Matteo Manuguerra (5 October 1924 – 23 July 1998) was a Tunisian-born French

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 ...

, one of the leading Verdi baritones of the 1970s. Manuguerra was born in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, Tunisia, to Italian parents, who later moved to Argentina. He came late to music, starting his vocal study at the age of 35, at the

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 ...

Music Conservatory, with Umberto Landi. He made his debut as a

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 ...

, in Mozart's ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

''. He settled in France in 1961, and after new studies, made his debut the following year as a baritone in the role of Valentin in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'', at the

Opéra de Lyon The Opéra de Lyon (also known as Opéra Nouvel, formerly Grand Théâtre) in Lyon, France, is the home of the Opéra National de Lyon. The original opera house was re-designed by the distinguished French architect, Jean Nouvel between 1985 and 19 ...

where he was to remain for three years. Manuguerra made his

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

debut in 1966, as

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

. He appeared throughout France, and sang on French radio particularly in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

operas such as, ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

'', ''

Ernani ''Ernani'' is an operatic ''dramma lirico'' in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the 1830 play ''Hernani (drama), Hernani'' by Victor Hugo. Verdi was commissioned by the Teatro La Fenice in Ve ...

'', '' I masnadieri'', ''

Luisa Miller ''Luisa Miller'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play '' Kabale und Liebe'' (''Intrigue and Love'') by the German dramatist Friedrich von Schiller. Verdi's initial idea f ...

'', as well as in ''

I vespri siciliani ''I vespri siciliani'' (; "The Sicilian Vespers") is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra by the Italian romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. ...

'' and ''

Don Carlo ''Don Carlos'' is an 1867 five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the 1787 play '' Don Karlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'', both in their original French versions. After singing widely in Europe, Manuguerra made his American debut in 1968, as Gérard in ''

Andrea Chénier ''Andrea Chénier'' () is a verismo opera in four acts by Umberto Giordano, set to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica, and first performed on 28 March 1896 at La Scala, Milan. The story is based loosely on the life of the French poet An ...

'', in Seattle. He made his

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

debut on 11 January 1971 as Enrico in ''

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''. ...

'', other roles included Barnaba in ''

La Gioconda La Gioconda ( , ; "the joyful one" feminine_gender.html" ;"title="'feminine gender">f.'' may refer to: * ''Mona Lisa'' or ''La Gioconda'', a painting by Leonardo da Vinci * Lisa del Giocondo, the model depicted in da Vinci's painting * La Gioconda ...

'', Carlo in '' La forza del destino'', Amonasro in ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

'', Alfio in ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; ) is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 Cavalleria rusticana (short story), short story of the same name and subsequent ...

'', Tonio in ''

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 ...

'', and others. He also appeared at the

San Francisco Opera The San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 wh ...

and the

Dallas Opera The Dallas Opera is an American opera company located in Dallas, Texas. The company performs at the Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, one venue of the AT&T Performing Arts Center. History The company was founded in 1957 as the Dallas Civic ...

. Manuguerra had a rich and supple voice enabling him to excel in both

belcanto , )—with several similar constructions (, , , pronounced in English as )—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing, and whose definitions have often been misunderstood. ''Bel canto'' was not only seen as a vocal technique ...

and

verismo In opera, , from , meaning 'true', was a post-Romantic operatic tradition associated with Italian composers such as Pietro Mascagni, Ruggero Leoncavallo, Umberto Giordano, Francesco Cilea and Giacomo Puccini. ''Verismo'' as an operatic ge ...

repertoire, with Verdi being always at the core, which his impressive discography clearly demonstrates. Matteo Manuguerra enjoyed a long career and was still active when he died suddenly of a heart attack, in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, France.

Studio recordings

* Rossini - ''Le barbier de Séville'' - Jean-Pierre Marty - EMI - 1974 * Bellini - ''I puritani'' -

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 ...

- EMI - 1979 * Verdi - ''Nabucco'' - Riccardo Muti - EMI - 1977-78 * Verdi - ''I masnadieri'' - Richard Bonynge - DECCA/LONDON - 1979 * Verdi - ''La battaglia di Legnano'' - Lamberto Gardelli - PHILLIPS - 1977 * Verdi - ''Stiffelio'' - Lamberto Gardelli - PHILLIPS - 1979 * Verdi - ''La traviata'' - Richard Bonynge - DECCA/LONDON - 1979 * Verdi - ''Otello'' - Alain Lombard - FORLANE - 1991 * Massenet - ''Werther'' - Michel Plasson - EMI - 1979 * Mascagni - ''Cavalleria rusticana'' - Riccardo Muti - EMI - 1979 * Puccini - ''La bohème'' - James Levine - EMI - 1979 * Puccini - ''Tosca'' - Mstislav Rostropovich - DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON - 1976 * Zandonai - ''Francesca da Rimini'' - Maurizio Arena - BALKATON - 1987

References

Sources

* ''Dictionnaire des interprètes'',

Alain Pâris Alain Pâris (born 22 November 1947) is a French conductor and musicologist. Biography Born in Paris, Alain Pâris was trained as a pianist and has a law degree. He studied conducting with Pierre Dervaux, Paul Paray and Georg Solti and won the ...

Éditions Robert Laffont Éditions Robert Laffont () is a book publishing company in France founded in 1941 by (1916–2010). Its publications are distributed in almost all francophone countries, but mainly in France, Canada and in Belgium. Imprints belonging to Édit ...

, 1989, * ''Guide de l’opéra'', Roland Mancini & Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, Fayard, 1995, {{DEFAULTSORT:Manuguerra, Matteo 1924 births 1998 deaths French operatic baritones 20th-century French male opera singers French people of Italian descent Musicians from Tunis Immigrants to Argentina Tunisian emigrants Argentine emigrants to France