Antonio Cotogni
| Antonio Cotogni | |
|---|---|
Antonio Cotogni in the 1860s
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| Born |
Antonio Cotogni August 1, 1831 Via dei Genovesi, 13, Rome, Italy |
| Died | October 15, 1918 (aged 87) |
| Monuments | Memorial plaque at Via dei Genovesi, 13, Rome, Italy |
| Residence | Via del Bufalo, 133, Rome, Italy |
| Other names | Toto Mio ignorantino (Verdi) |
| Education |
Hospice of San Michele Santa Maria Maggiore |
| Occupation |
Operatic baritone Voice teacher |
| Years active | 1851–1918 |
| Title | Cavaliere dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Commendatore dell'Ordine della Corona d'Italia Commendatore dell'Ordine dei SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro Cavaliere dell'Ordine di S. Iago Commendatore del R. Ordine Militare di Nosso Senhor Jesus Christo Cavaliere del R. Ordine di Carlo III |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Ballerini (m. 1858) |
| Children | none |
| Parent(s) | Agata Fazzini Raffaele Cotogni |
| Signature | |
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Antonio "Toto" Cotogni (Italian pronunciation: [anˈtɔːnjo ˈtɔːto koˈtoɲi]; August 1, 1831 – October 15, 1918) was an Italian baritone of the first magnitude. Regarded internationally as being one of the greatest male opera singers of the 19th century, he was particularly admired by the composer Giuseppe Verdi. Cotogni forged an important second career as a singing teacher after his retirement from the stage in 1894.
Antonio Cotogni was born in Rome to Agata Fazzini and Raffaele Cotogni, who managed a small majolica plant. He had four siblings: sister Giuditta (who remained unmarried and lived in the family household); brothers Francesco, Andrea (who owned a meat packing business), and Gaspare (later mayor of Melara).
After some initial studies at the Hospice of San Michele, he studied music theory at Santa Maria Maggiore under Fontemaggi. Soon after, he began working with Achille Faldi on the study of singing itself. Under his guidance, Cotogni made his first public ventures into solo singing but only in the principal churches of Rome and in small summer music festivals in the small towns of the province, such as Anagni, Valmontone, Subisco, Velletri, and Viterbo.
Early on, Cotogni worked part-time in a majolica plant and did not care much for theater. He had no pretensions for assuming a career there and was content to remain a church singer. He won his first success in 1851 singing Salvatore Capocci's oratorio Il martirio di Sant'Eustachio at the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella.
About his training prior to his Italian stage debut, Cotogni told a former student:
"For the first year I sang nothing but scales. In the second year, vocal exercises and simple songs. Third year, training in operatic music, chiefly solos. Fourth year, ensembles, duets, trios, etc. Fifth year, training in scenic action, mostly in front of a looking-glass." This may be to a certain extent too rigid a description, but the fact remains that, as Cotogni said, his master considered him fit for the stage when there was not a single opera in the current repertoire which he did not know backwards, and when, as he reproachfully added every time I tried to find an excuse for missing a top note, he could be awakened at 3 a.m. and made to give an A-flat mezza voce. Cotogni sang on the stage for over forty years.
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