Salvatore Baccaloni
| Salvatore Baccaloni | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
14 April 1900 Rome, Lazio, Italy |
| Died | 31 December 1969 (aged 69) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | opera singer/actor |
| Years active | 1950-1962 |
Salvatore Baccaloni (14 April 1900 – 31 December 1969) was an Italian operatic bass, often regarded as the greatest buffo artist of the 20th century.
Baccaloni was born in Rome. After attending the Sistine Chapel choir school from age seven, he studied voice with the celebrated baritone Giuseppe Kaschmann (Josip Kašman, 1847–1925) and cast aside his initial ambitions to become an architect. He made his professional debut as Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, at Rome's Teatro Adriano, in 1922.
He sang for the first time at La Scala, Milan, in 1926, in Ildebrando Pizzetti's Debora e Jaele. Initially, he performed the standard bass parts there, such as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Sparafucile in Rigoletto. However, on the advice of La Scala's principal conductor, Arturo Toscanini, he decided to specialise in comic roles. He thus went on to make an indelible impression as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, the title character in Don Pasquale, Varlaam in Boris Godunov, the title character in Falstaff and the name part in Gianni Schicchi. Baccaloni also sang supporting roles such as Benoît in La bohème and the Sacristan in Tosca. He created several operatic roles, too, including that of L'uomo di legge (the Lawyer) in Umberto Giordano's Il re (at La Scala in 1929) and parts in Riccardo Zandonai's La Farsa amorosa (Rome, 1933) and Vigna by Guerrini (Rome, 1935).
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