Aureliano Pertile (November 9, 1885, Montagnana - January 11, 1952, Milan) was an Italian tenor. He is considered to have been one of the most exciting Italian operatic artists of the inter-war period, and one of the most important tenors of the 20th century.

Life and career

Pertile was born in Montagnana, Italy, 18 days after the birth of another celebrated tenor, Giovanni Martinelli, in the same town. He studied with Orefice in Padua, and Bavognoli in Milan, before making his operatic debut as as Lyonel in Martha, in 1911, in Vicenza.

After singing in regional Italy and South America, Pertile first sang at the premier Italian opera house, La Scala, Milan, in 1916. He appeared on this occasion as Paolo in Francesca da Rimini, opposite Rosa Raïsa. Pertile made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca, opposite Maria Jeritza, on December 1, 1921. In his only season at The Met, his other roles included des Grieux in Manon Lescaut, Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana, Grigori in Boris Godunov (opera), with Feodor Chaliapin, Radames in Aida, the title role in Pagliacci, opposite Florence Easton, and Julien in Louise, with Geraldine Farrar. He also participated in Met performances of Louise in Philadelphia and Brooklyn.

Thereafter he returned to Italy, where he established himself as the leading tenor at La Scala from 1927 to 1937, and becoming a favorite of the conducter Arturo Toscanini. His La Scala repertory also included the title role in Lohengrin (opera), Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (in Italian), Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, with Toti dal Monte, Alfredo in La traviata, Osaka in Iris, Rodolfo in La bohème, the title part in Andrea Chenier, Manrico in Il trovatore, Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Il Duca in Rigoletto, Alvaro in La forza del destino, Pollione in Norma, Loris in Fedora, Werther, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, Fernand in La Favorite, Fra Diavolo. He created Boito's Nerone, in 1924, Wolf-Ferrari's Sly, in 1927, Mascagni's Nerone, in 1935.

In all his La Scala roles, Pertile achieved compelling dramatic results despite possessing a voice that was not especially suave or beautiful. It was sometimes even described by critics as "bruta" (ugly). He was particularly effective in Verdi roles and verismo opera, bringing a rare emotional intensity to his performances.

Pertile also sang at the Royal Opera House in London from 1927 to 1931, and at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires in 1923-29. His final stage appearances were in 1946, in Pagliacci. He then taught at the Milan Conservatory until his death in 1952.

Recordings

In 1995, all of his recordings (made from 1922 to 1942, the final discs being excerpts from Otello with Gina Cigna) were issued in an album (with the accompanying monograph, La voce e l'arte di Aureliano Pertile) from TIMAClub, excepting his three complete operas: Aïda (with Dusolina Giannini, 1928), Il trovatore (1930) and Carmen (in Italian translation, 1932). The Preiser company has also issued CDs of his recordings.

Sources

• D. Hamilton (ed.),The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia: A Complete Guide to the World of Opera (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1987). ISBN 0-671-16732-X
• Harold Rosenthal and John Warrack, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Oxford University Press, second edition, London, 1980).
• J.B. Steane, The Grand Tradition (Duckworth, London, 1974).

Bibliography

• Aureliano Pertile e il suo metodo di canto, by D. Silvestrini, 1932.
• Pertile, una voce, un mito, by Bruno Tosi, 1985.

External links

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NPkIIYqqVA YouTube: Aureliano Pertile in an excerpt from Manon Lescaut (audio only).

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