Giovanni Martinelli

This article is about the Italian tenor. For the Florentine Baroque painter, seeGiovanni Martinelli (painter).For the Libyan bishop, seeGiovanni Innocenzo Martinelli.

Giovanni Martinelli(22 October 1885 – 2 February 1969) was an Italian operaticspinto tenor.He was associated with the Italian lyric-dramatic repertory, although he performed French operatic roles to great acclaim as well. Martinelli was one of the most famous tenors of the 20th century, enjoying a long career at theMetropolitan OperainNew York Cityand appearing at other major international theatres.

Giovanni Martinelli

Biography and career

Martinelli was born 22 October 1885 inMontagnana,Province of Padua,Venetoin theKingdom of Italy.After service as a clarinetist in a military band, he studied with Giuseppe Mandolini inMilan,and made his first operatic appearance in 1908 as the messenger inAida.On 29 December 1910, Martinelli made his professional debut at theTeatro dal VermeinErnani.

On 12 June 1911, Martinelli debuted inRomeas Dick Johnson inLa fanciulla del West;he would continue singing in that role elsewhere in Italy includingLa Scalain 1912.Martinelli made his London debut at theRoyal Opera Houseas Cavaradossi inToscaon 22 April 1912. Martinelli's debut at theMetropolitan Operatook place 20 November 1913, as Rodolfo inLa Bohème,where the young tenor's easy high C and pure, silvery tone attracted favorable attention; he was a Met mainstay for 32 seasons, with 926 performances of 36 roles, appearing most often as Radames inAida;Otello;Manrico inIl trovatore;Don Alvaro inLa forza del destino;Calaf inTurandotand Dick Johnson inLa fanciulla del West;but also as Arnold inGuglielmo Tell;Eleazar inLa Juive;Enzo inLa Gioconda;Don Jose inCarmen;Vasco de Gama inL'Africaine;Canio inPagliacci;Pollione inNorma.He also sang inBoston,San FranciscoandChicago,often trying out new roles there, before singing them at the Met.

Outside the United States, Martinelli appeared inParisandBuenos Airesduring his prime but – oddly enough – his native Italy did not hear him at his peak. In 1937, he returned to London to sing at the Covent Garden in highly acclaimed performances ofOtelloand as Calaf, opposite the exceptionally powerful English dramatic sopranoEva Turner.Martinelli retired from the stage in 1950, although he gave one final performance in 1967 – at the age of 81 – as Emperor Altoum inTurandot,in Seattle. During retirement he taught singing in New York, where one of his pupils was tenorJack Harrold.

Martinelli was essentially aspintotenor of steely brilliance, commanding a stronghigh C;his rigorously controlled technique gave him exceptional breath control, although it did not eschew some occasional tightness and squeezing out of notes, particularly during the later phase of his career.

In 1945, Martinelli retired from singing on stage but continued to make occasional appearances at charity recitals.Martinelli sang as Samson inPhiladelphiain 1950 and as the emperor in a Seattle concert ofTurandotin 1967.

He died 2 February 1969, aged 83, atRoosevelt HospitalinNew York City.

Giovanni Martinelli and his wife, Adele, at theMetropolitan Operaon 12 November 1915.

Personal life

In private life Martinelli was said to be something of a playboy, possessing a charming personality, a wealth of memorable anecdotes and an impressive head of hair that grew silver with age. He was married to Adele Previtali (d. 1980) from 7 August 1913 until his death; they had three children: Bettina (born 1915), Antonio (born 1917), and Giovanna (born 1926). SopranoColette D'Arvillewas his lover during the 1930s and 1940s.

His sense of humour was notorious, as was his criticism of other singers. Once, after listening to a baritone bellow the title role of Otello, he quipped "he sings it like a truck driver." A friend asked him what he thought of a famous American singer who also did the role. "Ah, now, he sings it like the truck".

Recordings

Martinelli made a large number of commercial recordings forEdisonand theVictor Talking Machine Company/RCA Victorby the acoustic and electrical processes which are available on LP and CD reissues. Some feature other great Met singers of Martinelli's day, with whom he sang, include the sopranosFrances Alda,Geraldine FarrarandRosa Ponselle,contraltoLouise Homer,baritonesGiuseppe De LucaandLawrence Tibbett,and the bassEzio Pinza.

Transcriptionrecordings were made of some of his live performances, including a 1935 concert ofBeethoven'sMissa SolemniswithArturo Toscaniniand theNew York Philharmonic Orchestra(which also featuredElisabeth Rethberg,Marion Telva,andEzio Pinza,broadcast byCBS), a 1939 performance ofVerdi'sSimon Boccanegraby theMetropolitan Opera,also with Rethberg and Pinza (broadcast byNBC), and variousOtellosfrom the 1930s onwards—including a 1941 version withLawrence Tibbett,Stella Roman,andAlessio de Paolis,underEttore Panizza.Some of these transcriptions have been issued on LP and CD.

On 6 August 1926, Martinelli appeared in aVitaphoneshort film, singing "Vesti la giubba"fromPagliacci,one of eight short films shown before theWarner Brothersfeature filmDon JuanstarringJohn Barrymore.

Several episodes of aDuMontTV series hosted by him calledOpera Cameos(1953–55) are in the collection of thePaley Center for Media.

Sources

• D. Hamilton, ed. (1987).The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera.New York: Simon and Schuster.ISBN0-671-61732-X.
• Roland Mancini and Jean-Jacques Rouveroux, (orig. H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, French edition),Guide de l’opéra,Les indispensables de la musique (Fayard, 1995).ISBN2-213-59567-4
• Harold Rosenthal and John Warrack,The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera,second edition, (Oxford University Press, London, 1980).
• J. B. Steane,The Grand Tradition(Duckworth, London, 1974).

External links

• Official website(in Italian)(English version to follow)
• History of the Tenor / Giovanni Martinelli / Sound Clips and Narration
• Giovanni MartinelliatIMDb
• Giovanni Martinelli recordingsat theDiscography of American Historical Recordings.