Enzo Dara (13 October 1938 – 25 August 2017) was an Italian
basso buffo. ''
Opera News
''Opera News'' is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to engender the appreciation of opera and also supp ...
'' described him as "one of the most famous Italian basses on the opera stage
nown for
A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for:
* Living creatures (including people, alive, d ...
portraying a cluster of touchstone roles that highlighted his natural gifts for comedy, rapid-fire patter and bel canto technique."
He is particularly admired for his performances in operas by
Rossini.
Career
Dara began his professional life as a journalist before deciding to pursue a career as an opera singer. He studied singing with Bruno Sutti in Mantua, and made his professional debut as Colline in Puccini's ''
La Bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuse ...
'' in 1960 in Fano, a town and commune in the Marche region of Italy.
He performed at the Metropolitan opera in New York 59 times. In
Reggio Emilia, in 1967, Dara played Don Bartolo in ''
Il barbiere di Siviglia''. At the Festival of the Due Mondi in
Spoleto
Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome.
History
Sp ...
in 1969, he was Mustafà in ''
L'Italiana in Algeri'', and at
La Scala, two years later, again Don Bartolo in ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'', directed by
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 London Symphony ...
. On tour at La Scala and at the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...
in London in 1976 he played Dandini in ''
La Cenerentola
' (''Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant'') is an operatic '' dramma giocoso'' in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the libretti written by Charles-Guillaume Étienne for the opera ''Cendrillo ...
''.
Among his most famous roles were Don Bartolo in ''Il barbiere di Siviglia,'' which he played in more than 400 performances, ''L'Italiana in Algeri'' as Taddeo, Dulcamara in ''
L'Elisir D'Amore
''L'elisir d'amore'' (''The Elixir of Love'', ) is a ' ( opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's ' (1831). The opera pre ...
'', Don Magnifico in ''La Cenerentola'' and Don Pasquale in ''
Don Pasquale
''Don Pasquale'' () is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti with an Italian libretto completed largely by Giovanni Ruffini as well as the composer. It was based on a libretto by Angelo Anelli for Stefano Paves ...
''.
He performed with various other famous singers as
Samuel Ramey,
Paolo Montarsolo,
Leo Nucci
Leo Nucci (born 16 April 1942) is an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with Verdi and ''Verismo'' roles.
Biography
Born at Castiglione dei Pepoli, near Bologna, Nucci studied with Giuseppe Marchese. He made his stage debut ...
,
Luigi Alva
Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo, better known as Luigi Alva (born 10 April 1927 in Paíta, Peru) is a Peruvian operatic tenor. A Mozart and Rossini specialist, Alva achieved fame with roles such as Don Ottavio (in '' Don Giovanni''), Count Almaviva ...
,
Hermann Prey,
Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (, , ; 12 October 19356 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerou ...
,
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, ...
,
Lucia Valentini Terrani
Lucia Valentini Terrani (29 August 1946 in Padua – 11 June 1998 in Seattle) was an Italian coloratura mezzo-soprano, particularly associated with Rossini roles.
Life and career
Born Lucia Valentini, she studied first at the Padua Music Conse ...
,
Marilyn Horne,
Kathleen Battle,
Cecilia Bartoli and others.
Dara was also an author. In 1994 he released his first book ''Anche il buffo nel suo piccolo'', a collection of memories, anecdotes and observations.
In the 1990s Enzo Dara's performances became less frequent, and he tried his hand at directing. He directed several productions, including ''
Il maestro di cappella
''Il maestro di cappella'' is an operatic intermezzo in one act by Domenico Cimarosa. (Though often translated in English as ''The Music Teacher,'' the Italian term ''maestro di cappella'' is the equivalent of the German ''kapellmeister'' — "mast ...
'' and ''Don Pasquale''.
In 1992 he was awarded the Donizetti Prize by the Donizetti Festival in Bergamo.
Bibliography
* ''Anche il buffo nel suo piccolo'' (1994)
References
Sources
* Stinchelli, Enrico, ''Le stelle della lirica'', Roma, Gremese Editore, 1986, p. 193
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dara, Enzo
1938 births
2017 deaths
Operatic basses
Clergy from Mantua
Italian basses
20th-century Italian male opera singers