his vocal instrument.
Bastianini made his debut as a baritone on 17 January 1952, in Siena, as Giorgio Germont in Verdi'sLa traviata. His performance was not well received, and he left the stage again for a brief period of intense vocal exercise to secure the top of his voice. Upon his return just weeks later, he sangRigoletto in Siena with success. This was followed byAmonasro inPescara and a return to the role of Germont inBologna, withVirginia Zeani as Violetta. He also gave several performances at theMaggio Musicale Fiorentino, including both Count Tomsky (spring 1952) and Prince Yeletsky (spring 1954) inTchaikovsky'sThe Queen of Spades, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky inProkofiev'sWar and Peace (spring 1953), and the title role in Tchaikovsky'sMazeppa (1954).
In 1953, Bastianini performed oppositeMaria Callas in the first of many pairings with her, as Enrico Ashton inLucia di Lammermoor at the Teatro Comunale Florence. That same year he sang the role of Carlo Gérard inUmberto Giordano'sAndrea Chénier for the first time at theTeatro Regio di Torino. He made hisMetropolitan Opera debut as Germont on 5 December 1953, oppositeLicia Albanese as Violetta andRichard Tucker as Alfredo. The following January, he sang Enrico toLily Pons's Lucia andJan Peerce's Edgardo at the Met. On 10 May 1954 he made his debut as a baritone at La Scala, in the title role of Tchaikovsky'sEugene Onegin, withRenata Tebaldi as Tatyana.
In fall 1954, Bastianini joined the roster of theMetropolitan Opera and sang there regularly through May 1957. His roles at the Met during this time included Amonasro inAida, Carlo Gérard, Conte di Luna inIl trovatore, Enrico, Germont, Marcello inLa bohème, Escamillo inCarmen, Rodrigo inDon Carlo and the title role inRigoletto. He later returned to the Met in spring 1960 in several roles, including Don Carlo di Vargas inLa forza del destino (which he had recorded superbly under Molinari-Pradelli in 1956 forDecca Records, followed a few years later by an electrifying portrayal of the villain Barnaba inLa Gioconda under Gavazzeni on the same label). He returned to the Met again in January 1965, where he spent most of that year singing in several of his prior roles with the company and portraying Scarpia inTosca. His 87th and final performance at the Met was as Rodrigo on 11 December 1965. It was also, coincidentally, the last performance of his career.
While performing regularly at the Met during the mid-1950s, Bastianini continued to perform occasionally in Europe and in other opera houses in the United States. On 28 May 1955, he appeared opposite Maria Callas andGiuseppe di Stefano in a famous La Scala production ofLa traviata, directed byLuchino Visconti and conducted byCarlo Maria Giulini. The following summer he made the first of several recordings forDecca Records: Alphonse XI inLa favorita and (as cited above) Don Carlo di Vargas inLa forza del destino. On 31 October 1955 (opening night), he debuted with theLyric Opera of Chicago as Riccardo Forth inVincenzo Bellini'sI puritani with Callas as Elvira, di Stefano as Arturo, andNicola Rossi-Lemeni as Giorgio. He sang regularly in Chicago between 1955 and 1958, as Conte di Luna (oppositeJussi Björling andHerva Nelli), Don Carlo, Germont and Marcello. In 1956, he returned to La Scala to sing his first Renato inUn ballo in maschera, and portrayed Figaro inIl barbiere di Siviglia at theArena di Verona after recording it underAlberto Erede for Decca Records.
After leaving the Met in May 1957, Bastianini made his first appearance on Italian television in a filmed version ofIl trovatore withLeyla Gencer,Mario del Monaco andFedora Barbieri. That summer, he sang Don Carlo in a legendary production ofVerdi'sErnani at theMaggio Musicale Fiorentino underDimitri Mitropoulos withAnita Cerquetti,Mario del Monaco andBoris Christoff. This was followed by performances in four different operas in seven days inBilbao and a return to La Scala in December 1957 for another lauded production:Un ballo in maschera underGianandrea Gavazzeni with Callas, Di Stefano, andGiulietta Simionato.
In 1958, Bastianini sang his first Scarpia at theTeatro di San Carlo. This was followed by three other roles new to him at La Scala that summer: Belcore inL'elisir d'amore, Ernesto inIl pirata (with Callas andFranco Corelli), and the title role inNabucco. In July of that year, he made his debut at theSalzburg Festival as Rodrigo underHerbert von Karajan, and then returned to Bilbao in September for several more performances. Towards the end of the year, he sang four roles in five days at thePalacio de Bellas Artes inMexico City, followed by his only baroque opera role, Lichas inHandel'sHercules underLovro von Matačić, at La Scala.
In September 1958, Bastianini sang for the first time at theVienna State Opera as Scarpia opposite Tebaldi's Tosca. He performed regularly there until the end of his career, in 1965. In the fall of 1959, he debuted at theDallas Opera singing Enrico opposite Callas's Lucia, and Figaro as well. The following December, he sang his first Michonnet inFrancesco Cilea'sAdriana Lecouvreur at the Teatro di San Carlo, starringMagda Olivero. He returned to that house in 1960 to sing Don Carlo inErnani, a role he also portrayed at the Salzburg Festival that year. Also in 1960, he sang Severo in Donizetti'sPoliuto in a famous production that marked the return of Callas to La Scala.
In February 1961, he debuted with thePhiladelphia Lyric Opera Company as Rigoletto. Later that month he appeared in two productions at La Scala,Lucia di Lammermoor with DameJoan Sutherland andI puritani withRenata Scotto. In December 1961, he returned to La Scala to sing his first and only performances of Rolando in Verdi's rarely heard operaLa battaglia di Legnano. In 1962, he made his first and only appearance at theRoyal Opera,Covent Garden as Renato, returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing the title role inRigoletto, and sang Conte di Luna at La Scala and the Salzburg Festival, in addition to several performances with the Vienna State Opera. His mother died in April of that year, ofcancer, in Siena.
In November 1962 Bastianini was diagnosed with a throattumor just months after his mother's death from cancer. He discussed his illness with only his family and a few very close friends, fearing the negative impact that the news could have on his career. He spent the first four months of 1963 in treatment in Switzerland, and then, the following April, returned to the stage for several of his staple roles at the Vienna State Opera. Noting that his voice seemed drier than previously, critics gave him mixed reviews. As his health declined further, Bastianini became depressed and uncertain whether he should continue singing.
On 2 July 1963, he won thePalio di Siena as captain of the Pantera-contrada, the town quarter of the Panther. Though usually the people of the neighbourhood pay all the costs involved (the jockey and the secret deals with other contrada), Bastianini was very generous with his own fortune. In 1958, he had already made a generous gift for the construction of the headquarters of Pantera. On the evening of the Cena della Vittoria, the Dinner of Victory, he sang for the people of his quarter. After his death, Cynthia Wood, his last companion, became captain of the Contrada della Pantera, one of the few and the only American woman to hold this position. Bastianini bought the winning horse, the famous Topolone, and changed its name to Ettore.[1] Shortly thereafter, he appeared successfully as Conte di Luna at the Salzburg Festival. The following autumn, he debuted inTokyo in a much-lauded production ofIl trovatore, broadcast live on Japanese television. In December of that year he made his last appearance at La Scala, as Rodrigo inDon Carlo.
Bastianini's health declined steadily over the last two years of his career. His performances were inconsistent, some excellent and others poor. In 1964, he sang his last new role, Mephisto inLa damnation de Faust, at theTeatro di San Carlo in Naples, to good reviews, but his Conte di Luna inIl trovatore inPrato that year was reportedly disastrous. In 1965, his final year on stage, he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Amonasro. He also portrayed Scarpia at the Teatro Comunale Florence, and Iago at theCairo Opera House. He spent most of 1965 at the Met with mixed results. Some performances were well received, but he was booed during a performance ofTosca. His final operatic appearance was as Rodrigo in Verdi'sDon Carlo at the Met, on 11 December 1965. He finally succumbed to cancer in January 1967, and was buried in his hometown of Siena.
The Associazione Internazionale Culturale Musicale Ettore Bastianini (www.associazioneettorebastianini.org) keeps alive the artistic legacy of this great singer.
Most of his studio recordings were made forDecca Records, and a few forDeutsche Grammophon as well, and accurately represent his rich and expressive voice. They include:
In addition to the recordings included above, there is a live album of his concert in Chicago with Tebaldi and Simionato, conducted by SirGeorg Solti and issued by Decca, as well as a Neapolitan song recital. When von Karajan recordedJohann Strauss'sDie Fledermaus for Decca, Bastianini was also invited to sing in the Gala scene. The duet he chose, "Anything you can do, I can do better" fromIrving Berlin's musicalAnnie Get Your Gun, was the only non-Italian piece he ever recorded. His duet partnerGiulietta Simionato had, like him, learned her words phonetically. Also noteworthy is a 1955 television appearance (published on DVD in 2006) onOpera Cameos of excerpts fromLa traviata with the youngBeverly Sills and Paul Knowles.
