Enzo de Muro Lomanto
1992 saw the 40th anniversary of the death of the tenor, Enzo de Muro Lomanto, which was commemorated privately at his birthplace, Canosa, in a simple but moving ceremony with the playing of excerpts taken from the operas in which he made his name: “La donna e mobile” from “Rigoletto”, “Spirto gentil” from “La Favorita”, “E la solita storia del pastore” from “L’Arlesiana”, “Che gelida manina” from “La Boheme”, “Il mio tesoro” from “Don Giovanni”, “Ecco ridente in cielo” from “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, the Nocurne from “Silvana”, the Dream from “Manon” and such songs as Rondine al Nido, A Vucchella, Mandulinata a napule, sona Chitarra, Uocchie C’Arruggiunate, Core ‘ngrato, Addio a Napoli and O Sole Mio. He was remembered for the incredible sweetness of his tone and the dashing figure he presented on the stages of the World.
It is not possible to cover in a few lines the exceptional and, in many ways, unique career of Enzo de Muro Lomanto over the twenty years during which he appeared. The chronology will give a detailed picture of his extraordinary achievements, milestones which have largely been overlooked for the last fifty years.
Vincenzo, his given name, was born at Canosa di Puglia, at Piazza Umberto I, in the province of Bari, on 11 April 1902 to Baron Don Gennaro de Muro and Baroness Maria Lomanto de Muro. At the outset of his career some twenty two years later, his mother’s maiden name was added to his own in order that there be no confusion between him and the renowned spinto tenore, Bernardo de Muro. At the age of twelve, he entered the Molfetta Seminary where he gained a diploma in classical studies. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of Naples and simultaneously at the Royal Conservatory of San Pietro di Maiella, studying under Maestro Pietro A. Roche for three years but was ultimately expelled for a lack of scholarly discipline. He did complete his studies at the University was awarded a law degree on 21 July 1926.
He retained his great passion for singing, and continued to study privately, first with Don Sabino Fiore, under whose guidance he made his debut on 7 April 1923, with Gounod’s “Ave Maria” at his cousin’s wedding in the Cathedral of San Sabino. He later worked with the great Fernando De Lucia, who perfected his already considerable technique.
At only twenty two years of age, he was heard by Lagana, the impresario of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and an arrangement was made to sing at Catanzaro in “La Traviata”. He was promised a debut at the illustrious Naples theater should his “trial balloon” be a success. His debut as Alfredo was received with both public and critical acclaim, and soon afterwards, Lagana’s promise was fulfilled when our young tenor made a brilliant debut at the San Carlo as the Duke in “Rigoletto” on 26 April 1925. A few evenings later, he returned to that glorious stage in “Tosca”, repeating his triumph. This engagement marked his “baptism” as both a great lyric tenor as well as an ardent actor, and he was soon offered lucrative contracts at many of the World’s theaters.
He was gifted with a harmonious, lyric instrument, of good timbre, able to rise effortlessly to top C, at times reminiscent of Caruso’s voice. He had an innate ability to create a particularly haunting and penetrating “pathos” which could draw the listener into the heart of any role he was interpreting. His technique gave him a sweetness, precision of attack, delicate timbre, an equalization that projected vibrancy throughout its range, and a perfect legato. His portamenti and fioratura were perfectly supported on the breath and his mezza voce and perfect intonation enabled him to hold his own in the company of such illustrious names as Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Dino Borgioli, Tomas Alcaide, Roberto d’Alessio, Giovanni Manurita and Giovanni Malipiero.
We will take a brief look at some of the many highlights of his career, starting first with his next season at the San Carlo. He sang thirty performances in the winter and spring of 1926, and added “La Boheme”, “Mefistofele”, “Boris Gudunov” and “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” to his growing repertoire. He was particularly pleased to be invited to sing in “La Traviata” at Trieste and Fiume with the celebrated Gilda dalla Rizza at such an early stage in his development, and he had a great success. His lyric talents were so appreciated that he was invited to sing in La Sonnambula at both Catania’s Massimo Bellini and the Regio of Parma in the following season.
La Scala beckoned in early 1928 and on 1 March he debuted in “La Figlia del Reggimento” with Toti dal Monte, who would become his wife before the year was over. Upon the conclusion of his Scala season, he sailed for Australia with a large group of artists including dal Monte, Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Hina Spani, Giuseppina Zinetti, Francesco Merli, Angelo Minghetti, Luigi Rossi Morelli, Apollo Granforte and Umberto de Lelio. He appeared over sixty times in six operas: “Lucia di Lammermoor”, “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, “La Figlia del Rggimento”, “Les Contes D’Hoffmann”, “Rigoletto” and “Don Pasquale”.
Of his Almaviva, Argus reported: “His merits as a singer and actor became clearer as the evening progressed. His appearance was very much in his favor and when he got into his stride, the pleasing qualities of his voice began to reveal themselves”.
The Age commented: “one carries away unforgettable memories of a perfect tenor voice and a personality of exceptional charm.”
On 28 June, at a “by invitation only” banquet Toti and Enzo announced their engagement and, on 23 August, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, they were married in a ceremony that drew 25,000 people to the event. Arangi Lombardi and her husband were their official witnesses, and, as the wedding party emerged at the end of the ceremony, they lined up on the Cathedral steps and offered the Fascist salute to the huge throng. The publicity they received was enormous and they were besieged by photographers wherever they went, including during their brief honeymoon at Lake Macquarie. The marriage was a rebound affair on the part of dal Monte who had waited in vain for Luigi Montesanto to finally propose matrimony after a long and rocky relationship. Upon Toti’s arrival at Melbourne she gave herself two months to hear from him via letter or telegram. There was no communication though Montesanto later swore that he had written and that his letter had been lost. Her patience was at an end, and she chose the comfort of one who had made his intentions clear, one with whom she felt happy and who she thought would bring stability to her life.
The couple returned to Italy at the end of 1928, and on 12 January 1929 they appeared at La Scala in the World Premiere of Giordano’s “Il Re”. De Muro Lomanto received wider acclaim with each appearance, and he was applauded at Rome, Naples, Budapest, Milan, Vienna, Turin, Berlin, Paris, Antwerp, Florence, Palermo, Nice, Moscow, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Venice, Zurich and the Barcelona Liceo, among the most important operatic centers in Europe. When the couple visited Japan, China and Hong Kong in 1931 the greetings resembled those for royalty. Their pictures were seen everywhere and in each city there were official receptions for them attended by mayors and other social and political dignitaries. In Tokyo, alone there were six recitals.
But, all was not well. The marriage was a failure and even the birth of their only child, Mary, on 15 April 1930 could not save it. By the time Mary was two years of age they were living apart and on 7 December 1932 the separation was made final in a Milan courtroom.
Lomanto deeply resented the widely held opinion that it was only because of Toti that he had achieved a degree of success that would otherwise have been much less impressive. After the separation, he took particular delight in being able to prove to himself and the World that he could hold his own on the lyric stage. His successes were more than significant and among his many celebrated leading ladies were; Lina Pagliughi, Arangi Lombardi, Augusta Oltrabella, Bidu Sayao, Margherita Carosio, Magda Olivero, Iris Adami Corradetti, Iva Pacetti, Maria Zamboni, and Lina Bruna Rasa to name just a few. He was also very proud of the fact that he made a film in 1935 called “Porto” with some of Italy’s most famous actors: Irma Grammatica, Camillo Pilotto, Isa Pola and Elsa De Giorgi. It was directed by the very important Amleto Palermi.
In 1935, at Mascagni’s invitation he appeared on Italian Radio (EIAR) with Maria Carbone in “Lodoletta” and during the summer he toured throughout Italy with “La Sonnambula”. “La Nazione” of Florence noted that “The tenor, Enzo de Muro Lomanto repeated his success in the role of Elvino, which he sang with sweetness and passion. The audience was generous with its applause.”
In January of 1936 at Pesaro, he appeared in performances of “La Farsa Amorosa” conducted by Zandonai. Corriere Adriatico reported that “Enzo de Muro Lomanto sang most beautifully, displaying an almost ostentatious wealth of lovely tone”. In February, at Paris’ Palais Garnier, he sang in “Lucia di Lammermoor” with Margherita Perras. The autumn found him in the Netherlands where he sang Nadir in “Pearl Fishers” for the first time with Attilia Archi and the year ended with a notable success at Bari’s Teatro Petruzzelli in “L’amico Fritz”. The chronicle of that theater reported that “The tenor, de Muro Lomanto’s appearance was eagerly awaited by the audience. This famous artist proved to be an excellent singer with great stage presence. The “Cherry Duet” with the distinguished soprano, Mangini, was greeted with much applause”.
In the autumn of 1937 he traveled to South America for the only time in his career, appearing at Santiago’s Teatro Municipal in “Manon”, “Gioconda”, “Rigoletto”, “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” “La Traviata” and in concerts. The company included Conchita Velasquez, Vera Amerighi-Rutili, Giuseppe Taccani, Giovanni Breviario, Carlo Galeffi, and Antonio Righetti and the season was extended because of fine reviews and warm audience response. El Mercurio noted the “lovely tone of Enzo de Muro Lomanto” in Rigoletto, “a voice that is produced without any seeming effort”.
Kodaly’s “The Spinning Room” had its Naples premiere in March of 1939 and de Muro Lomanto had the honor of appearing in it. He had earlier appeared at the prestigious Fenice of Venice in “L’Heure Espagnol” and “Gianni Schicchi”. On 2 November, he sang for the only time in Verdi’s “Manzoni Requiem” with Italian Radio of Turin under the direction of Armando La Rosa Parodi. This afforded him the opportunity to sing again with Ebe Stignani, which experience he declared to have been among the most thrilling of his professional life.
By 1941 he was slowly but perceptibly reducing his performance schedule, which was partially the result of World War II and the ravages it brought to Italy, but also because of a deteriorating illness, bronchial asthma. Among the operas he sang in this period were “Ballo in Maschera”, “L’amico Fritz”, “La Sonnambula” and finally, “La Traviata”. With this, his debut role, he closed out his career on 6 June 1944 at Busto Arzisio. His failing health, combined with the sorrow of losing his sister and niece in an air raid bombing at Brescia forced him to make the difficult decision to retire from the stage. He continued to pursue commercial activities until his death at Milan on 15 March 1952 at the unfortunate age of fifty. Lung abcesses and the intrusive asthma had taken their toll. He was buried in the cemetery at Musocco near Milan and Toti placed a headstone on the grave with the inscription, “May the harmony freely bestowed by your song be your reward and glory in the immortal realms”
The recorded legacy of Enzo de Muro Lomanto, though not as vast as that of Beniamino Gigli or Tito Schipa is however, very large, especially in Neapolitan songs, of which he is and was considered a true artist. In his recordings we see a vast repertoire: ballads, opera arias and ensembles, Spanish songs, sacred music and patriotic songs, all of which were sung with a unique style and with a stunning idiomatic accent. He also recorded two complete operas; “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Le Furie di Arlecchino”, leaving us a legacy of 107 sides.
© Bob Rideout
It is not possible to cover in a few lines the exceptional and, in many ways, unique career of Enzo de Muro Lomanto over the twenty years during which he appeared. The chronology will give a detailed picture of his extraordinary achievements, milestones which have largely been overlooked for the last fifty years.
Vincenzo, his given name, was born at Canosa di Puglia, at Piazza Umberto I, in the province of Bari, on 11 April 1902 to Baron Don Gennaro de Muro and Baroness Maria Lomanto de Muro. At the outset of his career some twenty two years later, his mother’s maiden name was added to his own in order that there be no confusion between him and the renowned spinto tenore, Bernardo de Muro. At the age of twelve, he entered the Molfetta Seminary where he gained a diploma in classical studies. Subsequently, he enrolled at the University of Naples and simultaneously at the Royal Conservatory of San Pietro di Maiella, studying under Maestro Pietro A. Roche for three years but was ultimately expelled for a lack of scholarly discipline. He did complete his studies at the University was awarded a law degree on 21 July 1926.
He retained his great passion for singing, and continued to study privately, first with Don Sabino Fiore, under whose guidance he made his debut on 7 April 1923, with Gounod’s “Ave Maria” at his cousin’s wedding in the Cathedral of San Sabino. He later worked with the great Fernando De Lucia, who perfected his already considerable technique.
At only twenty two years of age, he was heard by Lagana, the impresario of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, and an arrangement was made to sing at Catanzaro in “La Traviata”. He was promised a debut at the illustrious Naples theater should his “trial balloon” be a success. His debut as Alfredo was received with both public and critical acclaim, and soon afterwards, Lagana’s promise was fulfilled when our young tenor made a brilliant debut at the San Carlo as the Duke in “Rigoletto” on 26 April 1925. A few evenings later, he returned to that glorious stage in “Tosca”, repeating his triumph. This engagement marked his “baptism” as both a great lyric tenor as well as an ardent actor, and he was soon offered lucrative contracts at many of the World’s theaters.
He was gifted with a harmonious, lyric instrument, of good timbre, able to rise effortlessly to top C, at times reminiscent of Caruso’s voice. He had an innate ability to create a particularly haunting and penetrating “pathos” which could draw the listener into the heart of any role he was interpreting. His technique gave him a sweetness, precision of attack, delicate timbre, an equalization that projected vibrancy throughout its range, and a perfect legato. His portamenti and fioratura were perfectly supported on the breath and his mezza voce and perfect intonation enabled him to hold his own in the company of such illustrious names as Beniamino Gigli, Tito Schipa, Dino Borgioli, Tomas Alcaide, Roberto d’Alessio, Giovanni Manurita and Giovanni Malipiero.
We will take a brief look at some of the many highlights of his career, starting first with his next season at the San Carlo. He sang thirty performances in the winter and spring of 1926, and added “La Boheme”, “Mefistofele”, “Boris Gudunov” and “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” to his growing repertoire. He was particularly pleased to be invited to sing in “La Traviata” at Trieste and Fiume with the celebrated Gilda dalla Rizza at such an early stage in his development, and he had a great success. His lyric talents were so appreciated that he was invited to sing in La Sonnambula at both Catania’s Massimo Bellini and the Regio of Parma in the following season.
La Scala beckoned in early 1928 and on 1 March he debuted in “La Figlia del Reggimento” with Toti dal Monte, who would become his wife before the year was over. Upon the conclusion of his Scala season, he sailed for Australia with a large group of artists including dal Monte, Giannina Arangi Lombardi, Hina Spani, Giuseppina Zinetti, Francesco Merli, Angelo Minghetti, Luigi Rossi Morelli, Apollo Granforte and Umberto de Lelio. He appeared over sixty times in six operas: “Lucia di Lammermoor”, “Il Barbiere di Siviglia”, “La Figlia del Rggimento”, “Les Contes D’Hoffmann”, “Rigoletto” and “Don Pasquale”.
Of his Almaviva, Argus reported: “His merits as a singer and actor became clearer as the evening progressed. His appearance was very much in his favor and when he got into his stride, the pleasing qualities of his voice began to reveal themselves”.
The Age commented: “one carries away unforgettable memories of a perfect tenor voice and a personality of exceptional charm.”
On 28 June, at a “by invitation only” banquet Toti and Enzo announced their engagement and, on 23 August, at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney, they were married in a ceremony that drew 25,000 people to the event. Arangi Lombardi and her husband were their official witnesses, and, as the wedding party emerged at the end of the ceremony, they lined up on the Cathedral steps and offered the Fascist salute to the huge throng. The publicity they received was enormous and they were besieged by photographers wherever they went, including during their brief honeymoon at Lake Macquarie. The marriage was a rebound affair on the part of dal Monte who had waited in vain for Luigi Montesanto to finally propose matrimony after a long and rocky relationship. Upon Toti’s arrival at Melbourne she gave herself two months to hear from him via letter or telegram. There was no communication though Montesanto later swore that he had written and that his letter had been lost. Her patience was at an end, and she chose the comfort of one who had made his intentions clear, one with whom she felt happy and who she thought would bring stability to her life.
The couple returned to Italy at the end of 1928, and on 12 January 1929 they appeared at La Scala in the World Premiere of Giordano’s “Il Re”. De Muro Lomanto received wider acclaim with each appearance, and he was applauded at Rome, Naples, Budapest, Milan, Vienna, Turin, Berlin, Paris, Antwerp, Florence, Palermo, Nice, Moscow, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Venice, Zurich and the Barcelona Liceo, among the most important operatic centers in Europe. When the couple visited Japan, China and Hong Kong in 1931 the greetings resembled those for royalty. Their pictures were seen everywhere and in each city there were official receptions for them attended by mayors and other social and political dignitaries. In Tokyo, alone there were six recitals.
But, all was not well. The marriage was a failure and even the birth of their only child, Mary, on 15 April 1930 could not save it. By the time Mary was two years of age they were living apart and on 7 December 1932 the separation was made final in a Milan courtroom.
Lomanto deeply resented the widely held opinion that it was only because of Toti that he had achieved a degree of success that would otherwise have been much less impressive. After the separation, he took particular delight in being able to prove to himself and the World that he could hold his own on the lyric stage. His successes were more than significant and among his many celebrated leading ladies were; Lina Pagliughi, Arangi Lombardi, Augusta Oltrabella, Bidu Sayao, Margherita Carosio, Magda Olivero, Iris Adami Corradetti, Iva Pacetti, Maria Zamboni, and Lina Bruna Rasa to name just a few. He was also very proud of the fact that he made a film in 1935 called “Porto” with some of Italy’s most famous actors: Irma Grammatica, Camillo Pilotto, Isa Pola and Elsa De Giorgi. It was directed by the very important Amleto Palermi.
In 1935, at Mascagni’s invitation he appeared on Italian Radio (EIAR) with Maria Carbone in “Lodoletta” and during the summer he toured throughout Italy with “La Sonnambula”. “La Nazione” of Florence noted that “The tenor, Enzo de Muro Lomanto repeated his success in the role of Elvino, which he sang with sweetness and passion. The audience was generous with its applause.”
In January of 1936 at Pesaro, he appeared in performances of “La Farsa Amorosa” conducted by Zandonai. Corriere Adriatico reported that “Enzo de Muro Lomanto sang most beautifully, displaying an almost ostentatious wealth of lovely tone”. In February, at Paris’ Palais Garnier, he sang in “Lucia di Lammermoor” with Margherita Perras. The autumn found him in the Netherlands where he sang Nadir in “Pearl Fishers” for the first time with Attilia Archi and the year ended with a notable success at Bari’s Teatro Petruzzelli in “L’amico Fritz”. The chronicle of that theater reported that “The tenor, de Muro Lomanto’s appearance was eagerly awaited by the audience. This famous artist proved to be an excellent singer with great stage presence. The “Cherry Duet” with the distinguished soprano, Mangini, was greeted with much applause”.
In the autumn of 1937 he traveled to South America for the only time in his career, appearing at Santiago’s Teatro Municipal in “Manon”, “Gioconda”, “Rigoletto”, “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” “La Traviata” and in concerts. The company included Conchita Velasquez, Vera Amerighi-Rutili, Giuseppe Taccani, Giovanni Breviario, Carlo Galeffi, and Antonio Righetti and the season was extended because of fine reviews and warm audience response. El Mercurio noted the “lovely tone of Enzo de Muro Lomanto” in Rigoletto, “a voice that is produced without any seeming effort”.
Kodaly’s “The Spinning Room” had its Naples premiere in March of 1939 and de Muro Lomanto had the honor of appearing in it. He had earlier appeared at the prestigious Fenice of Venice in “L’Heure Espagnol” and “Gianni Schicchi”. On 2 November, he sang for the only time in Verdi’s “Manzoni Requiem” with Italian Radio of Turin under the direction of Armando La Rosa Parodi. This afforded him the opportunity to sing again with Ebe Stignani, which experience he declared to have been among the most thrilling of his professional life.
By 1941 he was slowly but perceptibly reducing his performance schedule, which was partially the result of World War II and the ravages it brought to Italy, but also because of a deteriorating illness, bronchial asthma. Among the operas he sang in this period were “Ballo in Maschera”, “L’amico Fritz”, “La Sonnambula” and finally, “La Traviata”. With this, his debut role, he closed out his career on 6 June 1944 at Busto Arzisio. His failing health, combined with the sorrow of losing his sister and niece in an air raid bombing at Brescia forced him to make the difficult decision to retire from the stage. He continued to pursue commercial activities until his death at Milan on 15 March 1952 at the unfortunate age of fifty. Lung abcesses and the intrusive asthma had taken their toll. He was buried in the cemetery at Musocco near Milan and Toti placed a headstone on the grave with the inscription, “May the harmony freely bestowed by your song be your reward and glory in the immortal realms”
The recorded legacy of Enzo de Muro Lomanto, though not as vast as that of Beniamino Gigli or Tito Schipa is however, very large, especially in Neapolitan songs, of which he is and was considered a true artist. In his recordings we see a vast repertoire: ballads, opera arias and ensembles, Spanish songs, sacred music and patriotic songs, all of which were sung with a unique style and with a stunning idiomatic accent. He also recorded two complete operas; “Lucia di Lammermoor” and “Le Furie di Arlecchino”, leaving us a legacy of 107 sides.
© Bob Rideout