Carlo Peroni (1884,

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

– March 12, 1944,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

) was an Italian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

who served as the musical director of

Fortune Gallo Fortune Thomas Gallo (May 9, 1878 – March 28, 1970) (born Fortunato Gallo) was an Italian-born opera impresario. Gallo was owner and General Manager of the traveling San Carlo Opera Company from 1913 until its disbandment in the late 1950s. ...

's San Carlo Opera Company (SCOC) from 1921 until his death 23 years later. With that company he performed in almost every major city in North America, typically conducting 8 opera performance a week eight months out of the year. In 1934, upon Peroni's 500th performance with the SCOC, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' declared that he had conducted more grand opera performances in North America than any conductor in history.

Life and career

Peroni studied music at the

Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia The Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia ( en, National Academy of St Cecilia) is one of the oldest musical institutions in the world, founded by the papal bull ''Ratione congruit'', issued by Sixtus V in 1585, which invoked two saints promi ...

. He began working as a musician and music teacher at a young age, and by the age of 13 his wages from teaching piano and harmony was the primary source of income for his family. At the age of 15 he began conducting, leading a 30 piece boys band in Rome. In 1914 he immigrated to the United States where his career was largely centered for the rest of his life. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, after which he worked as a conductor for

Antonio Scotti Antonio Scotti (25 January 1866 – 26 February 1936) was an Italian baritone. He was a principal artist of the New York Metropolitan Opera for more than 33 seasons, but also sang with great success at London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, ...

's touring company the Scotti Opera Company from 1919 to 1921. Wilfrid Pelletier was notably his assistant at the Scotti Opera. Peroni was admired for his photographic memory. He often conducted without a score and was said to have completely memorized the complete scores to more than 70 operas. In 1929 he conducted several arias with

Giovanni Martinelli Giovanni Martinelli (22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operatic tenor. He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli was one of t ...

for some of the last recordings made by

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important player in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by Edison's foun ...

. He also served as director of the

Chicago Opera Company The Chicago Opera Company was a opera, grand opera company in Chicago, organized from the remaining assets of the bankrupt Chicago City Opera Company, that produced six seasons of opera at the Civic Opera House from 1940 to 1946 (excluding 1943). ...

from 1941 to 1942 and continued to collaborate with that company periodically up until his death. The last performance he conducted was an SCOC performance of

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian 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 style duri ...

's ''

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 Lammermoor''. ...

'' at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia in February 1944. After his death in a month later in New York City at the age of 59, he was succeeded by

Nicola Rescigno Nicola Rescigno (May 28, 1916 – August 4, 2008) was an Italian-American conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory. ''Opera News'' said that "Rescigno was a seminal figure in the history of opera in America, a maestro ...

, who later founded the

Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

, as musical director of the SCOC. Peroni married soprano

Mary Kaestner Mary Ethel Kaestner Peroni (29 July 1882 – ) was an American opera singer who was a dramatic soprano with the San Carlo Opera Company. Early life Mary Kaestner was born in Iowa to German emigrant Adolf August Kästner, a butcher from Crimmi ...

in 1917, and she retired from her opera career. She survived him when he died in March 1944.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peroni, Carlo 1884 births 1944 deaths Italian male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) Musicians from Rome United States Navy personnel of World War I 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni Italian emigrants to the United States