Cesare Badiali was an Italian baritone opera singer. He was born in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

in 1810 and died on 17 November 1865. He debuted in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

in 1827.

Biography

Badiali was born in Bologna in 1810. During his childhood, his family moved to

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

. Here, young Badiali began to study

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

and

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

, using his new skills to perform in the churches of Imola and occasionally elsewhere as an amateur singer. As he moved into his adulthood, he abandoned music for a more secure job as a tax collector, as soon he would take a wife and desire a family. However, while in Bologna for pleasure in 1827, the famed Giovanni Tadolini discovered his talents and encouraged him to make a career out of his voice, as did his future manager Bassi. Initially, Badiali turned down Bassi's offer and returned to Imola. Bassi offered a new contract of fifteen hundred francs, which was enough to convince him to leave and work in Trieste. He debuted at the Teatro Comunale, playing the high priest of the Israelites in Generali's ''Il vote di Jefte''. Badiali's popularity soared, and he soon found himself among his greatest contemporaries. He first sang at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1830 and did so again in the 1831–1832 season, with performances of pieces such as '' Gli esiliati in Siberia'' by

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

and

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

's ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

''. For five seasons between 1832 and 1838, he performed in Spain and Portugal, and was celebrated upon his first piece performed after his return to Italy, '' Il pirata'' by Bellini. Badialli spent his time from 1839 to 1842 singing in Vienna and throughout the 1840s quite successfully in Rome. The next decade was spent traveling the world, from America to England. He had a notable friendship with the great composer Rossini. Badiali sang in Rossini's Bologna home in 1830 as Rossini accompanied. The two met again in Paris in 1859 at Italian Theater. Badiali's legacy remains one of an incomparably moving voice. It had been said by some at the time: "There is no dramatic baritone living as that man adiali"

Influence

The Italian's voice inspired many. Acclaimed American poet

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

reminisced about the influence of Badiali, stating: "My younger life was so saturated with the emotions, raptures, up-lifts, of such musical experiences s hearing Cesare Badiali..".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Badiali, Cesare 1810 births 1865 deaths 19th-century Italian male opera singers Italian operatic baritones Singers from Bologna Musicians from the Papal States