Antonino Votto, sometimes spelt Antonio Votto, (30 October 1896 – 9 September 1985) was an Italian operatic conductor and vocal coach. Votto developed an extensive discography with the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

in Milan during the 1950s, when

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

produced the bulk of its studio recordings featuring

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

. Though Votto was a dependable conductor (and the teacher of

Riccardo Muti Riccardo Muti (; born 28 July 1941) is an Italian conductor. He is current music director of the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini. Muti has previously held posts at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, the ...

), critics frequently faulted his recordings for their lack of emotional immediacy. This may have been an occupational hazard of working in the studio, as his live sets with Callas, including a ''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

'' (December 1955,

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 ...

) and ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'' (1957, Cologne) are considered to be great performances. Among his pupils was the soprano

Claudia Pinza Bozzolla Claudia Pinza Bozzolla (July 27, 1925 – August 3, 2017) was an Argentine-American operatic soprano, vocal coach, and voice teacher of Italian origin. As a singer she performed in operas throughout Italy and the United States, including appeara ...

Commercial discography

* Ponchielli: ''La Gioconda'' (Callas, Barbieri, Amadini, Poggi, Silveri, Neri; 1952)

Cetra Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing into a necked i ...

* Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Callas, Moffo, di Stefano, Panerai, Zaccaria; 1956) EMI * Verdi: ''Un ballo in maschera'' (Callas, Ratti, Barbieri, di Stefano, Gobbi; 1956) EMI * Bellini: ''La sonnambula'' (Callas, Ratti, Monti, Zaccaria; 1957) EMI * Ponchielli: ''La Gioconda'' (Callas, Cossotto, Companeez, Ferraro, Cappuccilli, Vinco; 1959) EMI * Puccini: ''La bohème'' (Scotto, Poggi, Gobbi, Modesti; 1961)

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

* Verdi: ''La traviata'' (Scotto, G.Raimondi, Bastianini; 1962) Deutsche Grammop

Biography

He graduated in piano from the

Music conservatories of Naples This is a list of music conservatories in Naples, Italy. Conservatorio di San Pietro a Majella The Naples Conservatory of Music is a music school located in Naples, Italy. It is situated in the complex of San Pietro a Majella. It was originally ...

under the guidance of Alessandro Longo. He began to tread the boards as a virtuoso pianist before establishing himself, as early as the 1920s in conducting.

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

right-hand man, he entered

in Milan as early as 1923, later conducting operas in major theaters, from Teatro Colón in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

Teatro Massimo The Teatro Massimo Vittorio Emanuele is an opera house and opera company located on the Piazza Verdi in Palermo, Sicily. It was dedicated to King Victor Emanuel II. It is the biggest in Italy, and one of the largest of Europe (at the time of its ...

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

, from

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, from

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Seven times he opened La Scala's opera season. From 1941 he acquired the chair of orchestral conducting at the Giuseppe Verdi

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory, also known as the Conservatorio di Milano and the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi, is a Music school, college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital ...

, where over the course of thirty years of teaching he was the teacher of other important performers of contemporary music, such as

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (5 January 1942 – 23 March 2024) was an Italian pianist and conductor. He was known for performances of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and the Second Viennese School, among others. He championed works by contemporary composers ...

Guido Cantelli Guido Cantelli (; 27 April 192024 November 1956) was an Italian orchestral conductor. Toscanini elected him his "spiritual heir" since the beginnings of his career. He was named Music Director of La Scala, Milan in November 1956, but his promis ...

, and

Giorgio Gaslini Giorgio Gaslini (; 22 October 1929 – 29 July 2014) was an Italian jazz pianist, composer and conductor. He began performing aged 13 and recorded with his jazz trio at 16. In the 1950s and 1960s, Gaslini performed with his own quartet. He was ...

. He had to stop conducting in 1973-

Carlo Bergonzi (tenor) Carlo Bergonzi (13 July 1924 – 25 July 2014) was an Italian operatic tenor. Although he performed and recorded some bel canto and verismo roles, he was above all associated with the operas of Giuseppe Verdi, including many of the composer's les ...

remembers that episode as sad and moving. He was to open the season at the

Teatro Regio (Turin) The Teatro Regio (Royal Theatre) is a prominent opera house and opera company in Turin, Piedmont, Italy. Its season runs from October to June with the presentation of eight or nine operas given from five to twelve performances of each. Several bu ...

with

Andrea Chenier Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

. While rehearsing with the orchestra and singers, at one point he put his baton against the music stand and interrupted the rehearsal: "I can't see the orchestra and the stage, I can't continue." A

Maculopathy A maculopathy is any pathological condition of the macula, an area at the centre of the retina that is associated with highly sensitive, accurate vision. Forms of maculopathies * Age-Related Macular Degeneration is a degenerative maculopathy ass ...

in his right eye takes away most of his vision. The other eye had been impaired years before. A favorite of the most celebrated international opera performers, Votto picked up, along with

Victor de Sabata Victor Alberto de Sabata (10 April 1892 – 11 December 1967) was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and ...

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

and a few others, Toscanini's legacy after he left Italy in the first half of the 1930s to emigrate to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Like Toscanini he always conducted from memory, without the need for a score. He had among his pupils the soprano

. Riposa al

Cimitero Maggiore di Milano The Cimitero Maggiore di Milano ("Greater Cemetery of Milan"), also known as Cimitero di Musocco ("Musocco Cemetery"), is the largest cemetery of Milan, Italy. It is located in Zone 8, in the Musocco district (formerly a ''comune'' of its own), ...

References

* ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', by John Warrack and Ewan West,

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1996. {{DEFAULTSORT:Votto, Antonino 1896 births 1985 deaths Italian male conductors (music) 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians