Angelo Minghetti
Among the great singers of the twentieth century whose names are barely footnotes in reference works was Angelo Minghetti. The world remembers with enormous respect the art of Tito Schipa and Dino Borgioli and later Roberto D'Alessio and Tomaz Alcaïde, but they were not alone. During their prime Minghetti quietly conquered twenty countries on five continents with a gorgeous lyric voice that, unlike those of the others, responded to the demands of such roles as Turiddu, Enzo in La Gioconda, Andrea Chénier and Faust in Mefistofele. If we have a parallel in our own time, it would likely be Alfredo Kraus and, though I didn't plan it this way, it seems fitting that Minghetti's story be told as we remember the passing of his artistic descendant.
Angelo Minghetti was born in Bologna on 6 December 1887 and led an average childhood, attending normal schools while receiving an unexceptional education. After serving an apprenticeship, Angelo hired himself out as a sculptor and, in that chosen field, achieved some considerable success until several of his patrons, after hearing him sing as he worked, convinced him that he had a 'voice'. He took voice lessons for a very short time before making his official stage début in Cavalleria Rusticana on 23 March 1913 at Salo, Italy. On the 25th of that month, he sang in a sacred service at Salo's basilica. On the evening of the last performance of Mascagni's opera, he was persuaded to sing 'Che gelida manina' as a token of appreciation for the audience's warm reception. On 7 April he appeared in an all-Verdi concert during which a bust of the composer was mounted over the proscenium of the theatre.
In October, Angelo appeared for the first time in Manon Lescaut, when he made his début at Soresina, and in November he sang in Rigoletto and Fedora at Como. On 1 January 1914 his début at Venice's Teatro Rossini was as Pinkerton and he continued the year with Rigoletto at Cremona, concerts at Bergamo and Modena and, finally, the first headline news of his career, Manon Lescaut at Ravenna with Claudia Muzio. His reviews were more than generous and Italy had another important name for its billboards. The year ended at Bergamo with Turiddu and Pinkerton.
In 1915, Minghetti made his Milan début at the Teatro Carcano as Pinkerton and followed it with a concert at the Milan Arena conducted by Arturo Toscanini. After additional performances of Madama Butterfly and La Bohème at Lugo with Ersilde Cervi Caroli and Luigi Rossi Morelli, Angelo travelled to Malta, where he sang in La Bohème, Mignon with Giulia Tess, Rigoletto, Manon and Cavalleria Rusticana. When he returned to Italy, he found that he had been conscripted into the armed forces, and he remained in uniform for two years, during the height of World War I.
In March of 1918 Minghetti resumed his career with concerts at Asso and Milan, and on 11 April he débuted at Florence's Teatro della Pergola in Madama Butterfly, with Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi. La Traviata followed, featuring the outstanding talents of Aires Borghi Zerni, a spectacularly talented leggiero, who virtually disappeared from the stage within five years. The couple appeared together in La Traviata at Ferrara and Livorno, after which Angelo débuted at Genoa as Alfredo, where he sobbed at the deathbed of the remarkable Ester Mazzoleni. At Genoa's Hotel Miramar he sang in a concert that included 'Salve dimora', 'Che gelida manina' and 'E lucevan le stelle', after which he sang in Manon at La Spezia. He returned to Genoa for Rigoletto with Toti Dal Monte and Carlo Galeffi, and the next morning northern Italy read in the newspapers of a triumph not seen since before the beginning of the war.
Three days later he and Juanita Caracciolo received the same praise after a performance of Madama Butterfly. During the second presentation of Rigoletto, the orchestra became silent as the theatre's general manager walked onto the stage in mid-act to announce the cessation of hostilities. The Great War was history, and there was an enormous and spontaneous celebration in the theatre. The performance was completed in an atmosphere of total chaos.
In late November Minghetti débuted at Verona's Teatro Ristori as Pinkerton and a week later he appeared in La Traviata with Giuseppina Finzi Magrini and Benvenuto Franci. The year ended at Bologna's Teatro Comunale in Rigoletto with Borghi Zerni and the New Year began there with Tosca. At Piacenza he repeated the Duke to the Gilda of Dal Monte, after which he travelled to Spain, where, at Bilbao's Teatro Arriaga, he débuted on 7 June as Alfredo to the Violetta of Rosina Storchio. On the 17th, he sang in Rigoletto with Elvira de Hidalgo and his season continued with La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and concerts. Angelo then sang in Santander for Manon with Genevieve Vix, La Bohème, Tosca and Rigoletto. He was so well received that a command concert for the Queen was given at the Royal Palace before he left for San Sebastian. At the Teatro Bellas Artes he ended his Spanish engagement with Tosca, Butterfly and Rigoletto. On the evening of the last performance of Tosca, Minghetti sang 'Mattinata' and 'Granada' during the first intermission, "as a diversion".
In December, the tenor appeared in the United States for the first time, singing with the Newark Grand Opera at the Orpheum Theatre. His roles were Rodolfo and Alfredo and he sang, according to various reports, as William Hayes. I offer this information, without confirmation, because it was during this engagement that he discovered the charms of one Lulu Hayes, a lyric soprano of some accomplishment, who, after a frantic courtship, married him. I suspect that William Hayes was her father and that he was connected in some way to the Newark Company.
Minghetti arrived in Lisbon in early January 1920, and on the 10th he débuted at the São Carlo as Rodolfo to the Mimì of Bianca Stagno Bellincioni. During his four-week stay he appeared as well in Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly and La Traviata. At Genoa he sang in two concerts with Vera Amerighi Rutili and then travelled to Palermo, where, at the Massimo, he débuted in late March as Turiddu followed by La Rondine with Linda Cannetti. At Carpi he sang in Tosca, at Mirandola in Rigoletto, and at the Politeama of Naples in La Traviata, again with Borghi Zerni.
Naples also saw him as Cavaradossi and, for the first time, in a professional concert with Lulu. According to one critic she showed a "light lyric voice, well suited to her chosen music." Lulu was to appear with him from time to time until at last it became apparent that her talents were less inclined to the stage than they were to the role of a wife, mother and friend. She was deeply devoted to him as he was to her, and wherever he went throughout his career she and their children joined him.
After La Traviata at Modena with Finzi Magrini and Apollo Granforte, Minghetti returned to Bologna for Manon Lescaut partnered by Bianca Scacciati, the World Première of Guerrini's Nemici and Madama Butterfly. He managed to find time during the Bologna engagement to travel to Piacenza for his first performances of Andrea Chénier.
The breakthrough came on 29 January, when Angelo débuted at the Costanzi of Rome as the Duke with Dal Monte, José Segura-Tallien and Ezio Pinza. There was a huge demonstration of affection and the next day's newspapers reflected an enormous talent who had conquered a very knowing audience. After concerts at Rome's Teatro Argentina he returned to the Costanzi for Manon with Vix, Armand Crabbé and Pinza. The San Carlo of Naples, not wanting to be outflanked, also offered him a début, and on 15 March he appeared there in Manon Lescaut with Scacciati, and later in Cesar Franck's Les Beatitudes (in Italian). After a concert at the Circolo Artistico of Naples he returned to Rome for Madama Butterfly with Tamaki Miura and Rigoletto. Walter Mocchi, who managed the Costanzi with his wife, Emma Carelli, contracted their new sensation for a three-month tour of South America. On 25 May, Angelo and his young wife sailed for the New World and one of the most remarkable seasons in his long and distinguished career.
The tour began at Rio de Janeiro and had an extraordinary line-up of artists: Dal Monte, Miura, Rosa Raisa, Gilda Dalla Rizza, Gabriella Besanzoni, Flora Perini, Antonio Cortis, Beniamino Gigli, Giacomo Rimini, Segura-Tallien, Luigi Rossi Morelli and Giulio Cirino. Minghetti sang in Rigoletto with Dal Monte and Segura Tallien, Madama Butterfly with Miura, L'Oracolo with Miura and Rimini, Mefistofele with Cirino and Lo Schiavo with Raisa, Dal Monte and Rimini. At Buenos Aires, he added performances of Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana and Mignon with Besanzoni, Manon Lescaut with Dalla Rizza and Falstaff with Dalla Rizza, Dal Monte, Besanzoni and Rimini. The tour also visited São Paolo, Rosario, Cordoba and Montevideo during a three month period in which Minghetti sang over fifty times. It was a resounding success for all, especially for the previously unknown tenor, whose physical attributes were as much a conversation item as was his vocalism.
It was clear that Rome was to become his artistic home and, upon his return to Italy, Angelo began a three-month season at the Costanzi. He appeared in Tosca with Mercedes Llopart and Rossi Morelli, Falstaff with Dalla Rizza and Taurino Parvis, Rigoletto with Dal Monte, Gianni Schicchi with Madeleine Bugg and Parvis and La Bohème with Carmen Melis and Rossi Morelli. He returned to the San Carlo in March for Rigoletto and the World Première of Donaudy's La Fiamminga on 25 April 1922.
Rigoletto at Bergamo ended his Italian season and in late September the Minghettis sailed for the United States and a début at the Chicago Civic Opera.
On 15 November he débuted as Rodolfo with Edith Mason and on the following evening he sang in Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurochka with Mason and George Baklanov. Of his Rodolfo, Herman Devries of the Chicago Morning American wrote on 16 November 1922:
La Bohème served to introduce two newcomers, Angelo Minghetti, Italian tenor, and Ettore Panizza, the Italian conductor, names hitherto not familiar to the Middle West, but now on their way to finding permanent abode in our memory. Minghetti has a rare double gift, a voice that delights and a personality that charms. Here is a tenor of most ingratiating timbre, honey sweet, colored with the flame of youth and the lyricism of poesy.
... he fears no vocal heights as he mounts the scale. The voice gains in brilliance and purity. This 'racconto' aria in the first act was a mirror of poetry. It earned for him an ovation that halted the progress of the performance. Minghetti is remarkably suited to this role because he is very good looking, svelte, elegant, the type that might easily cause the hearts of the Latin Quarter grisettes to flutter. He bids fair to become a matinée idol unless I am a very poor prophet.
Pierre Key in Music Digest, 8 December 1922:
Angelo Minghetti, the new lyric tenor, has the artistic instinct. He had little opportunity in Snegurochka; his one chance, a single aria, found him ready with a smooth and finished style and a distinguished authority.
On the 27th, he appeared in Madama Butterfly with Mason and Giacomo Rimini, and on 2 December he sang in Rigoletto, with Mason and Cesare Formichi. Performances continued well into January 1923 in Mefistofele with Mason and Chaliapin and La Juive with Raisa, Charles Marshall and Virgilio Lazzari. The season in Chicago ended with a gala concert on 18 January, after which Angelo toured with the company to Boston and Washington D.C.
On 2 June 1923 Minghetti débuted at La Scala in La Bohème with Mason, Sassone Soster, Ernesto Badini and Ezio Pinza. There were veritable riots in the theatre at the end of Act One and at the opera's conclusion. It was such an enormous triumph for Angelo that he sang the role in six successive seasons. In July he appeared in opera with Lulu for the first time when they sang in La Bohème at Venice's Teatro Malibran. After Manon Lescaut at Carpi and Tosca at Correggio with Lulu, the family left Europe on a year-long tour to North and South America.
First stop: Chicago.
Angelo had made an enormous impression the previous season and he repeated four of those earlier assignments: La Juive, Mefistofele, Snegurochka and Rigoletto, after which the company embarked on a tour to Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chattanooga, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Denver. He sang in La Juive with Raisa in every city, and in Boston he also appeared in Mefistofele, with Muzio and Chaliapin. An additional performance of the Boito work was given in Seattle with Mason replacing Muzio.
Musical Leader, 1923, December (La Juive):
Mr. Minghetti was well adapted to the tenor role and sang, acted and looked the part of Leopold with distinction.
The Minghetti family returned to Newark for a most rousing welcome from family and friends, long separated. A dispatch from Musical Courier, 24 April 1924:
Angelo Minghetti, after a successful season with the Chicago Civic Opera, gave a song recital in Aeolian Hall, New York City, and is engaged to sing in Italy and South America. Louise [sic] Minghetti sang sixteen times in Tosca, in Venice, with tremendous success and sang in Rigoletto in New Jersey under Bamboschek with the Metropolitan Opera House orchestra.
The dispatch failed to note that, at Newark, Minghetti also sang in Rigoletto and that they both appeared in Tosca. On May 1 Angelo and Lulu sailed from New York for Buenos Aires and a début at the Teatro Colón. During the season, Lulu's star would shine rather brightly, if only for a moment.
The tenor débuted at the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires on 28 May 1924. The role was Rodolfo and his Mimi was Zamboni. The reception was enormous and both artists were recalled to the footlights "countless times". A few unights later he sang in Madama Butterfly with Dalla Rizza and the end of Act One brought an ovation that lasted for many minutes. On 6 June, he partnered Dalla Rizza and Victor Damiani in a superb performance of La Traviata and on the 12th he sang in Mefistofele with Zamboni, Sara Cesar and Sigismondo Zalevsky. There was only praise for his singing and his acting, which was "complemented by a physical appearance that has found many women fairly swooning". He was later to be recalled as the handsomest tenor in the world by several of his former colleagues. After performances of Falstaff with Dalla Rizza, Zamboni, Besanzoni and Zalevsky, Angelo travelled to Rosario for La Traviata and to Montevideo for Traviata and Butterfly, all with Dalla Rizza.
Angelo returned to Buenos Aires on 13 July, where he resumed his season with Mefistofele. Signora Minghetti made her Colón début in the role of Margherita, Nina Koshetz sang Elena and Tancredi Pasero the protagonist. Lulu received a very warm ovation and kind notices in the press. Her husband fairly beamed with joy during the curtain calls as Pasero walked to her side and kissed her hand. When the company reached Rio de Janeiro, Lulu sang a performance of Mimì and again received a most warm welcome from a packed house. Minghetti added Vittadini's Anima Allegra at Rio and the company closed its season at São Paolo in October with Mefistofele. Though it had been a most rewarding year, it had been an exhausting one, and they were overjoyed to return to Bologna, where they allowed themselves a long rest before Angelo returned to the stage.
On 8 December at Bologna, he sang Rodolfo to the Mimì of Rosetta Pampanini, and Pinza sang a "glorious" Colline. On the 12th, Angelo sang in a concert with Pampanini, Carlo Galeffi and Pinza and on the 16th he gave a song recital at Ravenna. Three days later, at Cento's Palazzo Falzoni Gallerani he joined Lulu and other artists in a gala Christmas recital. The year ended at Parma in La Traviata with Mercedes Capsir and Antenore Reali.
1925 began with Rodolfo at Genoa, La Scala and at Catania, where he also sang in Mefistofele. Bergamo and Parma saw Angelo in La Bohème, and Ferrara saw him in Tosca with Carmen Melis. On 29 May he reappeared in Anima Allegra, this time at Pavia, before returning to South America with the Mocchi company for another brilliant season.
In a roster that included Scacciati, Dalla Rizza, Margarita Salvi, Flora Revales, Fanny Anitua, Anna Gramegna, John O'Sullivan, Granforte, Crabbé, Gaetano Viviani, Pasero and Cirino, Angelo débuted at Rosario on 5 July in La Traviata. The cast included Dalla Rizza and Granforte. Two days later he sang in Rigoletto with Salvi and Granforte and before the group left for Santa Fe he had also appeared in Madama Butterfly and Tosca with Dalla Rizza. A week at Cordoba preceded a three-week season at the Teatro Coliseo of Buenos Aires, where Angelo added performances of Cavalleria Rusticana, Manon and La Bohème. Lulu joined him as Mimì.
Of his Des Grieux in Manon, the critic of Il Popolo d'Italia wrote:
Gilda Dalla Rizza's worthy partner was the tenor Minghetti. This singer with the beautiful voice and excellent physique sang his difficult role with devil-may-care ease, being at all times in his element, especially in 'The Dream' and the 'Saint-Sulpice' duo. The applause which followed these two scenes was truly momentous ....(10 August 1925)
The company stayed at Montevideo for two weeks, then journeyed to Rio de Janeiro for a month-long engagement at the Teatro Municipal. Angelo sang in Manon and Madama Butterfly with Dalla Rizza, La Traviata with Dalla Rizza and Granforte, Rigoletto with Salvi and Granforte, Cavalleria Rusticana with Scacciati and Granforte, Lucia di Lammermoor with Bebe Lima Castro and Viviani, Mefistofele with Lulu and Pasero, Tosca with Lulu and Granforte and La Bohème with Ninon Vallin and Pasero, who "sang the greatest 'Vecchia zimarra' ever heard in this theatre". On the closing night, 8 October, during a gala benefit, Salvi, Gramegna, Angelo, Granforte and Pasero presented the last three acts of Rigoletto, followed by the Municipal début of the young Brazilian Bidù Sayão in scenes from I Puritani. After a two-week season at São Paolo, the company arrived at Santos, where Minghetti closed the tour in La Bohème with Vallin. As in past years, the couple returned to Bologna for a rest and, in late December, Angelo appeared at his beloved Comunale in Manon with Melis. The year ended at Piacenza with Manon Lescaut, featuring the Irish soprano who had had a meteoric rise to fame, Margaret Sheridan. Minghetti was now at the peak of his fame and the winter of 1926 saw him in La Bohème at 'Italy's big three': the San Carlo, La Scala and the Costanzi, with additional performances of Rigoletto for the Romans. On 11 March he débuted at Monte Carlo in Tosca with Lina Scavizzi and Vanni Marcoux, and a week later he sang in Madama Butterfly with his now constant partner, Dalla Rizza. In April he appeared at Catania's Massimo Bellini in Tosca with Maria Llacer and Granforte.
One important début still remained: Covent Garden. On 24 May, the opening night of the 'Italian Season', he was Rodolfo to the Mimì of Margaret Sheridan, then at the height of her fame, and with Rosina Torri (Musetta), Giuseppe Noto (Marcello), Badini (Schaunard), Cotreil (Colline) and Bellezza conducting. The critic of the Times was guardedly complimentary:
The performance last night was good, but hardly up to the Covent Garden standard, which for this opera, is a high one. We expect above all a good ensemble between the four Bohemians, and on this occasion they were too evidently strangers to one another. ...The tenor has a pleasant lyrical voice, which is devoid of the faults too frequent in Italian tenors, but without much individuality. He always sang rhythmically. It was perhaps hardly his fault that he was drowned by the orchestral climaxes.
Angelo's popularity in South America was enormous and the Teatro Municipal of Santiago offered him a contract for a thirty-performance season, including débuts at both Valparaiso and Concepción. His colleagues were Lulu, Zamboni, Iva Pacetti, Melis, Isabel Marengo, Crabbé, Viviani, Carlo Tagliabue and Mansueto Gaudio. He débuted in La Bohème with Zamboni on 9 September.
The critic of El Mercurio wrote:
The new tenor, Angelo Minghetti, presented a most sympathetic figure as the young Rodolfo. He has a most agreeable voice and it was apparent from the outset that his grace and physical presence upon the stage would take one's full attention. The end of the first act brought prolonged applause from a most enthusiastic audience.
A later observation from the same newspaper stated:
Advance publicity can often lead to disappointment, but Angelo Minghetti and Maria Zamboni only confirmed the praise that preceded their first performance at the Municipal.
He subsequently appeared in Madama Butterfly, Mefistofele, Rigoletto, Fedora, Tosca with Lulu, and Manon. The tour ended at Concepción, where he sang his final performance as Boito's Faust with Lulu, Pacetti and Gaudio. Along the way there were concerts, which he ended with the Chilean song 'Ay, Ay Ay', to ecstatic ovations. The year ended at Naples in Tosca with Scacciati and Rossi Morelli.
On 27 January 1927 Angelo sang in La Bohème at Turin's Teatro Regio and in February he returned to Scala as Rodolfo for the fifth time. He débuted at Nice's Teatro Municipal on 17 April in Rigoletto with Lina Romelli and Granforte, and in May he returned to Genoa for Manon Lescaut and Bohème with Pampanini as well as a gala concert in which Lulu, Pampanini and Nicola Fusati joined him. At Ferrara and Modena he sang in Madama Butterfly, at Piacenza in Tosca with Augusta Oltrabella and Rossi Morelli, and at Bologna in Mefistofele with Zamboni, Linda Barla Ricci and De Angelis. In the late autumn he returned to Nice for Madama Butterfly and Bohème and on New Year's Eve he and Pampanini sang in a gala benefit performance of La Bohème at Piacenza.
Minghetti débuted at Cairo on 12 January 1928 in La Gioconda with Giannina Arangi Lombardi, and remained in Egypt for nearly three months, appearing in Tosca with Pacetti and Arangi Lombardi alternating, Gianni Schicchi, La Rondine with Dalla Rizza and Cavalleria Rusticana again with Pacetti and Arangi Lombardi. Lulu and Angelo gave a joint recital at the Sala Calderón on 11 March, after which he joined the company at Alexandria for Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La Rondine, Cavalleria Rusticana, Gianni Schicchi and, finally, La Traviata with Dalla Rizza.
A brief return to La Scala for La Bohème preceded the journey to Australia, where, on 16 May, Minghetti débuted at Melbourne in Manon Lescaut with Scavizzi. He was very highly praised as a stylist and for his voice, which was described as "most sensuous and caressing". Melbourne's Age wrote: "It was indeed gratifying to hear so accomplished an artist with his instinctive musicianship, beautiful lyric voice and youthful appearance." Angelo sang in Tosca, Rigoletto, Cavalleria Rusticana and Madama Butterfly before travelling to Sydney, where he added Andrea Chénier, La Bohème, Lodoletta and Gianni Schicchi to his assignments. Of his Tosca The Sydney Mail wrote "Minghetti showed his usual combination of beauty of tone and fervent acting." The Sydney Sun declared, "Minghetti is the finest lyric in the memory of the present generation."
There were intrigues, one of which involved Dal Monte, Minghetti and Granforte. Toti demanded that both be removed from her performances of Rigoletto at the end of the Melbourne season. However, her new husband, Enzo de Muro Lomanto, sang the Duke at Sydney, so we may make one assumption. The removal of Granforte was never explained, though by the time the company reached Adelaide, both gentlemen were again singing in Rigoletto.
At Adelaide, Angelo had the honour of opening the season in Tosca with Scavizzi and Granforte. There was enormous commentary in the press about the splendid quality of Minghetti's voice and even more about his stage manner and his striking appearance. He was besieged by women wherever he went, and one commentator sniped that "his wife and daughter, perhaps wisely, accompanied him on the tour".
Lulu delivered their second child, a son, just before the end of the Sydney season and at Adelaide there was a baptism and a celebration in their honour.
On 2 October, Angelo partnered Nellie Melba in acts 2, 3 and 4 of La Bohème, then stood in the wings as she sang her farewell to Australia, Desdemona's 'Willow Song' and 'Ave Maria'. The company travelled to Perth for a three-week season, after which Angelo and Lulu appeared in recital at Sydney before returning to Europe. The little that remained of 1928 was spent at home, a most welcome respite after a frantic year of performing.
Lulu and Angelo now had two children to care for and the days of long journeys were permanently behind them. There were schooling and everyday concerns to divert them from any long-term plans. It was also during 1929, after a few concerts in the area around Bologna, that Lulu retired from the lyric stage, except for a single engagement as Boit'os Margherita at Genoa's Carlo Felice on 1 Sept 1931. (Angelo's career continued with an intensity and lustre as great as ever.
On 8 January 1929 he sang in Manon Lescaut at Parma with Pampanini and a week later arrived at Rome for Tosca with Muzio and Franci, Gianni Schicchi, Cavalleria Rusticana with Muzio and La Traviata with Muzio and Riccardo Stracciari. After La Bohème at Padua Angelo spent the rest of the winter season at Naples in Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, Selvaggi's Maggiolata Veneziana and Tosca. In May, at Florence, he sang in Traviata with Dalla Rizza and Enrico Molinari and in La Bohème with Zamboni. On 18 July he conquered the audience at the Verona Arena, when he débuted in Gounod's Faust with Gina Cigna and Pinza. The rest of the summer was spent with his family on the Adriatic. In late September Angelo returned to the stage at Cento in La Bohème with Pampanini. On 23 October he made his long awaited début at Barcelona's Liceo in La Bohème with Maria Laurenti. It was an enormous success, one that would be repeated when he sang Pinkerton to the Cio Cio San of Teiko Kiwa two weeks later. A review of a La Bohème at Forli in 1929 appears in Il Teatro Comunale di Forli by Michele Raffaelli:
Angelo Minghetti,....of an aristocratic and studious nature, created the role of Rodolfo with truth and sincerity, a prodigious voice, full, limpid and of exquisite expression. He realized the perfect characterization. The famous 'racconto' seemed fresh and profound and confirmed his most refined vocalism and interpretation. After La Bohème at Forli the family enjoyed the holiday season, as usual, at Bologna.
On New Year's Day 1930 Minghetti sang at Naples again, this time in Madama Butterfly with Augusta Concato. Two weeks later he returned to La Scala for Bohème with Pampanini and Favero alternating as Mimì, Madama Butterfly with Pampanini and Tosca with Giuseppina Cobelli and Galeffi.
At Barcelona he again sang in Butterfly, and at Pavia he sang in Faust before returning to Covent Garden for Butterfly, Rigoletto, Tosca and finally La Traviata with Rosa Ponselle. He was now the darling of British society and gave several recitals in private homes, including a spectacular assembly at 19 Grosvenor Square with Salvi and John Brownlee, and a diplomatic reception at the Italian Embassy, where he was joined by Ponselle. There were additional charity appearances at the Park Lane Hotel and at the Lyceum Club.
On 24 August Minghetti, Pampanini, Margherita Carosio and Luigi Montesanto inaugurated one of the most important events in Italian musical history: the Carro di Tespi. It was an annual tour to about forty Italian cities in which the most famous singers in the country were engaged to "bring art to the people". Funds were provided by the government, and the tours continued for nearly twenty years, though they were suspended during most of World War II. The location was Torre del Lago, the opera was La Bohème, and the performance was conducted by Pietro Mascagni. On 1 September, under the government's auspices, La Bohème was repeated at Antwerp and later at Liège, with Favero as Mimì.
Angelo returned to Italy for Bohème at Livorno and Ferrara, Mefistofele at Alessandria, and for Tosca at Cremona with Dalla Rizza and Rossi Morelli. He spent the holidays in Naples with his family where he sang in La Bohème with Favero and Tosca with Dalla Rizza.
At Nice, he sang in Rigoletto and La Bohème and on 2 February 1931 he sang in Andrea Chénier at Genoa's Carlo Felice with Lina Bruna Rasa and Montesanto. He was reviewed as being rather pressed in the more declamatory music but marvellously lyrical and ardent in 'Come un bel dì di Maggio'. At La Scala, under Mascagni's direction, Angelo sang in the composer's Le Maschere, with Maria Caniglia, Favero and Montesanto, after which he repeated the opera at Rome with Arangi Lombardi. Pavia saw his Pinkerton, Trieste, Zurich and Basle his Rodolfo and at Le Roncole he inaugurated the second season of Carro di Tespi with La Bohème. Favero was his Mimì throughout the tour, while Pampanini partnered him in Madama Butterfly. Among the cities visited were Trieste, Venice, Torre del Lago and Rome. On 3 August he returned to the Verona Arena for Mefistofele with Scacciati, Irene Minghini Cattaneo and De Angelis. Resuming the Carro tour, on 17 September, at Naples, he and Pampanini closed the season in Madama Butterfly before some thirty thousand spectators. In the autumn Angelo visited Genoa for Manon Lescaut, Perugia for Tosca, Pisa for Lodoletta under Mascagni's baton, Parma for Faust and Livorno for Le Maschere, again conducted by Mascagni. December was spent with his family at Bologna, followed by a short visit to Bucharest to sing in Bohème, Rigoletto and Madama Butterfly.
In February 1932 he sang in Mefistofele at Turin with Zamboni, Lotte Burck and De Angelis and in April he returned to Rome's Reale for Lodoletta with Maria Carbone and Tosca with Muzio. In May, at Florence, Angelo sang in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tosca with Muzio and Mefistofele with Mason, Bruna Rasa and Pinza, then he, Lulu and the children enjoyed a long vacation. The Carro di Tespi season of 1932 found him in La Bohème and Cavalleria Rusticana. Favero and Adelaide Saraceni shared the role of Mimì and Hina Spani and Florica Cristoforeanu that of Santuzza. He appeared at Velletri, Senegallia, Pesaro, Ravenna, Faenza, Florence, Rieti and Rome, where on 15 September, at the Piazza Adriana, he sang in La Bohème with Saraceni before a gathering estimated at forty thousand. In November Angelo appeared in Fedora with Cobelli at Treviso, and on 28 December, after a long break to celebrate Christmas, Angelo returned to La Scala for Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo with Cobelli and Carmelo Maugeri.
Minghetti and Cobelli began 1933 at Genoa with Fedora and, after Manon Lescaut at Modena, Angelo appeared at Monte Carlo in Tosca with Dalla Rizza. Turin saw him in Manon Lescaut and Rome hosted him in Resurrezione with Cobelli and in Tosca with Muzio. At Covent Garden on 23 May he sang in La Bohème with Pampanini and the next evening sang in Tosca with Raisa and Formichi. The Times reported:
In Signor Minghetti we had a Cavaradossi whose voice is rich and musical and not dependent for its effect on high notes and hysterical climaxes.
In both the first and last acts he gave some excellent moments of quiet and unforced singing.
The Carro di Tespi tour of 1933 took him to Lucca, Reggio Emilia, Piacenza, Pavia, Varese, Monza, Mantua, Este, Gorizia, Pordonone, Trento and Vicenza in La Bohème. The young Pia Tassinari sang Mimì throughout the season. In the autumn Angelo sang with Pampanini in Madama Butterfly at Venice, with Dal Monte in Lucia di Lammermoor at Berlin and with Pampanini in La Bohème at Florence. On 19 December Milan's venerable Teatro dal Verme closed its doors for ever after a stunning and emotional performance of Bohème with Oltrabella and Minghetti. It was a gala event, though one overflowing with nostalgia, and there were tears on both sides of the footlights. The year ended at Genoa in Le Maschere with Caniglia, Iris Adami-Corradetti and Giovanni Inghilleri.
After a brief visit to Latvia for La Bohème, Angelo returned to Rome, where, on 23 January 1934, he appeared in the World Première of Respighi's La Fiamma with Cobelli, Aurora Buades and Tagliabue under the composer's direction. At San Remo he appeared in Manon Lescaut and in June he returned to London for La Bohème. On the 26th, he débuted at Oslo's Royal Opera as Cavaradossi with Pampanini and Formichi, and later gave concerts at the Norwegian capital as well as at Lisberg and Göteborg. The annual Carro di Tespi tour found Minghetti at Rome, Civitavecchia and Pescara in Tosca and at Rome for additional performances of Madama Butterfly. In the autumn he sang in Manon Lescaut with Sara Scuderi at Biela, Bolzano and Merano and he later appeared in Tosca at Bari with Bruna Rasa. Angelo ended 1934 with performances of La Bohème at Bologna and Ferrara.
On 9 February 1935 he sang his last opera at La Scala, the theatre's première of La Fiamma, with Cigna, Stignani and Tagliabue. It was apparent that his voice was no longer responding with the fluidity for which it had been so famous. Reviews were respectful but lacked enthusiasm. However, he continued to appear where he could. San Remo mounted Le Maschere in April and in the summer the faithful Carro di Tespi presented him as Cavaradossi at Genoa, La Spezia, Fiume, Gorizia and Udine. In the autumn he appeared in Le Maschere and La Bohème for Turin radio, and so ended his year.
The rest is the tale of a few lonely performances by a man who had passed his best. His only engagement in 1936 was in Giuletta e Romeo at Rome, and in 1937 he sang only at Venice in La Bohème. In 1938 Angelo appeared in La Bohème at Turin and Palermo and in 1939 he appeared at Busto Arzisio and Livorno in Tosca. World War II was now on and, after performances of Madama Butterfly at Milan, on 29 September 1940, he sang his long-delayed farewell in the World Première of Davico's Pincipessa Prigioniera at Bergamo, under the direction of Gianandrea Gavazzeni. It was Gavazzeni who persuaded him both to appear in the new opera and to retire from the lyric stage. Angelo, Lulu and the children took up residence in Milan, where he taught for several years. After a series of illnesses, Angelo Minghetti died at Milan on 10 February 1957. He had had an extraordinarily rewarding life, with a remarkably close and devoted family, and a career that was among the most impressive and far reaching in this century.
The question remains: in the face of the evidence, why is he so little known and so seldom remembered? The answer probably lies in his recordings. He made only six published discs, though he did record several duets with Margaret Sheridan that were never released, as far as I know. I own two of the six that have been circulated, a lovely rendition of Donaudy's 'Vaghissima sembianza' and a stunning version of 'Che gelida manina'. There is some pressure on the top C but it is a full, rich tone, and the attack is quite wonderful. The voice itself is of a lovely brilliance with a most attractive, beautifully modulated vibrato. It should also be noted that Lulu made at least one recording; on 23 May 1921, at Milan, she recorded 'Sì, Vendetta' from Rigoletto with Mattia Battistini. Let us hope that the remainder of Angelo's meagre but undoubtedly impressive legacy will appear for our enjoyment and edification.
© Bob Rideout
Angelo Minghetti was born in Bologna on 6 December 1887 and led an average childhood, attending normal schools while receiving an unexceptional education. After serving an apprenticeship, Angelo hired himself out as a sculptor and, in that chosen field, achieved some considerable success until several of his patrons, after hearing him sing as he worked, convinced him that he had a 'voice'. He took voice lessons for a very short time before making his official stage début in Cavalleria Rusticana on 23 March 1913 at Salo, Italy. On the 25th of that month, he sang in a sacred service at Salo's basilica. On the evening of the last performance of Mascagni's opera, he was persuaded to sing 'Che gelida manina' as a token of appreciation for the audience's warm reception. On 7 April he appeared in an all-Verdi concert during which a bust of the composer was mounted over the proscenium of the theatre.
In October, Angelo appeared for the first time in Manon Lescaut, when he made his début at Soresina, and in November he sang in Rigoletto and Fedora at Como. On 1 January 1914 his début at Venice's Teatro Rossini was as Pinkerton and he continued the year with Rigoletto at Cremona, concerts at Bergamo and Modena and, finally, the first headline news of his career, Manon Lescaut at Ravenna with Claudia Muzio. His reviews were more than generous and Italy had another important name for its billboards. The year ended at Bergamo with Turiddu and Pinkerton.
In 1915, Minghetti made his Milan début at the Teatro Carcano as Pinkerton and followed it with a concert at the Milan Arena conducted by Arturo Toscanini. After additional performances of Madama Butterfly and La Bohème at Lugo with Ersilde Cervi Caroli and Luigi Rossi Morelli, Angelo travelled to Malta, where he sang in La Bohème, Mignon with Giulia Tess, Rigoletto, Manon and Cavalleria Rusticana. When he returned to Italy, he found that he had been conscripted into the armed forces, and he remained in uniform for two years, during the height of World War I.
In March of 1918 Minghetti resumed his career with concerts at Asso and Milan, and on 11 April he débuted at Florence's Teatro della Pergola in Madama Butterfly, with Giuseppina Baldassare-Tedeschi. La Traviata followed, featuring the outstanding talents of Aires Borghi Zerni, a spectacularly talented leggiero, who virtually disappeared from the stage within five years. The couple appeared together in La Traviata at Ferrara and Livorno, after which Angelo débuted at Genoa as Alfredo, where he sobbed at the deathbed of the remarkable Ester Mazzoleni. At Genoa's Hotel Miramar he sang in a concert that included 'Salve dimora', 'Che gelida manina' and 'E lucevan le stelle', after which he sang in Manon at La Spezia. He returned to Genoa for Rigoletto with Toti Dal Monte and Carlo Galeffi, and the next morning northern Italy read in the newspapers of a triumph not seen since before the beginning of the war.
Three days later he and Juanita Caracciolo received the same praise after a performance of Madama Butterfly. During the second presentation of Rigoletto, the orchestra became silent as the theatre's general manager walked onto the stage in mid-act to announce the cessation of hostilities. The Great War was history, and there was an enormous and spontaneous celebration in the theatre. The performance was completed in an atmosphere of total chaos.
In late November Minghetti débuted at Verona's Teatro Ristori as Pinkerton and a week later he appeared in La Traviata with Giuseppina Finzi Magrini and Benvenuto Franci. The year ended at Bologna's Teatro Comunale in Rigoletto with Borghi Zerni and the New Year began there with Tosca. At Piacenza he repeated the Duke to the Gilda of Dal Monte, after which he travelled to Spain, where, at Bilbao's Teatro Arriaga, he débuted on 7 June as Alfredo to the Violetta of Rosina Storchio. On the 17th, he sang in Rigoletto with Elvira de Hidalgo and his season continued with La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and concerts. Angelo then sang in Santander for Manon with Genevieve Vix, La Bohème, Tosca and Rigoletto. He was so well received that a command concert for the Queen was given at the Royal Palace before he left for San Sebastian. At the Teatro Bellas Artes he ended his Spanish engagement with Tosca, Butterfly and Rigoletto. On the evening of the last performance of Tosca, Minghetti sang 'Mattinata' and 'Granada' during the first intermission, "as a diversion".
In December, the tenor appeared in the United States for the first time, singing with the Newark Grand Opera at the Orpheum Theatre. His roles were Rodolfo and Alfredo and he sang, according to various reports, as William Hayes. I offer this information, without confirmation, because it was during this engagement that he discovered the charms of one Lulu Hayes, a lyric soprano of some accomplishment, who, after a frantic courtship, married him. I suspect that William Hayes was her father and that he was connected in some way to the Newark Company.
Minghetti arrived in Lisbon in early January 1920, and on the 10th he débuted at the São Carlo as Rodolfo to the Mimì of Bianca Stagno Bellincioni. During his four-week stay he appeared as well in Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly and La Traviata. At Genoa he sang in two concerts with Vera Amerighi Rutili and then travelled to Palermo, where, at the Massimo, he débuted in late March as Turiddu followed by La Rondine with Linda Cannetti. At Carpi he sang in Tosca, at Mirandola in Rigoletto, and at the Politeama of Naples in La Traviata, again with Borghi Zerni.
Naples also saw him as Cavaradossi and, for the first time, in a professional concert with Lulu. According to one critic she showed a "light lyric voice, well suited to her chosen music." Lulu was to appear with him from time to time until at last it became apparent that her talents were less inclined to the stage than they were to the role of a wife, mother and friend. She was deeply devoted to him as he was to her, and wherever he went throughout his career she and their children joined him.
After La Traviata at Modena with Finzi Magrini and Apollo Granforte, Minghetti returned to Bologna for Manon Lescaut partnered by Bianca Scacciati, the World Première of Guerrini's Nemici and Madama Butterfly. He managed to find time during the Bologna engagement to travel to Piacenza for his first performances of Andrea Chénier.
The breakthrough came on 29 January, when Angelo débuted at the Costanzi of Rome as the Duke with Dal Monte, José Segura-Tallien and Ezio Pinza. There was a huge demonstration of affection and the next day's newspapers reflected an enormous talent who had conquered a very knowing audience. After concerts at Rome's Teatro Argentina he returned to the Costanzi for Manon with Vix, Armand Crabbé and Pinza. The San Carlo of Naples, not wanting to be outflanked, also offered him a début, and on 15 March he appeared there in Manon Lescaut with Scacciati, and later in Cesar Franck's Les Beatitudes (in Italian). After a concert at the Circolo Artistico of Naples he returned to Rome for Madama Butterfly with Tamaki Miura and Rigoletto. Walter Mocchi, who managed the Costanzi with his wife, Emma Carelli, contracted their new sensation for a three-month tour of South America. On 25 May, Angelo and his young wife sailed for the New World and one of the most remarkable seasons in his long and distinguished career.
The tour began at Rio de Janeiro and had an extraordinary line-up of artists: Dal Monte, Miura, Rosa Raisa, Gilda Dalla Rizza, Gabriella Besanzoni, Flora Perini, Antonio Cortis, Beniamino Gigli, Giacomo Rimini, Segura-Tallien, Luigi Rossi Morelli and Giulio Cirino. Minghetti sang in Rigoletto with Dal Monte and Segura Tallien, Madama Butterfly with Miura, L'Oracolo with Miura and Rimini, Mefistofele with Cirino and Lo Schiavo with Raisa, Dal Monte and Rimini. At Buenos Aires, he added performances of Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana and Mignon with Besanzoni, Manon Lescaut with Dalla Rizza and Falstaff with Dalla Rizza, Dal Monte, Besanzoni and Rimini. The tour also visited São Paolo, Rosario, Cordoba and Montevideo during a three month period in which Minghetti sang over fifty times. It was a resounding success for all, especially for the previously unknown tenor, whose physical attributes were as much a conversation item as was his vocalism.
It was clear that Rome was to become his artistic home and, upon his return to Italy, Angelo began a three-month season at the Costanzi. He appeared in Tosca with Mercedes Llopart and Rossi Morelli, Falstaff with Dalla Rizza and Taurino Parvis, Rigoletto with Dal Monte, Gianni Schicchi with Madeleine Bugg and Parvis and La Bohème with Carmen Melis and Rossi Morelli. He returned to the San Carlo in March for Rigoletto and the World Première of Donaudy's La Fiamminga on 25 April 1922.
Rigoletto at Bergamo ended his Italian season and in late September the Minghettis sailed for the United States and a début at the Chicago Civic Opera.
On 15 November he débuted as Rodolfo with Edith Mason and on the following evening he sang in Rimsky-Korsakov's Snegurochka with Mason and George Baklanov. Of his Rodolfo, Herman Devries of the Chicago Morning American wrote on 16 November 1922:
La Bohème served to introduce two newcomers, Angelo Minghetti, Italian tenor, and Ettore Panizza, the Italian conductor, names hitherto not familiar to the Middle West, but now on their way to finding permanent abode in our memory. Minghetti has a rare double gift, a voice that delights and a personality that charms. Here is a tenor of most ingratiating timbre, honey sweet, colored with the flame of youth and the lyricism of poesy.
... he fears no vocal heights as he mounts the scale. The voice gains in brilliance and purity. This 'racconto' aria in the first act was a mirror of poetry. It earned for him an ovation that halted the progress of the performance. Minghetti is remarkably suited to this role because he is very good looking, svelte, elegant, the type that might easily cause the hearts of the Latin Quarter grisettes to flutter. He bids fair to become a matinée idol unless I am a very poor prophet.
Pierre Key in Music Digest, 8 December 1922:
Angelo Minghetti, the new lyric tenor, has the artistic instinct. He had little opportunity in Snegurochka; his one chance, a single aria, found him ready with a smooth and finished style and a distinguished authority.
On the 27th, he appeared in Madama Butterfly with Mason and Giacomo Rimini, and on 2 December he sang in Rigoletto, with Mason and Cesare Formichi. Performances continued well into January 1923 in Mefistofele with Mason and Chaliapin and La Juive with Raisa, Charles Marshall and Virgilio Lazzari. The season in Chicago ended with a gala concert on 18 January, after which Angelo toured with the company to Boston and Washington D.C.
On 2 June 1923 Minghetti débuted at La Scala in La Bohème with Mason, Sassone Soster, Ernesto Badini and Ezio Pinza. There were veritable riots in the theatre at the end of Act One and at the opera's conclusion. It was such an enormous triumph for Angelo that he sang the role in six successive seasons. In July he appeared in opera with Lulu for the first time when they sang in La Bohème at Venice's Teatro Malibran. After Manon Lescaut at Carpi and Tosca at Correggio with Lulu, the family left Europe on a year-long tour to North and South America.
First stop: Chicago.
Angelo had made an enormous impression the previous season and he repeated four of those earlier assignments: La Juive, Mefistofele, Snegurochka and Rigoletto, after which the company embarked on a tour to Boston, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chattanooga, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Denver. He sang in La Juive with Raisa in every city, and in Boston he also appeared in Mefistofele, with Muzio and Chaliapin. An additional performance of the Boito work was given in Seattle with Mason replacing Muzio.
Musical Leader, 1923, December (La Juive):
Mr. Minghetti was well adapted to the tenor role and sang, acted and looked the part of Leopold with distinction.
The Minghetti family returned to Newark for a most rousing welcome from family and friends, long separated. A dispatch from Musical Courier, 24 April 1924:
Angelo Minghetti, after a successful season with the Chicago Civic Opera, gave a song recital in Aeolian Hall, New York City, and is engaged to sing in Italy and South America. Louise [sic] Minghetti sang sixteen times in Tosca, in Venice, with tremendous success and sang in Rigoletto in New Jersey under Bamboschek with the Metropolitan Opera House orchestra.
The dispatch failed to note that, at Newark, Minghetti also sang in Rigoletto and that they both appeared in Tosca. On May 1 Angelo and Lulu sailed from New York for Buenos Aires and a début at the Teatro Colón. During the season, Lulu's star would shine rather brightly, if only for a moment.
The tenor débuted at the Teatro Colón of Buenos Aires on 28 May 1924. The role was Rodolfo and his Mimi was Zamboni. The reception was enormous and both artists were recalled to the footlights "countless times". A few unights later he sang in Madama Butterfly with Dalla Rizza and the end of Act One brought an ovation that lasted for many minutes. On 6 June, he partnered Dalla Rizza and Victor Damiani in a superb performance of La Traviata and on the 12th he sang in Mefistofele with Zamboni, Sara Cesar and Sigismondo Zalevsky. There was only praise for his singing and his acting, which was "complemented by a physical appearance that has found many women fairly swooning". He was later to be recalled as the handsomest tenor in the world by several of his former colleagues. After performances of Falstaff with Dalla Rizza, Zamboni, Besanzoni and Zalevsky, Angelo travelled to Rosario for La Traviata and to Montevideo for Traviata and Butterfly, all with Dalla Rizza.
Angelo returned to Buenos Aires on 13 July, where he resumed his season with Mefistofele. Signora Minghetti made her Colón début in the role of Margherita, Nina Koshetz sang Elena and Tancredi Pasero the protagonist. Lulu received a very warm ovation and kind notices in the press. Her husband fairly beamed with joy during the curtain calls as Pasero walked to her side and kissed her hand. When the company reached Rio de Janeiro, Lulu sang a performance of Mimì and again received a most warm welcome from a packed house. Minghetti added Vittadini's Anima Allegra at Rio and the company closed its season at São Paolo in October with Mefistofele. Though it had been a most rewarding year, it had been an exhausting one, and they were overjoyed to return to Bologna, where they allowed themselves a long rest before Angelo returned to the stage.
On 8 December at Bologna, he sang Rodolfo to the Mimì of Rosetta Pampanini, and Pinza sang a "glorious" Colline. On the 12th, Angelo sang in a concert with Pampanini, Carlo Galeffi and Pinza and on the 16th he gave a song recital at Ravenna. Three days later, at Cento's Palazzo Falzoni Gallerani he joined Lulu and other artists in a gala Christmas recital. The year ended at Parma in La Traviata with Mercedes Capsir and Antenore Reali.
1925 began with Rodolfo at Genoa, La Scala and at Catania, where he also sang in Mefistofele. Bergamo and Parma saw Angelo in La Bohème, and Ferrara saw him in Tosca with Carmen Melis. On 29 May he reappeared in Anima Allegra, this time at Pavia, before returning to South America with the Mocchi company for another brilliant season.
In a roster that included Scacciati, Dalla Rizza, Margarita Salvi, Flora Revales, Fanny Anitua, Anna Gramegna, John O'Sullivan, Granforte, Crabbé, Gaetano Viviani, Pasero and Cirino, Angelo débuted at Rosario on 5 July in La Traviata. The cast included Dalla Rizza and Granforte. Two days later he sang in Rigoletto with Salvi and Granforte and before the group left for Santa Fe he had also appeared in Madama Butterfly and Tosca with Dalla Rizza. A week at Cordoba preceded a three-week season at the Teatro Coliseo of Buenos Aires, where Angelo added performances of Cavalleria Rusticana, Manon and La Bohème. Lulu joined him as Mimì.
Of his Des Grieux in Manon, the critic of Il Popolo d'Italia wrote:
Gilda Dalla Rizza's worthy partner was the tenor Minghetti. This singer with the beautiful voice and excellent physique sang his difficult role with devil-may-care ease, being at all times in his element, especially in 'The Dream' and the 'Saint-Sulpice' duo. The applause which followed these two scenes was truly momentous ....(10 August 1925)
The company stayed at Montevideo for two weeks, then journeyed to Rio de Janeiro for a month-long engagement at the Teatro Municipal. Angelo sang in Manon and Madama Butterfly with Dalla Rizza, La Traviata with Dalla Rizza and Granforte, Rigoletto with Salvi and Granforte, Cavalleria Rusticana with Scacciati and Granforte, Lucia di Lammermoor with Bebe Lima Castro and Viviani, Mefistofele with Lulu and Pasero, Tosca with Lulu and Granforte and La Bohème with Ninon Vallin and Pasero, who "sang the greatest 'Vecchia zimarra' ever heard in this theatre". On the closing night, 8 October, during a gala benefit, Salvi, Gramegna, Angelo, Granforte and Pasero presented the last three acts of Rigoletto, followed by the Municipal début of the young Brazilian Bidù Sayão in scenes from I Puritani. After a two-week season at São Paolo, the company arrived at Santos, where Minghetti closed the tour in La Bohème with Vallin. As in past years, the couple returned to Bologna for a rest and, in late December, Angelo appeared at his beloved Comunale in Manon with Melis. The year ended at Piacenza with Manon Lescaut, featuring the Irish soprano who had had a meteoric rise to fame, Margaret Sheridan. Minghetti was now at the peak of his fame and the winter of 1926 saw him in La Bohème at 'Italy's big three': the San Carlo, La Scala and the Costanzi, with additional performances of Rigoletto for the Romans. On 11 March he débuted at Monte Carlo in Tosca with Lina Scavizzi and Vanni Marcoux, and a week later he sang in Madama Butterfly with his now constant partner, Dalla Rizza. In April he appeared at Catania's Massimo Bellini in Tosca with Maria Llacer and Granforte.
One important début still remained: Covent Garden. On 24 May, the opening night of the 'Italian Season', he was Rodolfo to the Mimì of Margaret Sheridan, then at the height of her fame, and with Rosina Torri (Musetta), Giuseppe Noto (Marcello), Badini (Schaunard), Cotreil (Colline) and Bellezza conducting. The critic of the Times was guardedly complimentary:
The performance last night was good, but hardly up to the Covent Garden standard, which for this opera, is a high one. We expect above all a good ensemble between the four Bohemians, and on this occasion they were too evidently strangers to one another. ...The tenor has a pleasant lyrical voice, which is devoid of the faults too frequent in Italian tenors, but without much individuality. He always sang rhythmically. It was perhaps hardly his fault that he was drowned by the orchestral climaxes.
Angelo's popularity in South America was enormous and the Teatro Municipal of Santiago offered him a contract for a thirty-performance season, including débuts at both Valparaiso and Concepción. His colleagues were Lulu, Zamboni, Iva Pacetti, Melis, Isabel Marengo, Crabbé, Viviani, Carlo Tagliabue and Mansueto Gaudio. He débuted in La Bohème with Zamboni on 9 September.
The critic of El Mercurio wrote:
The new tenor, Angelo Minghetti, presented a most sympathetic figure as the young Rodolfo. He has a most agreeable voice and it was apparent from the outset that his grace and physical presence upon the stage would take one's full attention. The end of the first act brought prolonged applause from a most enthusiastic audience.
A later observation from the same newspaper stated:
Advance publicity can often lead to disappointment, but Angelo Minghetti and Maria Zamboni only confirmed the praise that preceded their first performance at the Municipal.
He subsequently appeared in Madama Butterfly, Mefistofele, Rigoletto, Fedora, Tosca with Lulu, and Manon. The tour ended at Concepción, where he sang his final performance as Boito's Faust with Lulu, Pacetti and Gaudio. Along the way there were concerts, which he ended with the Chilean song 'Ay, Ay Ay', to ecstatic ovations. The year ended at Naples in Tosca with Scacciati and Rossi Morelli.
On 27 January 1927 Angelo sang in La Bohème at Turin's Teatro Regio and in February he returned to Scala as Rodolfo for the fifth time. He débuted at Nice's Teatro Municipal on 17 April in Rigoletto with Lina Romelli and Granforte, and in May he returned to Genoa for Manon Lescaut and Bohème with Pampanini as well as a gala concert in which Lulu, Pampanini and Nicola Fusati joined him. At Ferrara and Modena he sang in Madama Butterfly, at Piacenza in Tosca with Augusta Oltrabella and Rossi Morelli, and at Bologna in Mefistofele with Zamboni, Linda Barla Ricci and De Angelis. In the late autumn he returned to Nice for Madama Butterfly and Bohème and on New Year's Eve he and Pampanini sang in a gala benefit performance of La Bohème at Piacenza.
Minghetti débuted at Cairo on 12 January 1928 in La Gioconda with Giannina Arangi Lombardi, and remained in Egypt for nearly three months, appearing in Tosca with Pacetti and Arangi Lombardi alternating, Gianni Schicchi, La Rondine with Dalla Rizza and Cavalleria Rusticana again with Pacetti and Arangi Lombardi. Lulu and Angelo gave a joint recital at the Sala Calderón on 11 March, after which he joined the company at Alexandria for Madama Butterfly, Tosca, La Rondine, Cavalleria Rusticana, Gianni Schicchi and, finally, La Traviata with Dalla Rizza.
A brief return to La Scala for La Bohème preceded the journey to Australia, where, on 16 May, Minghetti débuted at Melbourne in Manon Lescaut with Scavizzi. He was very highly praised as a stylist and for his voice, which was described as "most sensuous and caressing". Melbourne's Age wrote: "It was indeed gratifying to hear so accomplished an artist with his instinctive musicianship, beautiful lyric voice and youthful appearance." Angelo sang in Tosca, Rigoletto, Cavalleria Rusticana and Madama Butterfly before travelling to Sydney, where he added Andrea Chénier, La Bohème, Lodoletta and Gianni Schicchi to his assignments. Of his Tosca The Sydney Mail wrote "Minghetti showed his usual combination of beauty of tone and fervent acting." The Sydney Sun declared, "Minghetti is the finest lyric in the memory of the present generation."
There were intrigues, one of which involved Dal Monte, Minghetti and Granforte. Toti demanded that both be removed from her performances of Rigoletto at the end of the Melbourne season. However, her new husband, Enzo de Muro Lomanto, sang the Duke at Sydney, so we may make one assumption. The removal of Granforte was never explained, though by the time the company reached Adelaide, both gentlemen were again singing in Rigoletto.
At Adelaide, Angelo had the honour of opening the season in Tosca with Scavizzi and Granforte. There was enormous commentary in the press about the splendid quality of Minghetti's voice and even more about his stage manner and his striking appearance. He was besieged by women wherever he went, and one commentator sniped that "his wife and daughter, perhaps wisely, accompanied him on the tour".
Lulu delivered their second child, a son, just before the end of the Sydney season and at Adelaide there was a baptism and a celebration in their honour.
On 2 October, Angelo partnered Nellie Melba in acts 2, 3 and 4 of La Bohème, then stood in the wings as she sang her farewell to Australia, Desdemona's 'Willow Song' and 'Ave Maria'. The company travelled to Perth for a three-week season, after which Angelo and Lulu appeared in recital at Sydney before returning to Europe. The little that remained of 1928 was spent at home, a most welcome respite after a frantic year of performing.
Lulu and Angelo now had two children to care for and the days of long journeys were permanently behind them. There were schooling and everyday concerns to divert them from any long-term plans. It was also during 1929, after a few concerts in the area around Bologna, that Lulu retired from the lyric stage, except for a single engagement as Boit'os Margherita at Genoa's Carlo Felice on 1 Sept 1931. (Angelo's career continued with an intensity and lustre as great as ever.
On 8 January 1929 he sang in Manon Lescaut at Parma with Pampanini and a week later arrived at Rome for Tosca with Muzio and Franci, Gianni Schicchi, Cavalleria Rusticana with Muzio and La Traviata with Muzio and Riccardo Stracciari. After La Bohème at Padua Angelo spent the rest of the winter season at Naples in Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, Selvaggi's Maggiolata Veneziana and Tosca. In May, at Florence, he sang in Traviata with Dalla Rizza and Enrico Molinari and in La Bohème with Zamboni. On 18 July he conquered the audience at the Verona Arena, when he débuted in Gounod's Faust with Gina Cigna and Pinza. The rest of the summer was spent with his family on the Adriatic. In late September Angelo returned to the stage at Cento in La Bohème with Pampanini. On 23 October he made his long awaited début at Barcelona's Liceo in La Bohème with Maria Laurenti. It was an enormous success, one that would be repeated when he sang Pinkerton to the Cio Cio San of Teiko Kiwa two weeks later. A review of a La Bohème at Forli in 1929 appears in Il Teatro Comunale di Forli by Michele Raffaelli:
Angelo Minghetti,....of an aristocratic and studious nature, created the role of Rodolfo with truth and sincerity, a prodigious voice, full, limpid and of exquisite expression. He realized the perfect characterization. The famous 'racconto' seemed fresh and profound and confirmed his most refined vocalism and interpretation. After La Bohème at Forli the family enjoyed the holiday season, as usual, at Bologna.
On New Year's Day 1930 Minghetti sang at Naples again, this time in Madama Butterfly with Augusta Concato. Two weeks later he returned to La Scala for Bohème with Pampanini and Favero alternating as Mimì, Madama Butterfly with Pampanini and Tosca with Giuseppina Cobelli and Galeffi.
At Barcelona he again sang in Butterfly, and at Pavia he sang in Faust before returning to Covent Garden for Butterfly, Rigoletto, Tosca and finally La Traviata with Rosa Ponselle. He was now the darling of British society and gave several recitals in private homes, including a spectacular assembly at 19 Grosvenor Square with Salvi and John Brownlee, and a diplomatic reception at the Italian Embassy, where he was joined by Ponselle. There were additional charity appearances at the Park Lane Hotel and at the Lyceum Club.
On 24 August Minghetti, Pampanini, Margherita Carosio and Luigi Montesanto inaugurated one of the most important events in Italian musical history: the Carro di Tespi. It was an annual tour to about forty Italian cities in which the most famous singers in the country were engaged to "bring art to the people". Funds were provided by the government, and the tours continued for nearly twenty years, though they were suspended during most of World War II. The location was Torre del Lago, the opera was La Bohème, and the performance was conducted by Pietro Mascagni. On 1 September, under the government's auspices, La Bohème was repeated at Antwerp and later at Liège, with Favero as Mimì.
Angelo returned to Italy for Bohème at Livorno and Ferrara, Mefistofele at Alessandria, and for Tosca at Cremona with Dalla Rizza and Rossi Morelli. He spent the holidays in Naples with his family where he sang in La Bohème with Favero and Tosca with Dalla Rizza.
At Nice, he sang in Rigoletto and La Bohème and on 2 February 1931 he sang in Andrea Chénier at Genoa's Carlo Felice with Lina Bruna Rasa and Montesanto. He was reviewed as being rather pressed in the more declamatory music but marvellously lyrical and ardent in 'Come un bel dì di Maggio'. At La Scala, under Mascagni's direction, Angelo sang in the composer's Le Maschere, with Maria Caniglia, Favero and Montesanto, after which he repeated the opera at Rome with Arangi Lombardi. Pavia saw his Pinkerton, Trieste, Zurich and Basle his Rodolfo and at Le Roncole he inaugurated the second season of Carro di Tespi with La Bohème. Favero was his Mimì throughout the tour, while Pampanini partnered him in Madama Butterfly. Among the cities visited were Trieste, Venice, Torre del Lago and Rome. On 3 August he returned to the Verona Arena for Mefistofele with Scacciati, Irene Minghini Cattaneo and De Angelis. Resuming the Carro tour, on 17 September, at Naples, he and Pampanini closed the season in Madama Butterfly before some thirty thousand spectators. In the autumn Angelo visited Genoa for Manon Lescaut, Perugia for Tosca, Pisa for Lodoletta under Mascagni's baton, Parma for Faust and Livorno for Le Maschere, again conducted by Mascagni. December was spent with his family at Bologna, followed by a short visit to Bucharest to sing in Bohème, Rigoletto and Madama Butterfly.
In February 1932 he sang in Mefistofele at Turin with Zamboni, Lotte Burck and De Angelis and in April he returned to Rome's Reale for Lodoletta with Maria Carbone and Tosca with Muzio. In May, at Florence, Angelo sang in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tosca with Muzio and Mefistofele with Mason, Bruna Rasa and Pinza, then he, Lulu and the children enjoyed a long vacation. The Carro di Tespi season of 1932 found him in La Bohème and Cavalleria Rusticana. Favero and Adelaide Saraceni shared the role of Mimì and Hina Spani and Florica Cristoforeanu that of Santuzza. He appeared at Velletri, Senegallia, Pesaro, Ravenna, Faenza, Florence, Rieti and Rome, where on 15 September, at the Piazza Adriana, he sang in La Bohème with Saraceni before a gathering estimated at forty thousand. In November Angelo appeared in Fedora with Cobelli at Treviso, and on 28 December, after a long break to celebrate Christmas, Angelo returned to La Scala for Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo with Cobelli and Carmelo Maugeri.
Minghetti and Cobelli began 1933 at Genoa with Fedora and, after Manon Lescaut at Modena, Angelo appeared at Monte Carlo in Tosca with Dalla Rizza. Turin saw him in Manon Lescaut and Rome hosted him in Resurrezione with Cobelli and in Tosca with Muzio. At Covent Garden on 23 May he sang in La Bohème with Pampanini and the next evening sang in Tosca with Raisa and Formichi. The Times reported:
In Signor Minghetti we had a Cavaradossi whose voice is rich and musical and not dependent for its effect on high notes and hysterical climaxes.
In both the first and last acts he gave some excellent moments of quiet and unforced singing.
The Carro di Tespi tour of 1933 took him to Lucca, Reggio Emilia, Piacenza, Pavia, Varese, Monza, Mantua, Este, Gorizia, Pordonone, Trento and Vicenza in La Bohème. The young Pia Tassinari sang Mimì throughout the season. In the autumn Angelo sang with Pampanini in Madama Butterfly at Venice, with Dal Monte in Lucia di Lammermoor at Berlin and with Pampanini in La Bohème at Florence. On 19 December Milan's venerable Teatro dal Verme closed its doors for ever after a stunning and emotional performance of Bohème with Oltrabella and Minghetti. It was a gala event, though one overflowing with nostalgia, and there were tears on both sides of the footlights. The year ended at Genoa in Le Maschere with Caniglia, Iris Adami-Corradetti and Giovanni Inghilleri.
After a brief visit to Latvia for La Bohème, Angelo returned to Rome, where, on 23 January 1934, he appeared in the World Première of Respighi's La Fiamma with Cobelli, Aurora Buades and Tagliabue under the composer's direction. At San Remo he appeared in Manon Lescaut and in June he returned to London for La Bohème. On the 26th, he débuted at Oslo's Royal Opera as Cavaradossi with Pampanini and Formichi, and later gave concerts at the Norwegian capital as well as at Lisberg and Göteborg. The annual Carro di Tespi tour found Minghetti at Rome, Civitavecchia and Pescara in Tosca and at Rome for additional performances of Madama Butterfly. In the autumn he sang in Manon Lescaut with Sara Scuderi at Biela, Bolzano and Merano and he later appeared in Tosca at Bari with Bruna Rasa. Angelo ended 1934 with performances of La Bohème at Bologna and Ferrara.
On 9 February 1935 he sang his last opera at La Scala, the theatre's première of La Fiamma, with Cigna, Stignani and Tagliabue. It was apparent that his voice was no longer responding with the fluidity for which it had been so famous. Reviews were respectful but lacked enthusiasm. However, he continued to appear where he could. San Remo mounted Le Maschere in April and in the summer the faithful Carro di Tespi presented him as Cavaradossi at Genoa, La Spezia, Fiume, Gorizia and Udine. In the autumn he appeared in Le Maschere and La Bohème for Turin radio, and so ended his year.
The rest is the tale of a few lonely performances by a man who had passed his best. His only engagement in 1936 was in Giuletta e Romeo at Rome, and in 1937 he sang only at Venice in La Bohème. In 1938 Angelo appeared in La Bohème at Turin and Palermo and in 1939 he appeared at Busto Arzisio and Livorno in Tosca. World War II was now on and, after performances of Madama Butterfly at Milan, on 29 September 1940, he sang his long-delayed farewell in the World Première of Davico's Pincipessa Prigioniera at Bergamo, under the direction of Gianandrea Gavazzeni. It was Gavazzeni who persuaded him both to appear in the new opera and to retire from the lyric stage. Angelo, Lulu and the children took up residence in Milan, where he taught for several years. After a series of illnesses, Angelo Minghetti died at Milan on 10 February 1957. He had had an extraordinarily rewarding life, with a remarkably close and devoted family, and a career that was among the most impressive and far reaching in this century.
The question remains: in the face of the evidence, why is he so little known and so seldom remembered? The answer probably lies in his recordings. He made only six published discs, though he did record several duets with Margaret Sheridan that were never released, as far as I know. I own two of the six that have been circulated, a lovely rendition of Donaudy's 'Vaghissima sembianza' and a stunning version of 'Che gelida manina'. There is some pressure on the top C but it is a full, rich tone, and the attack is quite wonderful. The voice itself is of a lovely brilliance with a most attractive, beautifully modulated vibrato. It should also be noted that Lulu made at least one recording; on 23 May 1921, at Milan, she recorded 'Sì, Vendetta' from Rigoletto with Mattia Battistini. Let us hope that the remainder of Angelo's meagre but undoubtedly impressive legacy will appear for our enjoyment and edification.
© Bob Rideout