Ugo Savarese (2 December 1912,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

– 19 December 1997,

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

) was an Italian operatic

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 ...

, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. Savarese began his vocal studies in 1930 at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in Naples with Maestro Conte. He made his stage debut in 1934, at the

Teatro San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and a ...

in Naples, singing small roles. He sang his first major role,

Silvio Silvio (, ) is an Italian male name, the male equivalent of Silvia. Sílvio is a variant of the name in Portuguese. It is derived from the Latin " Silvius", meaning "spirit of the wood," and may refer to: People * Silvio Benítez (born 1935), for ...

, there in 1938, followed by

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 ...

and Germont. Like most singers of his generation, his career was interrupted by military service. He resumed his career after being a prisoner in a German war camp. From then on, his career steadily progressed, with guest appearances at both the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique () is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular Théâtre de la foire, theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief riva ...

and the

Palais Garnier The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...

in Paris, the

Teatro Nacional Sao Carlos Teatro may refer to: * Theatre * Teatro (band) Teatro, Italian for "theatre", is a vocal group signed to the Sony BMG music label. The members of Teatro are Jeremiah James, Andrew Alexander, Simon Bailey and Stephen Rahman-Hughes. Band membe ...

in Lisbon, the

Liceu The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...

in Barcelona, the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real () is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as "''El Real''" (The Royal One). it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts ...

in Madrid, and also appearing in London, Monte Carlo, Zurich, Brussels, Leningrad (

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

),Fotoalbum
/ref> etc., where he was particularly appreciated 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 ...

roles. He sang most of the baritone roles of the Italian repertory in opera such as ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', '' Il trovatore'', '' Un ballo in maschera'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Fedora A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', etc. The baritone appeared 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 ...

in ''Aida'' (opposite

Herva Nelli Herva Nelli (January 9, 1909May 31, 1994) was an Italian and American operatic soprano. Biography Named after the French socialist Gustave Hervé, she was born in Florence, where she attended a convent school. At the age of ten, however, she and ...

Elena Nicolai Stoyanka Savova Nikolova (), best known by her stage name Elena Nicolai () (24 January 1905 – 24 October 1993), was a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano. Early life and training Nicolai was born in the village of Pazardzhik (region), Tzerov ...

Mirto Picchi Mirto Picchi (15 March 1915, San Mauro, near Florence - 25 September 1980, Florence) was an Italian dramatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, and with contemporary works. Picchi studied in Milan with Giulia Tess and Giu ...

, and

Cesare Siepi Cesare Siepi (10 February 19235 July 2010) was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest Bass (voice type), basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, a full, resonant, w ...

, 1948), ''La Gioconda'' (1948), ''Aida'' again (with Mario del Monaco, 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 ...

, 1951), ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (with

Gigliola Frazzoni Gigliola Frazzoni (22 February 1923 – 3 December 2016) was an Italian operatic soprano. She was born in Bologna, where she studied with Blanche Marchesi and Olivio Secchiaroli, and made her debut at the Teatro Comunale Bologna, as Mimi in ''La ...

, conducted by

Antonino Votto Antonino Votto, sometimes spelt Antonio Votto, (30 October 1896 – 9 September 1985) was an Italian operatic conductor and vocal coach. Votto developed an extensive discography with the La Scala, Teatro alla Scala in Milan during the 1950s, when ...

, 1955), and ''Andrea Chénier'' (opposite

Franco Corelli Franco Corelli (8 April 1921 – 29 October 2003) was an Italian tenor who had a major international opera career between 1951 and 1976. Associated in particular with the spinto and dramatic tenor roles of the Italian repertory, he was ce ...

, conducted by

Gianandrea Gavazzeni Gianandrea Gavazzeni (25 July 19095 February 1996) was an Italian pianist, conductor (especially of opera), composer and musicologist. Gavazzeni was born in Bergamo. For almost 50 years, starting from 1948, he was principal conductor at La Scal ...

, 1960). Saverese did not reached the fame of some of his contemporaries such as

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 ...

Paolo Silveri Paolo Silveri (b. Ofena, 28 December 1913 – d. Rome, 3 July 2001) was an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, one of the finest Verdi baritones of his time. Biography Silveri studied first in Capestrano (L'Aq ...

Giuseppe Valdengo Giuseppe Valdengo (May 24, 1914, Turin – October 3, 2007, Aosta) was an Italian operatic baritone. '' Opera News'' said that, "Although his timbre lacked the innate beauty of some of his baritone contemporaries, Valdengo's performances were ...

, and

Gino Bechi Gino Bechi (16 October 1913 – 2 February 1993) was an Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory, especially in Verdi roles. Life and career Bechi studied in his native Florence with Raul Frazzi and di Giorg ...

, but his recordings demonstrate a well-schooled voice and sturdy performer. He sang until the early 1970s, and taught from 1974 to 1996.

Studio Discography

* Puccini: ''La fanciulla del West'' (Gavazzi, Campagnano; Basile, 1950)

Cetra Cetra, a Latin word borrowed from Greek, is an Italian descendant of ''κιθάρα'' (cithara). It is a synonym for the cittern but has been used for the citole and cithara (the lyre-form) and cythara (the lyre-form developing into a necked i ...

/Bel Canto Society * Giordano: ''Andrea Chénier'' (Tebaldi, Soler; Basile, 1953) Cetra * Verdi: ''La traviata'' (Callas, F.Albanese; Santini, 1953) Cetra * Verdi: ''Il trovatore'' (Tebaldi, Simionato, del Monaco, Tozzi; Erede, 1956)

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 ...

References

Sources

Operissimo.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Savarese, Ugo 1912 births 1997 deaths Italian operatic baritones 20th-century Italian male opera singers