Matteo Manuguerra (5 October 1924 – 23 July 1998) was a Tunisian-born French baritone, one of the leading Verdi baritones of the 1970s. Manuguerra was born in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

, Tunisia, to Italian parents, who later moved to Argentina. He came late to music, starting his vocal study at the age of 35, at the

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

Music Conservatory, with Umberto Landi. He made his debut as a

tenor A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wide ...

, in Mozart's '' Requiem''. He settled in France in 1961, and after new studies, made his debut the following year as a baritone in the role of Valentin in ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'', at the

Opéra de Lyon This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

where he was to remain for three years. Manuguerra made his

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

debut in 1966, as

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...

. He appeared throughout France, and sang on French radio particularly in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

operas such as, ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (, short for Nabucodonosor ; en, "Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblical books of 2 Kings, J ...

'', '' Ernani'', '' I masnadieri'', ''

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea for ...

'', as well as in ''

I vespri siciliani ''I vespri siciliani'' (; ''The Sicilian Vespers'') is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. ...

'' and ''

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedr ...

'', both in their original French versions. After singing widely in Europe, Manuguerra made his American debut in 1968, as Gérard in '' Andrea Chénier'', in Seattle. He made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

debut on 11 January 1971 as Enrico in ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoo ...

'', other roles included Barnaba in '' La Gioconda'', Carlo in '' La forza del destino'', Amonasro in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'', Alfio in ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play ...

'', Tonio in '' Pagliacci'', and others. He also appeared at the

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

and the

Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civi ...

. Manuguerra had a rich and supple voice enabling him to excel in both

belcanto Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

and

verismo In opera, ''verismo'' (, from , meaning "true") was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an ...

repertoire, with Verdi being always at the core, which his impressive discography clearly demonstrates. Matteo Manuguerra enjoyed a long career and was still active when he died suddenly of a heart attack, in Montpellier, France.

Studio recordings

* Rossini - ''Le barbier de Séville'' - Jean-Pierre Marty - EMI - 1974 * Bellini - ''I puritani'' -

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti, (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He currently holds two music directorships, at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and at the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale ...

- EMI - 1979 * Verdi - ''Nabucco'' - Riccardo Muti - EMI - 1977-78 * Verdi - ''I masnadieri'' - Richard Bonynge - DECCA/LONDON - 1979 * Verdi - ''La battaglia di Legnano'' - Lamberto Gardelli - PHILLIPS - 1977 * Verdi - ''Stiffelio'' - Lamberto Gardelli - PHILLIPS - 1979 * Verdi - ''La traviata'' - Richard Bonynge - DECCA/LONDON - 1979 * Verdi - ''Otello'' - Alain Lombard - FORLANE - 1991 * Massenet - ''Werther'' - Michel Plasson - EMI - 1979 * Mascagni - ''Cavalleria rusticana'' - Riccardo Muti - EMI - 1979 * Puccini - ''La bohème'' - James Levine - EMI - 1979 * Puccini - ''Tosca'' - Mstislav Rostropovich - DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON - 1976 * Zandonai - ''Francesca da Rimini'' - Maurizio Arena - BALKATON - 1987

References

Sources

* ''Dictionnaire des interprètes'', Alain Pâris,

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by Robert Laffont. Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. It is considered one of the most ...

, 1989, * ''Guide de l’opéra'', Roland Mancini & Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, Fayard, 1995, {{DEFAULTSORT:Manuguerra, Matteo 1924 births 1998 deaths French operatic baritones 20th-century French male opera singers French people of Italian descent People from Tunis Tunisian emigrants to Argentina Argentine emigrants to France