Ettore Bergamaschi - Guardate pazzo son!
Ettore Bergamaschi (1884-1975) was born in Bologna and made his debut in Bari in 1912 in the minor role of Trin in the local premiere of La Fanciulla del West. He soon graduated to principal roles, singing leads in La Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Ernani, Un Ballo in Maschera, Aïda, Andrea Chénier, La Gioconda, Manon Lescaut, Il Tabarro, La Bohème, Tosca, Il Guarany, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Isabeau, La Wally, Il Piccolo Marat, L’Africana, Carmen, Thaïs and other operas. Apart from a four year stretch in South America (1916–1920) and a single engagement at La Scala in 1926, Bergamaschi’s career was essentially a provincial affair, with appearances in Genoa, Modena, Pisa, Cremona, Naples, Rovigo, Turin, Bologna, Palermo, Catania and other cities. At the age of forty-nine, Bergamaschi decided to bid farewell to the opera stage, citing the desire to bow out gracefully while his vocal resources were still intact. He devoted his time to teaching and demonstrated amazing vocal power well into old age (there are clips elsewhere on this channel of Bergamaschi at age 87!). He passed away in his hometown in 1975 at the ripe old age of ninety-one. Bergamaschi’s recordings were all made for Milan’s Fonografia Nazionale label in the mid to late 1920s. Here, the tenor sings "Guardate pazzo son!" from Puccini's Manon Lescaut.
Ettore Bergamaschi (1884-1975) was born in Bologna and made his debut in Bari in 1912 in the minor role of Trin in the local premiere of La Fanciulla del West. He soon graduated to principal roles, singing leads in La Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, Ernani, Un Ballo in Maschera, Aïda, Andrea Chénier, La Gioconda, Manon Lescaut, Il Tabarro, La Bohème, Tosca, Il Guarany, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Isabeau, La Wally, Il Piccolo Marat, L’Africana, Carmen, Thaïs and other operas. Apart from a four year stretch in South America (1916–1920) and a single engagement at La Scala in 1926, Bergamaschi’s career was essentially a provincial affair, with appearances in Genoa, Modena, Pisa, Cremona, Naples, Rovigo, Turin, Bologna, Palermo, Catania and other cities. At the age of forty-nine, Bergamaschi decided to bid farewell to the opera stage, citing the desire to bow out gracefully while his vocal resources were still intact. He devoted his time to teaching and demonstrated amazing vocal power well into old age (there are clips elsewhere on this channel of Bergamaschi at age 87!). He passed away in his hometown in 1975 at the ripe old age of ninety-one. Bergamaschi’s recordings were all made for Milan’s Fonografia Nazionale label in the mid to late 1920s. Here, the tenor sings "Guardate pazzo son!" from Puccini's Manon Lescaut.