Richard Bonelli (born George Richard Bunn; 6 February 1889 – 7 June 1980) was an American

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

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 ...

active from 1915 to the late 1970s. Although he sang predominantly on stage in both light and grand operas, he also performed at various times on radio, in concerts and films, as well as on television."Richard Bonelli dies at 91, sang with old Civic Opera", ''Chicago Tribune'', June 12, 1980, p. C23. ProQuest Historical Newspapers, Ann Arbor, Michigan; subscription access through The University of North Carolina Library at Chapel Hill Library.

Early life and training

Bonelli was the child of Ida (née Homel) and Martin Bunn of Port Byron, New York."California Death Index, 1940-1997", "Bonelli, Richard", 7 June 1980, including mother's maiden name; California Department of Health Services, Vital Statistics Section, Sacramento; copies of original records in FamilySearch database. His family later moved to Syracuse and soon George preferred to be called Richard. Prior to deciding on a career in music, Bonelli was a friend of race car driver and later mayor of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

, Ab Jenkins. Bonelli attended

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, initially studying engineering, but the quality of his singing voice altered those early academic pursuits. He soon began actively training with voice teachers, including Arthur Alexander in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and with Jean de Reszke and William Valonat in Europe.Hooey, Charles A
"Richard Bonelli"
biographical profile, Music Web International. Retrieved 1 February 2021.

Career

Bonelli's operatic debut came on 21 April 1915 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music as Valentin in Gounod's '' Faust''. He toured with the San Carlo Opera Company between 1922 and 1924. In 1923 he made his European debut as Dardano in Catalani's ''Dejanice'' during the Carnevale season in Modena, Italy. He returned to Europe in 1924 to sing at the Monte Carlo Opera and was eventually engaged by the Théâtre de la Gaîté in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Between 1925 and 1931 Bonelli performed with the Chicago Opera Company and between 1926 and 1942 frequently performed at the San Francisco Opera. His Chicago debut in 1925 was in the role of Germont in Verdi's '' La traviata'' with Claudia Muzio (Violetta) and Antonio Cortis (Alfredo). His debut role in San Francisco was Figaro in Rossini's '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'', after appearing in Flotow's '' Martha'' at the Los Angeles Grand Opera earlier in September 1926. Seizing the opportunity of a one-year collapse of Chicago Civic Opera, the Met impresario Giulio Gatti-Casazza quickly engaged Bonelli for leading baritone roles in New York. His first performance with the Metropolitan Opera was on 29 November 1932, again as Rossini's '' Figaro'', at the company's tour to Philadelphia. (It was also the role for his last Met stage performance on 14 March 1945.) The cast included Lily Pons (Rosina), Tito Schipa (Count Almaviva), and Ezio Pinza (Don Basilio). Bonelli's New York Metropolitan Opera debut came on 1 December 1932 as Giorgio Germont in Verdi's La traviata opposite Rosa Ponselle as Violetta and Tito Schipa as Alfredo. He remained on the Met's active roster until 1945, making his final performance as Rossini's Figaro on 14 March that year. He was the Tonio in the first ever live telecast of opera, from the Met on 10 March 1940 alongside Hilda Burke and Armand Tokatyan. He returned to the Met in 1966 as an honored guest at the 'Gala Farewell' marking the last performance by the Metropolitan Opera in the old opera house at Broadway and 39th Street, before moving to the Lincoln Center."Richard Bonelli (Baritone)"
profile, Bach Cantatas Website. Retrieved 1 February 2021. Of his many roles, Bonelli was known best for his Verdi repertory as Giorgio Germont, Di Luna, Renato, Rigoletto and Amonasro, and also for his portrayals of Valentin in Gounod's '' Faust'', Wolfram in Wanger's '' Tannhäuser'', Tonio in Leoncavallo's ''

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 ...

'', Rossini's '' Figaro'', Enrico Ashton in Donizetti's '' Lucia'' and Sharpless in Puccini's '' Madama Butterfly''. In

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, he performed under the name Riccardo Bonelli. He appears in at least three surviving films: as the "Eminent Baritone" in a 1928 short, one of Fox Studio's earliest sound films, in which he performs "Largo Al Factotum" from ''The Barber of Seville''; in the 1935 feature '' Enter Madame''; and in a

cameo appearance A cameo appearance, also called a cameo role and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief guest appearance of a well-known person or character in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking on ...

in the 1941 feature '' The Hard-Boiled Canary''.

Retirement and legacy

After retiring from singing, Bonelli became a successful voice teacher at the Curtis Institute of Music in

Philadelphia 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 ...

, the Music Academy of the West in Montecito, and in New York. Among his students were Frank Guarrera, Enrico Di Giuseppe, Lucine Amara, and Norman Mittelmann. In 1949 when Edward Johnson retired from his position of general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, Bonelli was a contender for the job though it ultimately went to Rudolf Bing. Bonelli's favorite baritone was Titta Ruffo. American baritone Robert Merrill had stated that Bonelli was his inspiration to study singing, after hearing him perform the Count di Luna at the Met alongside Giovanni Martinelli and Elisabeth Rethberg in 1936. Even after retiring from teaching, he periodically performed on stage into his 80s. His later appearances were more on the

West Coast of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast and the Western Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the Contiguous United States, contig ...

Personal life and death

Bonelli, who was the uncle of actor Robert Stack, married twice, the first time to opera singer Pauline Cornélys. They wed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1917 and divorced in 1933.Marriage date and location included on Pauline Cornélys' 1923 United States passport application approved and stamped 16 July 1923, certificate number 323350-323849 issued from New York, N.Y.; "United States Passport Applications, 17951925" database; image of original application in FamilySearch archives, United States Department of State, Washington, D.C. Later that year, in October, Bonelli married Mona Chapman Wood, and the couple remained together until Richard's death. On 7 June 1980, shortly after Bonelli's wife Mona donated his recorded performances to

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

's Archive of Recorded Sound, he died at age 91 in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. His body was cremated, and the ashes were placed in Niche 32072 in the Columbarium of Victory at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

References

External links

*
Richard Bonelli Collection (ARS.0005), Stanford Archive of Recorded Sound
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonelli, Richard 1889 births 1980 deaths American operatic baritones Brunswick Records artists 20th-century American male opera singers People from Cayuga County, New York Musicians from Syracuse, New York Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts alumni Singers from New York (state) Curtis Institute of Music faculty Music Academy of the West faculty Classical musicians from New York (state)