Rolando Panerai | |
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 Rolando Panerai in 1974 | |
| Born | (1924-10-17)17 October 1924 |
| Died | 22 October 2019(2019-10-22) (aged 95) |
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Rolando Panerai (17 October 1924 – 22 October 2019) was an Italianbaritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertoire. He performed atLa Scala in Milan, often alongsideMaria Callas andGiuseppe Di Stefano. He was known for musical understanding, excellent diction and versatile acting in both drama and comic opera. Among his signature roles were Ford in Verdi'sFalstaff and the title role of Puccini'sGianni Schicchi.[1]
Panerai was born inCampi Bisenzio nearFlorence, and studied withVito Frazzi in Florence and Giacomo Armani and Giulia Tess inMilan.[2] Panerai appeared on stage first in 1946, as Lord Ashton in Donizettis'sLucia di Lammermoor.[3][4] He appeared in 1947 in Naples at theTeatro di San Carlo[1] as the pharaon in Rossini'sMosè in Egitto. In 1951, he performed the title role of Verdi'sSimon Boccanegra inBergamo, and the role of Sharpless in Puccini'sMadama Butterfly atLa Scala in Milan. He sang in many rarely performed Verdi operas on radio forRAI in 1951, (commemorating the 50th anniversary of Verdi's death), such asGiovanna d'Arco,La battaglia di Legnano, andAroldo. He later sang most of the great Verdi baritone roles, includingRigoletto, Count De Luna inIl trovatore, Giorgio Germont inLa traviata, Marquis of Posa inDon Carlos, and Amonasro inAida.[4]
Panerai had more than 150 operas in his repertoire, but became best-known for comic roles: Ford in Verdi'sFalstaff (his signature role),[4] Figaro in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro, Leporello inDon Giovanni, and both Guglielmo and Alfonso inCosì fan tutte, Figaro in Rossini'sIl barbiere di Siviglia, both Belcore and Dulcamara in Donizetti'sL'elisir d'amore, and Malatesta and the title role inDon Pasquale. He was an exponent of Puccini'sGianni Schicchi for many years,[5] singing the role in Genoa as late as 2011, at the age of 87. He also performed more recent operas, such as the title role of Hindemith'sMathis der Maler, operas bySergei Prokofiev andGian Carlo Menotti, and several world premieres.[1] He appeared internationally, including at theParis Opera, theRoyal Opera House in London, theBolshoi Theatre in Moscow, theOper Frankfurt, and at theSalzburg Festival andGlyndebourne Festival.[3][6] Between 1955 and 1972, he regularly appeared at theAix-en-Provence Festival.[3] He was a regular guest at theVienna State Opera, where he first appeared in 1956 as Enrico inLucia di Lammermoor in a performance from La Scala withMaria Callas in the title role. His last performance there was as Dulcamara in 1998.[6]
Panerai often partnered in recordings as on stage with Maria Callas andGiuseppe Di Stefano, as inIl trovatore,[1] Mascagni'sCavalleria rusticana with him as Alfio, Leoncavallo'sPagliacci (singing Silvio), Bellini'sI puritani and Puccini'sLa bohème. He also recorded a notable Sharpless alongsideRenata Scotto andCarlo Bergonzi, and Germont alongsideBeverly Sills andNicolai Gedda.[1] He played Ford in three different recordings ofFalstaff, with three different singers of the title role (Tito Gobbi,Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, andGiuseppe Taddei), the latter on video, withHerbert von Karajan conducting. He also recorded the title role.[4] He sangWagner in Italian translation, as Amfortas in a 1950 recorded performance ofParsifal with Callas as Kundry andBoris Christoff as Gurnemanz.[1] He appeared on video recordings as Ford, Rossini's Figaro, Rigoletto and Silvio, and in concert in aBolshoi Opera Night.
Even at an advanced age, Panerai was active as a teacher in masterclasses[1] and as an opera director staging works such as Donizetti'sIl campanello dello speziale,La traviata,La bohème, in 2013Rigoletto andIl trovatore, and in 2018Gianni Schicchi.[3]
Panerai died on 22 October 2019, five days after his 95th birthday.[5][1]
