APOLLO
GRANFORTE
(b.
in Legnago 1886 d. in Milan 1975)
The
life
Apollo
Granforte was born in the town of Legnago, a commune of Verona,
on 20 July, 1886. Brought up in a humble family, the youngster
found that he had a very imposing voice and, without formal
training, attempted an operatic career as a tenor. He made
little impression at his debut in Legnago 1905 as Arturo Bucklaw
(Lucia di Lammermoor). The local reviewer wrote Granforte
had a volcanic voice but sang with little finesse. After a
few more disappointing attempts in several towns around Verona,
he decided to give away a career in opera. In late 1905, he
migrated to Rosario, Argentina , where he went to work as
a cobbler.
A
music lover funded his education at the Buenos Aires Conservatory,
where Apollo studied for nine solid years. In March 1914,
he debuted as a baritone at the Rosario Politeama in the role
of Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), followed by Scarpia (Tosca),
Marcello (La Boheme), Amonasro (Aida), Figaro (Il Barbiere
di Siviglia), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana) and in The Passion
and Death of Jesus by Galleani. His success was enormous and
he immediately received invitations to appear at all provincial
theatres of Argentina. By 1915, he had appeared at Buenos
Aires, the Solis of Montevideo and, in Brazil, at Pelotas,
Rio Grande and Porto Alegre .
During
World War I, Apollo returned to Italy. Being a fervent patriot,
he fought in battle but continued his operatic career. In
1916, he appeared in Rome at the Teatro Costanzi and in Milan
at the Teatro Dal Verme. In 1921, he was engaged by La Scala
where he remained a pillar of the company until the break
of World War II. As a guest artist, he frequently appeared
in France, Australia (in Nellie Melba's own opera company),
England and South America. Apollo created several roles, the
most famous of which was Menecrate in Mascagni's Nerone, on
16 January 1935 at la Scala. During the early 1940s, in the
twilight of his career, he appeared in Trieste and various
other Italian cities.
Escamillo
(Carmen)
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His
farewell to the operatic stage was on 26 February, 1943, in
Pizzetti's Fedra at the Teatro Verdi of Trieste. Iva Pacetti
sang the title role and Gianandrea Gavazzeni, his long time
and good friend, conducted. In 1945, he became the Director
of the Ankara Conservatory and Leyla Gencer's teacher. After
an assignment at the Opera House of Prague, he returned to
Milan and opened a music school where one of the graduates
was Raffaele Arie. He continued to participate in musical
life well into his eighties and was often invited to sit on
panels during music competitions. Apollo Granforte died on
11 June 1975 at Gorgonzola, a suburb of Milan.
The
voice
Apollo
Granforte belonged to an incredible group of great Italian
baritones, including Amato, Franci, De Luca, Ruffo, Stracciari,
Sammarco, Galeffi, Stabile, Viglione Borghese, Formichi and
Ancona . Each was unique: either actor or stentorian voice
or stylist but very few, from recorded and written evidence,
combined the best of these qualities. Granforte was one of
them. Reviews of live performances confirm his superb acting
ability as well as his voluminous sound.
He
had a major career, which encompassed over 1500 performances
and took him to just about every major theatre in South America
as well as to Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Switzerland,
Hungary and Yugoslavia . His voice was one of the loudest
and most vibrant instruments in the recorded annals. Yet,
musicality and taste are present in all his complete recordings,
especially I Pagliacci, Tosca, Il Trovatore and Otello.
Selecting
three recordings to illustrate Granforte's superb sound and
vocal interpretation is not an easy task.
The
celebrated aria "O, du, mein holder Abendstern" of act III
from Tannhauser, the rejected Wolfram's afflicted song to
the enchanting night star, is superbly interpreted and sung
in Italian. Granforte was a master of the best Italian tradition
in the Wagnerian repertoire and the aria illustrates it.
The
very melodic trio "Veglia, o donna, questo fiore" of act I
from Rigoletto, perceiving the fatherly affection Rigoletto
holds for his daughter Gilda kept in a secret abode and the
way he addresses Giovanna, custodian of Gilda, is eloquently
and warmly executed.
In
the ensemble "Innaffia l'ugola" of act I from Otello, Jago
is drawn by hate towards his master Otello, begins to plot
against him and involves the favourite captain Cassio in a
drinking bout. In the ensemble, Granforte interprets the perfidious
Jago with an almost perfect blending of superb vocality and
characterization.
Audio
files (in progressive release)
1.
R. Wagner - Tannhauser
O
tu bell'astro incantator
Tannhauser
- act III...............................3:43
(21/10/06)
2.
G. Verdi - Rigoletto
Ah
veglia o donna - trio Granforte, Saraceni and Mannarini
Rigoletto
- act I....................................3:12
(28/10/06)
3.
G. Verdi - Otello
Innaffia
l'ugola - ensemble Granforte, Girardi, Palai and chorus
Otello
- act I........................................2.42
(3/11/06)
(j.f.)
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”There
is one thing to be said for glory - you can take glory
with you, when it is your time to go”