Cesare Valletti
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Italian opera singer Cesare Valletti (18 December 1922 - 15 May 2000) was a highly regarded lyric tenor in the postwar era. He was appreciated for his polished vocal technique and beauty of tone.
[edit] Biography
Cesare Valletti was born in Rome 18 December 1922 (some sources say 1921). He studied music privately in Rome; among his teachers was Tito Schipa.
Valletti debuted in 1947 in Bari, singing Alfredo in La Traviata. He gradually built up his lyric repertory and appeared in smaller opera houses throughout Italy. He came to prominence in 1950 singing in Rome Il turco in Italia, opposite Maria Callas. In the same year he he began a five-year association with La Scala singing Fenton in Falstaff, a role he reprised when the company took the production to Covent Garden later that year.
In July 1951 Valletti went to Mexico City to sing La Traviata with Maria Callas. In September 1953 he made his USA debut at San Francisco in the title role of Werther, with Giulietta Simionato as Charlotte. He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in December that same year singing Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.
One of the highlights of his career came at La Scala in March 1955 when he partnered Callas in Bellini's La Sonnambula, conducted by Bernstein. This performance is considered one of the greatest bel canto live recordings, as both principals sing superbly and everyone is entirely committed to Bellini's work. In June 1958 Callas and Valletti sang together for the last time in a stunning performance of La Traviata at Covent Garden.
In 1958-1960 he was very active at the Metropolitan Opera, with 79 appearances there and another 35 with the company elsewhere in two seasons. His career at the Met finished abruptly in November 1960 when manager Rudolf Bing substituted Valletti after dress rehearsal in a new production of L'elisir d'amore. The dismissal had no clear reason and thereafter the tenor refused numerous offers to return.
In the 60s Valletti returned to Europe and was particularly popular at the Maggio Musicale in Firenze. He extended his range to art song, and became a highly respected recitalist. Valletti officially retired in 1967, but returned in 1968 to appear at the Caramoor Festival in New York. There he sang his last new role, Nerone in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea.
After retirement he flourished in a new career in his father-in-law's pasta machine making business. Valletti was married to Nicoletta Braibanti, a granddaughter of Italian composer Ildebrando Pizzetti.
Cesare Valletti died of a heart attack in Italy on 13 May 2000 while under treatment for liver cancer.
[edit] Recordings
Valletti is remembered mainly as a singer of Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini. He sang only two Verdi roles (La Traviata and Falstaff) and never sang Puccini on stage, though he recorded Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. However, his repertoire included works of Malipiero (La favola del figlio cambiato), Mascagni (L'amico Fritz) and Wolf-Ferrari (I quatro rusteghi). He also sang in earlier operatic music, such as Cavalli's Ercole Amante, Handel's Acis and Galatea and his last role in Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea. In French opera he sang often two works by Massenet: Manon and Werther.
His voice was a light lyric tenor (also known as tenore di grazia) with a rare beauty of tone. Strangely for a voice so light, his top notes were lacking. His impressive vocal technique was old school, allowing his small voice to project clearly even in large halls.
His singing was highly refined, with an elegance of musical line combined with dramatic awareness. This classy singing is evident in most of his studio records. In live performances he was less restrained, sometimes with impressive results (as in the famous La Sonnambula). As an actor in stage he was restrained, but he conveyed vocally all the emotional sincerity and dramatic conviction of a role.
Valletti recorded some complete operas in studio, and a few more were recorded live. Most of his finest roles are commercially available, although his beautiful song recordings have not been released on CD. He is featured in two opera films made by RAI for TV: L'elisir d'amore and Don Pasquale.
