Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at

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 ...

Biography

Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19th-century ''bel canto'' operas by Bellini,

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

and

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

to become staples of 20th-century repertoire. He had an unparalleled reputation as a coach of young opera singers and famously harnessed and developed both

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 ...

's and

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 ...

's considerable talents. Born in Rottanova ( Cavarzere), near

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, and trained in Milan, he played

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

in the Orchestra of La Scala, Milan under

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 ...

, later being appointed Assistant Conductor. He took over as Music Director at La Scala when Toscanini left to go to New York, and served 1909–1914, 1917–1918, and returned briefly after the Second World War, 1946–1947. He joined the conducting staff of 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 1924, and remained for a decade, after which he became the artistic director of the Teatro Reale in Rome. During his long career he helped further the careers of many important singers, including Rosa Ponselle, Magda Olivero,

Joan Sutherland Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, (7 November 1926 – 10 October 2010) was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano known for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s to the 1980s. She possessed a voice ...

, and most notably

, with whom he collaborated on many recordings. Maestro Serafin was very appreciated in

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 ...

. During 9 seasons at the Teatro Colón between 1914 and 1951, he conducted 368 opera performances of 63 different operas. This included many operas that are seldom performed, by composers such as Alfano, Catalani, Giordano, Massenet, Montemezzi, Monteverdi, Pizzetti, Respighi, Rimsky Korsakov, and Zandonai. Serafin was instrumental in expanding the repertory, conducting the Italian premieres of works by

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-k ...

, and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

. He also conducted important world premieres by both Italian and American composers, such as Franco Alfano, Italo Montemezzi,

Deems Taylor Joseph Deems Taylor (December 22, 1885 – July 3, 1966) was an American composer, radio commentator, music critic, and author. Nat Benchley, co-editor of ''The Lost Algonquin Roundtable'', referred to him as "the dean of American music." He was e ...

, and

Howard Hanson Howard Harold Hanson (October 28, 1896 – February 26, 1981)''The New York Times'' – Obituaries. Harold C. Schonberg. February 28, 1981 p. 1011/ref> was an American composer, conductor, educator and music theorist. As director for forty year ...

. His goddaughter was the soprano Claudia Pinza Bozzolla.

Studio discography

* Verdi Requiem (Caniglia, Stignani, Gigli, Pinza; 1939) EMI * '' Un ballo in maschera'' (Caniglia, Barbieri, Gigli, Bechi; 1943) EMI * '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'' (de los Ángeles, Monti, Bechi, Luise, Rossi-Lemeni; 1952) EMI *'' Lucia di Lammermoor'' (Callas, di Stefano, Gobbi, Arié; 1953) EMI *'' I puritani'' (Callas, di Stefano, Panerai, Rossi-Lemeni; 1953) EMI *''

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 ...

'' (Callas, di Stefano, Panerai; 1953) EMI *''

Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...

'' (Callas, Stignani, Filippeschi, Rossi-Lemeni; 1954) EMI *''

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 ...

'' (Callas, di Stefano, Monti, Gobbi, Panerai; 1954) EMI *'' La forza del destino'' (Callas, Tucker, Tagliabue, Rossi-Lemeni; 1954) EMI *'' Aida'' (Callas, Barbieri, Tucker, Gobbi, Modesti, Zaccaria; 1955) EMI *''

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 ...

'' (Callas, di Stefano, Gobbi, Zaccaria; 1955) EMI * '' La traviata'' (Stella, di Stefano, Gobbi; 1955) EMI * ''

Linda di Chamounix ''Linda di Chamounix'' is an operatic '' melodramma semiserio'' in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on 19 May 1842. Performance history ' ...

'' (Stella, Valletti, Taddei, Barbieri, Capecchi, Modesti; 1956) Philips * '' Moïse et Pharaon'' (Mancini, Danieli, Filippeschi, Lazzari, Taddei, Rossi-Lemeni, Clabassi; 1956) Philips *''

Turandot ''Turandot'' ( ; see #Origin and pronunciation of the name, below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Puccini left the opera unfinished at the time of his death in 1924; it ...

'' (Callas, Schwarzkopf, Fernandi, Zaccaria; 1957) EMI *'' Manon Lescaut'' (Callas, di Stefano, Fioravanti; 1957) EMI *''

Médée ''Médée'' is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century Fr ...

'' (Callas, Scotto, Pirazzini, Picchi, Modesti; 1957) Ricordi * '' Suor Angelica'' (de los Ángeles, Barbieri; 1957) EMI * ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'' (Stella, Poggi, Taddei; 1957) Philips * ''

L'elisir d'amore ''L'elisir d'amore'' (; ''The Elixir of Love'') is a (comic melodrama, opera buffa) in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto, after Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's (1831). ...

'' (Carteri, Alva, Panerai, Taddei; 1958) EMI * ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

'' (Tebaldi, Cossotto, Bergonzi, Sordello; 1958)

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, record label * Decca Gold, classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, musical theater record label * Decca Studios, recording facility in West ...

* ''

Mefistofele ''Mefistofele'' () is an opera in a prologue and five acts, later reduced to four acts and an epilogue, the only completed opera with music by the Italian composer-librettist Arrigo Boito (there are several completed operas for which he was lib ...

'' (Tebaldi, Danieli, del Monaco, Siepi; 1958)

*'' Lucia di Lammermoor'' (Callas, Tagliavini, Cappuccilli, Ładysz; 1959) EMI *'' La traviata'' (de los Angeles, Dal Monte, Sereni; 1959) EMI * ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'' (Tebaldi, d'Angelo, Bergonzi, Bastianini, Siepi; 1959) Decca * ''

'' (Del Monaco, Simionato, MacNeil; 1959) Decca *''

'' (Callas, Ludwig, Corelli, Zaccaria; 1960) EMI *''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala, M ...

'' (Rysanek, Vickers, Gobbi; 1960)

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

* '' Il trovatore'' (Stella, Cossotto, Bergonzi, Bastianini; 1962)

Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon (; DGG) is a German classical music record label that was the precursor of the corporation PolyGram. Headquartered in Berlin Friedrichshain, it is now part of Universal Music Group (UMG) since its merger with the UMG family of ...

* '' Isabeau'' (Pobbé, Ferraro, Rola; 1962) Cetra

References

*Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'', 782 pages, *Nicla Sguotti,
Tullio Serafin, il custode del bel canto
', Padova, Armelin Musica, 2014,

External links

* AMG AllMusic entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Serafin, Tullio 1878 births 1968 deaths Musicians from Venice Italian male conductors (music) Music directors (opera) Conductors of the Metropolitan Opera 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians People from Cavarzere