Sesto Bruscantini (10 December 1919 – 4 May 2003) was an Italian

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 greatest buffo singers of the post-war era, especially renowned in Mozart and Rossini.

Biography and career

Bruscantini was born in Civitanova Marche, Marche,

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 ...

. After obtaining a law degree, he turned to vocal studies in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, with Luigi Ricci at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. He won a vocal contest organized by RAI in 1947 and made his debut at La Scala in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1949, as Geronimo in Cimarosa's '' Il matrimonio segreto''. Bruscantini rapidly established himself in buffo roles in opera by Mozart and Rossini such as '' Le nozze di Figaro'', '' Don Giovanni'', '' Cosi fan tutte'', '' Il turco in Italia'', '' L'italiana in Algeri'', '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'', '' La Cenerentola'' but also in works by Donizetti such as '' L'elisir d'amore'', '' La fille du régiment'' and '' Don Pasquale''. In some of these works he often alternated roles, from Figaro to the Count in ''Nozze'', Guglielmo to Alfonso in ''Cosi'', Belcore to Dulcamara in ''Elisir'', Malatesta to Pasquale in ''Don Pasquale'', etc. He also took part in many revivals of opera by Pergolesi, Scarlatti and Cimarosa. He even recorded with Marilyn Horne the first modern performance of Antonio Vivaldi's '' Orlando Furioso''. In the 1960s, Bruscantini started singing more lyrical and dramatic roles in opera such as '' I puritani'' alternating between Riccardo and Giorgio, and '' La favorite'' singing both Alfonso and Baldasare. He also added Verdi roles such as '' Rigoletto'', Germont in '' La Traviata'', '' Simon Boccanegra'', Melitone in '' La forza del destino'', Rodrigo in '' Don Carlos'' and Ford in '' Falstaff''. Bruscantini was a regular guest at the Glyndebourne and

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

festivals, the Vienna State Opera, also appearing in Brussels, Monte Carlo, Paris, Madrid, and London. He sang relatively little outside Europe but did appear at the Lyric Opera of Chicago beginning in 1961 as Figaro in ''Il barbiere di Siviglia'', and continuing in a total of 14 roles in 11 seasons through 1985-86. From 1953 until 1956 Bruscantini was married to

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Sena Jurinac, with whom he often appeared on stage in the 1950s. Both may be seen in their roles in ''Le nozze di Figaro'' in the 1955 film '' On Such a Night''. Bruscantini enjoyed a long and distinguished career, singing well into his 60s, making his belated Metropolitan Opera debut in 1981, as Taddeo in ''L'italiana in Algeri'', in his two seasons at the Met he also sang Bartolo in ''Il barbiere di siviglia'' and Dulcamara in ''L'elisir d'amore''. He also left an impressive discography, recording as late as 1986, the role of Don Romualdo in Donizetti's '' Emilia di Liverpool'' for Opera Rara. Sesto Bruscantini died in his native Civitanova Marche, on 4 May 2003, aged 83.

Videography

'' The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala'', Deutsche Grammophon DVD, 00440-073-4538, 2009

Sources

* ''Dictionnaire des interprètes'', Alain Pâris, ( Éditions Robert Laffont, 1989). * ''Guide de l’opéra'', Les indispensables de la musique, R. Mancini & J-J. Rouvereux, (Fayard, 1989).

External links

Interview with Sesto Bruscantini
December 9, 1981 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruscantini, Sesto 1919 births 2003 deaths People from Civitanova Marche Operatic bass-baritones Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia alumni 20th-century Italian male opera singers Italian operatic baritones Italian expatriates in the United States