Herbert John Handt (May 26, 1926 – October 2, 2023) was an American operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

and later conductor, particularly known for his conducting and editions of rarely performed Italian scores. Handt was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and studied at the

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named afte ...

and the

Vienna Academy of Music The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

. He made his debut as a singer at the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

in 1949 and his debut as a conductor in Rome in 1960. In the U.S., he sang with

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 ...

conducting. He moved to

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

, Italy, in the early 1960s. As a conductor, he worked at major theatres in Italy, including

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 ...

in Milan and the

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 ...

in Palermo, and abroad. He founded the Associazione Musicale Lucchese in Lucca in 1964, serving as its Artistic Director to 2006, and becoming its Honorary President then. In 1978, he founded there the International Festival of Marlia, fusing events of opera, dance, theatre, conferences and concerts. He contributed to the restoration and enhancement of the Theatre of the Reassured in

Montecarlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to a larger district, the Mont ...

. He was awarded honorary citizenship from Lucca (in 2002) and Montecarlo (in 2010) for his work for music and local culture, especially research of the rich musical history of Lucca, such as the

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 ...

dynasty. He received a prize by the City of Florence "for his commitment to improving cultural relations between Tuscany and the United States". Handt died on October 2, 2023, at the age of 97.

Roles created

In his career as a tenor, Handt created roles in three 20th-century operas: * Don Giovanni Mediana in

Malipiero Malipiero is a Venetian surname of Bohemian origin, also documented as ''Mastropiero'' or ''Maripiero''. Malipiero can refer to: People * Domenico Malipiero (1428–1515), Venetian naval captain * Felicia Malipiero, Dogaressa of Venice by marri ...

's ''Venere prigioniera'' (

Teatro della Pergola The Teatro della Pergola (), sometimes known as just La Pergola, is a historic opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola, from which the theatre takes its name. It was built in 1656 under the p ...

, Florence, 14 May 1957) * Zuckertanz in Menotti's ''

Maria Golovin ''Maria Golovin'' is an English language opera in three acts by Gian Carlo Menotti. It is through-composed and centers on a romantic encounter between a blind recluse named Donato and the title character, a married woman living in a European coun ...

'' (Theatre of the US Pavillon,

Brussels World's Fair Expo 58, also known as the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (; ), was a world's fair held on the Heysel Plateau, Heysel/Heizel Plateau in Brussels, Belgium, from 17 April to 19 October 1958. It was the first major world's fair registered under the Bu ...

, 20 August 1958) * Primo omuncolo in Roberto Lupi's ''Persefone'' (Teatro Comunale, Florence, 9 January 1970)

References

External links

* *
Herbert Handt sings Franz Schubert's "Schwanengesang" D. 957
A recital for French radio RTF on 29 January 1961. Hélène Boschi is the pianist. 1926 births 2023 deaths American male conductors (music) American operatic tenors Juilliard School alumni University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni 20th-century American male opera singers Singers from Philadelphia Classical musicians from Pennsylvania 20th-century American conductors (music) {{Conductor-stub