Giuseppe Nessi (25 September 1887 – 16 December 1961) was an Italian operatic tenor.

Life edit

Nessi was born in Bergamo, near Milan in Italy. He made his debut in Saluzzo in 1910, in the role of Alfredo in La Traviata.[1] However, on the advice of renowned Italian conductor Tullio Serafin, the majority of his career was focussed on character tenor roles.[2] He was La Scala's leading comprimario tenor between 1921 and 1959, and also performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and at the Salzburg Festival under Arturo Toscanini.[2] He created, among others, the roles of Pong in Turandot, the Priest in Il re, Donna Pasqua in Il campiello,[2] and an archer in Francesca da Rimini; in Zandonai's opera he would later regularly perform the role of Malatestino, which became one of his most notable parts together with Bardolph in Falstaff.[1]

Recordings edit

As a character tenor, Nessi was less likely than many other singers to be cast in a lead role. He does, however, play minor supporting roles on several important recordings, including:

References edit

  1. ^ a b Harold Rosenthal/R, "Nessi Giuseppe", in Sadie, Stanley (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Oxford University Press, 1997, III, p. 575.
  2. ^ a b c Rosenthal, Harold; & Warrack, John (1964). Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. London: Oxford University Press, p. 279
  3. ^ Listed in a Schwarzkopf discography here
  4. ^ Listed in a Callas discography here
  5. ^ Listed in a Callas discography here
  6. ^ The article Nicola Zaccaria cites John Ardoin's book The Callas Legacy as claiming that Giulio Mauri was a pseudonym of Zaccaria
  7. ^ Listed in a Callas discography here