Ernesto Badini (born San Colombano al Lambro, 14 September 1876; died Milan, 6 July 1937) was an Italian

opera singer Opera is a form of Western 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 lib ...

that sang in the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

range. He was trained at

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 ...

and made his debut as Matteo (in '' Frà Diavolo'') at Lodi's Teatro Gaffurio in 1896. Badini was a regular performer at Milan's

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 achieved his greatest success in the comic role of

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

's Gianni Schicchi.

Biography

In ''

Il Signor Bruschino ''Il signor Bruschino, ossia Il figlio per azzardo'' ''(Signor Bruschino, or The Accidental Son)'' is a one act operatic farce ( farsa giocosa per musica) by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa, based upon the 1809 play ''Le ...

'' (

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 ...

), he was said with a generally "excellent cast" to have "co-operated with a will". At

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

: he portrayed Marcello in ''Boheme'' (Puccini): " otparticularly well-suited for his part He also worked in South America and Salzburg. His voice was described as "serviceable rather than rich":J.B. Steane. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera whilst his acting ability demonstrated "an assured style and economy of gesture"

First Performances

He participated in several first performances, as follows:

: ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...

'' (premieres at Milan and Covent Garden). "... a delightful picture of Schicchi, entering fully into the spirit of the piece" Mascagni: ''

Il piccolo Marat ''Il piccolo Marat'' is a ''dramma lirico'' or opera in three acts by the Italian composer Pietro Mascagni from a libretto by Giovacchino Forzano composed when Mascagni lived in Livorno, Italy (in the 1916-built villa shown at the right), wher ...

'' (world) Mascagni: '' Pinotta'' (world) Giordano's ''

La cena delle beffe ''La cena delle beffe'' (''The Jesters' Supper'') is an opera in four acts composed by Umberto Giordano to an Italian libretto by Sem Benelli adapted from his 1909 The Jester's Supper (play), play of the same name. The opera premiered on 20 Dece ...

'' (world) Wolf-Ferrari's '' Sly'' (world).

Recordings

I Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'' Complete recording 1907, conductor Carlo Sabajno. Silvio. ''

Il barbiere di Siviglia ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy '' ...

'' Complete recording 1919, conductor Carlo Sabajno. Figaro. See: Carlo Sabajno, Wikipedia, Discography: • 1919 Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia – Ernesto Badini, Malvina Pereira, Edoardo Taliani; Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan. Gramophone Company. ''

Don Pasquale ''Don Pasquale'' () is a Gaetano Donizetti opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts, 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 Pavesi's oper ...

'': Badini participated in the first complete recording. This performance showed him as "A one-time lyric baritone graduated into a superb buffo". "Badini speaks as much as he sings-- but what a difference when he does sing, and in the tonal solidity of the speaking too". (New York Times, 17 February 1985, p H28) Several excerpts discs were also created on the following labels:

Columbia Graphophone Company Columbia Graphophone Co. Ltd. was one of the earliest gramophone companies in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1917 as an offshoot of the American Columbia Phonograph Company, it became an independent British-owned company in 1922 in a managem ...

1925: excerpts: ''

'', ''

Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

Victor Talking Machine Company The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

cat 45035 ''

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 ...

'', ''Barbiere'' excerpts

References

1876 births 1937 deaths Italian operatic baritones Fonotipia Records artists Milan Conservatory alumni {{Italy-opera-singer-stub