Melchiorre Luise (December 21, 1896 – November 22, 1967) was a leading exponent of the operatic

basso buffo A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E b ...

repertoire. In 1925, he made his debut as a baritone, but soon embarked on the classic roles of the basso buffo. He was seen at the

Teatro alla Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was a church). The premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's ''Europa r ...

from 1938, and debuted at the

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 ...

in 1947, where he sang until 1950. At the Met, Luise appeared as the Innkeeper in ''Manon'' (opposite Licia Albanese, then

Bidu Sayão Balduína "Bidú" de Oliveira Sayão (11 May 1902 – 12 March 1999) was a Brazilian opera soprano. One of Brazil's celebrated musicians, Sayão was a leading artist of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1937 to 1952. Life and career ...

and Eleanor Steber), the Sacristan in ''Tosca'' (in Dino Yannopoulos's production), as the Bonze in ''Madama Butterfly'' (with

Dorothy Kirsten Dorothy Kirsten (July 6, 1910, Montclair, New Jersey – November 18, 1992, Los Angeles, California) was an American operatic soprano who was the first singer in the Metropolitan Opera's history to perform on that stage for 30 consecutive years, ...

), as Benoît and Alcindoro in ''La bohème'' (with Jan Peerce, then

Jussi Björling Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling ( , ; 5 February 19119 September 1960) was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th century, Björling appeared for many years at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and less frequentl ...

), as Don Bartolo in ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (opposite Robert Merrill), as Maestro Spinelloccio in ''Gianni Schicchi'' (with Italo Tajo, later Salvatore Baccaloni, Nadine Conner, and

Giuseppe di Stefano Giuseppe Di Stefano (24 July 19213 March 2008) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang professionally from the mid-1940s until the early 1990s. Called "Pippo" by both fans and friends, he was known as the "Golden Voice" or "The Most Beautiful Vo ...

), and as Geronte de Ravoir in ''Manon Lescaut'' (with Stella Roman,

Richard Tucker Richard Tucker (August 28, 1913January 8, 1975) was an American operatic tenor and cantor. Long associated with the Metropolitan Opera, Tucker's career was primarily centered in the United States. Early life Tucker was born Rivn (Rubin) Ticker ...

, and Frank Valentino). His final performance with the company was Edward Johnson's final night as General Manager: ''Tosca'' (with Ljuba Welitsch, Ferruccio Tagliavini, and

Lawrence Tibbett Lawrence Mervil Tibbett (November 16, 1896 – July 15, 1960) was an American opera singer and recording artist who also performed as a film actor and radio personality. A baritone with large, deep, and dark-timbred voice. His dynamic range (in ...

). His appearances at the Scala include ''Il cedulo'' (1951), ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (with Giulietta Simionato, 1952), ''Don Pasquale'' (conducted by Nino Sanzogno, and directed by

Giorgio Strehler Giorgio Strehler (; ; 14 August 1921 – 25 December 1997) was an Italian stage director, theatre practitioner, actor, and politician. Strehler was one of the most significant figures in Italian theatre during his lifetime, described by Mel Gu ...

, 1952), ''La bohème'' (1952), ''Tosca'' (1953), ''La Wally'' (with

Renata Tebaldi Renata Tebaldi ( , ; 1 February 1922 – 19 December 2004) was an Italian spinto soprano, lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-World War II, war period, and especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala, Teatro di San Carlo, San ...

, Mario del Monaco, and the young

Renata Scotto Renata Scotto (24 February 1934 – 16 August 2023) was an Italian soprano, opera director, and voice teacher. Recognised for her sense of style, her musicality, and as a remarkable singer-actress, Scotto is considered to have been one of the pr ...

, conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini, 1953), (1954 and 1957), and, again, ''Il barbiere'' (1956). Luise's studio recordings include ''Don Pasquale'' (in the title role, with Scipio Colombo as Dr Malatesta, p. 1952), ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (opposite Gino Bechi and

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. ...

, conducted by

Tullio Serafin Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala. Biography Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...

, 1952), ''L'elisir d'amore'' (led by Gabriele Santini, 1952), and, most notably, ''Tosca'' (with

Maria Callas Maria Callas (born Maria Anna Cecilia Sophia Kalogeropoulos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised ...

, di Stefano, and

Tito Gobbi Tito Gobbi (24 October 19135 March 1984) was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation. He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellini's '' La sonnambula'' and quickly appeared in Italy's major oper ...

, conducted by

Victor de Sabata Victor Alberto de Sabata (10 April 1892 – 11 December 1967) was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and ...

, 1953). In 1954, his Alcindoro in ''La bohème'' (conducted by Nino Sanzogno) was filmed by

RAI (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

. The bass died in Milan, at the age of seventy, and is buried in that city's Cimitero Maggiore.

References

* ''The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia'', edited by David Hamilton,

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 1987.

External links

*
Melchiorre Luise in an excerpt from ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (1956)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luise, Melchiorre 1896 births 1967 deaths Italian operatic basses 20th-century Italian male opera singers