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Classical Music Home > Gigli: Beniamino Gigli - A Life in Words and Music (KAY)

Gigli: Beniamino Gigli - A Life in Words and Music (KAY)

    

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Gigli: Beniamino Gigli - A Life in Words and Music (KAY)

A Life
Beniamino Gigli

Author and narrator: Graeme Kay
4 CDs
28-page booklet
ISBN: 1-84379-074-2
8.558148-51

Beniamino Gigli was heir to the crown of Enrico Caruso, the New York Metropolitan Opera's undisputed tenorissimo. Recordings from 1918 to the early 1950s offer a vivid testament to Gigli's natural vocal qualities: smoothness, warmth and lyric passion. Gigli was born to sing, and he used records, broadcasts and films to promote his music and career way beyond the confines of the opera house or concert hall. A country boy who made himself rich and famous, Gigli was a tenor in demand by the public, but also counted kings, princes, even Hitler and Mussolini, as ardent fans. In words and music, Graeme Kay explores the remarkable story of the man they called the 'bantam of the opera'.


Disc 1

  Gigli: A Life in Words and Music
1.   'I was born with a voice and very little else... ' / Ponchielli: 'Cielo e mar' from La Gioconda - 1918 00:05:22
2.   Family background 00:05:20
3.   Gigli's stage debut and poverty - stricken start 00:06:36
4.   Puccini: 'O soave fanciulla' from La Boheme - 1919 00:03:36
5.   Service in the household of Countess Spannocchi 00:03:19
6.   Donizetti: 'Spirto gentil' from La favorita - 1918 00:04:03
7.   Colonel Delfino, and Giovanni Zerri's legal agreement 00:05:01
8.   Cannio: O surdato 'nnammurato - 1918 00:02:26
9.   A hospital visit and a scholarship 00:02:18
10.   Mascagni: 'Ah! ritrovarla nella sua capanna' from Lodoletta - 1918 00:03:42
11.   Gigli graduates and makes his debut; he goes for the high B flat 00:06:31
12.   Puccini: 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca - 1918 00:02:56
13.   Marriage, Rome and a tour to Spain 00:04:13
14.   Mascagni: 'Apri la tua finestra!' from Iris - 1918 00:02:35
15.   A letter from Fred Gaisberg of HMV 00:04:15
16.   Mascagni: 'Mamma, quel vino e generoso' from Cavalleria rusticana - 1919 00:04:18
17.   Gigli conquers South America, and receives an offer from the Met 00:03:35
18.   Metropolitan Opera debut in Mefistofele 00:04:42
19.   Boito: 'Giunto sul passo estremo' from Mefistofele - 1921 00:03:27


Disc 2

  Gigli: A Life in Words and Music
1.   The critics' verdict, and more performances 00:04:41
2.   Donizetti: 'Tombe degl'avi miei' from Lucia di Lammermoor - 1927 00:04:40
3.   Gigli's fate becomes entwined with Caruso's 00:07:30
4.   Giordano: 'Un di all'azzurro spazio' from Andrea Chenier - 1922 00:04:26
5.   Who will be Caruso's successor 00:05:49
6.   Verdi: 'De'miei bollenti spiriti' from La traviata - 1928 00:04:22
7.   Life forms a regular pattern, and Gigli learns to sing in foreign languages 00:02:06
8.   Lalo: 'Vainement, ma bien aimee' from Le Roi d'Ys - 1922 00:03:26
9.   Manon at the Met 00:00:57
10.   Massenet: 'O dolce incanto' from Manon - 1931 00:03:36
11.   Catalani's Loreley 00:00:50
12.   Catalani: 'Nel verde maggio' from Loreley - 1923 00:02:28
13.   Summer in Italy, then back to New York and some physical training 00:04:33
14.   Gounod: 'Ah! ne fuis pas encore!' from Romeo et Juliette - 1923 00:02:14
15.   Honorary Captain of the NYPD 00:02:22
16.   Meyerbeer: 'O paradiso' from L'Africaine - 1928 00:03:57
17.   Flourishing finances and professional rivalries 00:04:49
18.   Crushing remarks; the attraction of radio 00:03:40
19.   Sullivan: The Lost Chord - 1931 00:04:29
20.   A new decade, and the honour of playing Nemorino at the Met 00:01:31
21.   Donizetti: 'Quanto e bella' from L'elisir d'amore - 1925 00:02:52


Disc 3

  Gigli: A Life in Words and Music
1.   Debuts in Paris and London, and London's critical reception 00:04:43
2.   Flotow: 'M'appari' [Ach! So fromm] from Mata [Martha] - 1929 00:03:39
3.   Crisis: the death of Gigli's mother, and tension at the Met 00:03:44
4.   Departure from the Met 00:04:28
5.   America's loss is Europe's gain 00:06:40
6.   Speech: Gigli in an interview at the Savoy Hotel, London - 1946 00:00:43
7.   Cherished London reviews 00:01:41
8.   Leoncavallo: 'No, Pagliacci non son!' from Pagliacci - 1934 00:03:14
9.   Recording reflects the drama 00:01:08
10.   Leoncavallo: 'Suvvia, cosi terribile' from Pagliacci - 1934 00:02:57
11.   Touring, Gigli's working relationships, and a new turn of events 00:05:59
12.   De Curtis: Non ti scorder di me - 1935 00:03:17
13.   Film popularity, Hitler and Goebbels, and the Caracalla tradition 00:04:44
14.   Puccini: 'Che gelida manina' from La Boheme - 1938 00:04:25
15.   Voice expert John Steane's recommendation 00:00:28
16.   Puccini: ' O soave fanciulla' from La Boheme - 1938 00:03:34
17.   A new recording of Tosca 00:02:41
18.   Puccini: 'Recondita armonia' from Tosca - 1938 00:02:49
19.   Patience and hard work produce 'a perfrect set of master recordings' 00:02:36
20.   Puccini: 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca - 1938 00:02:41
21.   A return to America and the Met 00:04:34
22.   Verdi: 'Ingemisco' from the Requiem - 1939 00:03:39
23.   The recording of Madama Butterfly 00:00:37
24.   Puccini: Closing moments of Act I, Madama Butterfly - 1939 00:04:18


Disc 4

  Gigli: A Life in Words and Music
1.   War keeps Gigli in Italy 00:02:56
2.   Introductory speech to Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni - 1940 00:00:50
3.   Translation of the speech 00:00:58
4.   Mascagni: 'Mamma, quel vino e generoso' from Cavalleria rusticana - 1940 00:04:45
5.   More role debuts, Gigli's wartime films, and Andrea Chenier 00:06:41
6.   Giordano: 'Un di all'azzurro spazio' from Andrea Chenier - 1941 00:05:09
7.   John Steane's verdict 00:00:28
8.   Giordano: 'Come un bel di di maggio' from Andrea Chenier - 1941 00:03:04
9.   Rome Opera House rallies wartime spirits 00:01:06
10.   Verdi: 'Teco io sto - Gran Dio' from Un ballo in maschera - 1943 00:01:21
11.   Verdi: 'Non sai tu che se l'anima mia' from Un ballo in maschera - 1943 00:03:33
12.   Verdi: 'Oh, qual soave brivido' from Un ballo in maschera - 1943 00:03:24
13.   Gigli's political affiliations 00:06:32
14.   Verdi: 'Celeste Aida' from Aida - 1946 00:04:36
15.   Postwar Italy: an HMV manager's report 00:01:00
16.   Verdi: 'Pui ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida' from Aida - 1946 00:03:15
17.   Covent Garden with Rina, then a tour of Britian and Ireland 00:06:18
18.   Speech given by Gigli after a concert at the Royal Albert Hall - 1952 00:00:42
19.   The final phase - and no thoughts of retirement 00:02:47
20.   Di Veroli: Ritorna amore - 1952 00:03:34
21.   A last visit to the USA 00:01:14
22.   Cottrau: Santa Lucia - 1949 00:03:06
23.   Gigli's death, his obituaries, and his place in the tenor lineage 00:09:04
24.   Meyerbeer: 'O paradiso' from L'Africaine (ending) - 1928 00:02:28

Total Playing Time: 05:11:43






Artist(s):
Kay, Graeme

Label: Naxos Educational

Series: A Life

Genre: Music Biographies

Catalogue No: 8.558148-51

Barcode: 0636943814826

Distribution Note(s):

Not available in the United States due to possible copyright restrictions.


Physical Release: 03/2004
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