# Are any of you knowledgeable about Mario del Monaco???



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I am very late to the game discovering Mario. His looks, acting and thrilling high notes are enticing me into maybe doing an opera talk on him for Toastmasters. His Wikipedia entry sounds sort of boring. Would he be a boring subject to speak on or if you are familiar with his life, do you think his life might be interesting to a crowd that is operatically ignorant except for what I've told them in past speeches. In the Trovatore video on Youtube he is very handsome from some angles. His high C is out of this world.


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Not much, but I thought this was a great video -


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Some facts about him that might interest you. His pluses were power galore and of course he looked the part of a god.
His later career found him missing a tad below the high note, not unlike that of Renata Tebaldi who suffered from the same problem. He brought thrills and chills but he was not able to diminuendo very well.
It might be interesting to play up the reactions of his biggest competitor, Franco Corelli, and do a comparison study of the two, showing their fights, their jealousies of one another, and how, at the end of Del Monaco's life, Corelli went to visit him in a very touching scene.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

Interview with him in his later years. I found this interesting, and at the end, quite moving.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

nina foresti said:


> Some facts about him that might interest you. His pluses were power galore and of course he looked the part of a god.
> His later career found him missing a tad below the high note, not unlike that of Renata Tebaldi who suffered from the same problem. He brought thrills and chills but he was not able to diminuendo very well.
> It might be interesting to play up the reactions of his biggest competitor, Franco Corelli, and do a comparison study of the two, showing their fights, their jealousies of one another, and how, at the end of Del Monaco's life, Corelli went to visit him in a very touching scene.


I've done a speech on Corelli and they loved it. This is the type of stuff I was looking for, darlin'.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Op.123 said:


> Not much, but I thought this was a great video -


O M G he is so sexy!!!!!!! And to think Corelli was also singing at the same time!!!!!!!!!! So many riches!!!!


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

He was born into a well to do family and really loved singing. He still had his share of tenor tantrums. He was supposed to perform Il Trovatore with Callas at La Scala in 1955, but he said he wasn't in good enough voice for that role, so they switched to Andrea Chenier. In his last filmed interview you can clearly how sad he is, because he is no longer able to perform. In the beginning apparently his voice didn't carry beyond the third row. He apparently had a pretty complicated technique, but it worked wonders and he had a huge voice and it also abled him to give thrilling performances even when he was sick. One example is Celeste Aida form 1961 in Japan. He is clearly not at his best that night, but he is still able to thrill at the end of the aria. He never sang it like Verdi intended it to be sung, but who cares. 

He loved cars and was in a bad car accident in 1963. He apparently couldn't believe how he could get injured doing something he loved to do. He had to do dialysis from that point on and his voice and his health were never the same. In the end he would end up dying many years later from issues related to the accident. He could still give thrilling performances, but not in the same way as before. He could sing softly, but after the accident only on good days. He could do restrained performances and his E la solita storia is a great example of that. He was great with Callas in Aida from Mexico in 1951 and Norma from La Scala in 1955. He is most famous as Otello. He performed it hundreds of times, and was even buried in his Otello costume. 

There was an American woman named Irene Mayer who was blind. But when Mario was singing she could in the audience tell what he was doing on stage. It is mentioned in Del Monaco’s official website. He had his rivalry with Corelli and Pavarotti said that Corelli’s vocal cords of steel used to drive Del Monaco crazy. He had great respect for Di Stefano and said he was the best lyric tenor since the great Gigli. Both Di Stefano and Corelli would visit or call him sometimes after he retired to enquire how he was doing. Del Monaco said in his last interview that Corelli would still call him when he went to Cortina d'Ampezzo and ask how he was doing. He would also ask about some vocal matter, since both of them were fanatic about technique.

He was a great live performer with an amazing voice. His voice was never really captured on microphone and he is said to have sounded much better live. He was a very dramatic actor and he portrayed things like jealousy, anger and madness really well. He said that he was performing for the cheap seats, because he knew those were real fans. He said that because of that he would do big gestures so they could see what he was doing. He wasn’t the tallest of tenors so he used to wear platform shoes during performances.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

I will use the opportunity - can anyone give some good recommendations for MDM's recordings? I think I've only listened to his Otello in Karajan's recording. As Seattleoperafan, I also discovered him only quite recently.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Diminuendo said:


> He was born into a well to do family and really loved singing. He still had his share of tenor tantrums. He was supposed to perform Il Trovatore with Callas at La Scala in 1955, but he said he wasn't in good enough voice for that role, so they switched to Andrea Chenier. In his last filmed interview you can clearly how sad he is, because he is no longer able to perform. In the beginning apparently his voice didn't carry beyond the third row. He apparently had a pretty complicated technique, but it worked wonders and he had a huge voice and it also abled him to give thrilling performances even when he was sick. One example is Celeste Aida form 1961 in Japan. He is clearly not at his best that night, but he is still able to thrill at the end of the aria. He never sang it like Verdi intended it to be sung, but who cares.
> 
> He loved cars and was in a bad car accident in 1963. He apparently couldn't believe how he could get injured doing something he loved to do. He had to do dialysis from that point on and his voice and his health were never the same. In the end he would end up dying many years later from issues related to the accident. He could still give thrilling performances, but not in the same way as before. He could sing softly, but after the accident only on good days. He could do restrained performances and his E la solita storia is a great example of that. He was great with Callas in Aida from Mexico in 1951 and Norma from La Scala in 1955. He is most famous as Otello. He performed it hundreds of times, and was even buried in his Otello costume.
> 
> ...


You are so kind to write all of that. I feel a speech coming on!!!!!!!!!!


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

annaw said:


> I will use the opportunity - can anyone give some good recommendations for MDM's recordings? I think I've only listened to his Otello in Karajan's recording. As Seattleoperafan, I also discovered him only quite recently.


Live performances are the best. He is a stage animal. For example live with Callas in Aida in Mexico in 1951 and Norma in La Scala in 1955. I prefer his earlier Otello recording with Erede. Both Del Monaco and Tebaldi in better vocal condition. Del Monaco is at his best before hisd car accident in 1963. He has some filmed performances, which you can get from Vaimusic:

Otello 1959 Japan with Gabriella Tucci and Tito Gobbi
Pagliacci 1961 Japan with Tucci and Aldo Protti
Andrea Chenier 1961 Japan with Renata Tebaldi and Protti
Aida 1961 Japan with Tucci, Protti and Giulietta Simionato.

I mainly listen to his live performances, but his Decca recitals collection is great. It doesn't have Vesti la giubba or any arias form Otello. So if you listen from Spotify or Tidal you might want to make a playlist and add these to it. His voice was difficult to capture on microphones and in the Decca recitals you can hear how he sounds different depending on the recital. I love that collection and it has great variety of arias and songs. He even sang a few songs in english like Tonight from West Side Story. I really like how he sings them and his accent. It's so funny when the chorus starts singing and they are so much better in english than MDM. One of my favorites is his studio version of Giulietta son io from Giulietta e Romeo. He sang it a few times in concerts, but I think the studio version is the best. He also recorded some Wagner arias. His german isn't that great, but it's a pity that he didn't do more with Wagner. His E la solita storia is a must listen also. In the recital there is also a few religious songs with an organ. His voice fits these perfectly. Just imagine a church concert with Mario accompanied with an organ.










Also this live performance of Vesti la giubba is a must. He acted better in live performances of the opera, but the voice is just...


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> You are so kind to write all of that. I feel a speech coming on!!!!!!!!!!


It's always important to spread the word on talented individuals no matter what the profession. Super Mario as I like to call him definately deserves it!


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Just as a codicil to Diminuendo's post, may I elaborate on the story of the 1955 change of repertoire. The scheduled opera was indeed *Il Trovatore*, the role of Leonora being something of a Callas speciality. It was also the only opera she was to sing that season that wasn't a new production, the others being the Visconti productions of *La Vestale*, *La Sonnambula*, *La Traviata* and the Zeffirelli *Il Turco in Italia*. According to the then general manager of La Scala, Antonio Ghiringhelli,



> Originally, we had scheduled *Il Trovatore*, with Mario Del Monaco, Maria Callas, Ebe Stignani, and Aldo Protti. But Del Monaco suddenly decided he was too sick to Manrico. Nevertheless, he felt well enough to do *Andrea Chénier*...What could we do? We made the substitution.


Some thought Del Monaco asked for the subsitution in the hope Callas would step down as he didn't want to share the limelight with her. Callas would have been perfectly within her rights to step down, but she learned the role of Maddalena in five days!

In the recording that exists of the first night, Del Monaco shows precious little sign of any vocal disposition and scores a tremendous success. Though Callas sings with her customary musical intelligence, she makes less of an impression in a secondary role that requires little more than vocal amplitude, which, by this time, was not her forte. La Scala audiences at that time were divided between Tebaldi and Callas supporters and those in the Tebaldi camp even claimed that Callas had asked for the subsitution in a move to appropriate one of Tebaldi's roles. This is quite ridiculous as she would have been far more likely to walk away with the honours if she had been singing Leonora. In any case, Callas's next opera at La Scala, the Visconti/Bernstein *La Sonnambula* firmly crowned her queen of La Scala and Tebaldi departed to claim a foothold at the Met.

There are stories of other disputes between Callas and Del Monaco, with Del Monaco at one time trying to stop her making a solo curtain call after a performance of *Norma* at La Scala. In her masterclass on the duet for Amneris and Radames _L'aboritta rivale_, from *Aida* she advises the mezzo,



> At the end of the duet, breathe just before the F-sharp of 'si'. You will need plenty of breath here not only for the crescendo you must make with the tenor on the G, but because he will probably, I'm sorry to say, scream his head off. This is not very elegantly put, but it is all too true.


I often wonder whether she was thinking specifically of Del Monaco, though of course she had also sung with Kurt Baum!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

During the recording of Otello with Karajan he annoyed HvK by coming late (an unwise thing to do) so when he sang ‘Exultate’ Karajan cut the orchestra from under him, not once, but six times in succession. Culshaw reckoned it was like giving the tenor ‘six of the best’


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## Diminuendo (May 5, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> There are stories of other disputes between Callas and Del Monaco, with Del Monaco at one time trying to stop her making a solo curtain call after a performance of *Norma* at La Scala. In her masterclass on the duet for Amneris and Radames _L'aboritta rivale_, from *Aida* she advises the mezzo,
> 
> At the end of the duet, breathe just before the F-sharp of 'si'. You will need plenty of breath here not only for the crescendo you must make with the tenor on the G, but because he will probably, I'm sorry to say, scream his head off. This is not very elegantly put, but it is all too true.
> 
> I often wonder whether she was thinking specifically of Del Monaco, though of course she had also sung with Kurt Baum!


I think she may have been talking about tenors overall


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Diminuendo said:


> I think she may have been talking about tenors overall


I doubt she'd have included Valetti, Kraus or Vickers and she probably wasn't thinking of Di Stefano either (just think of the finesse they achieve in the duet from *Lucia di Lammermoor*) but she had certanly sung with plenty of belters.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Diminuendo said:


> Live performances are the best. He is a stage animal. For example live with Callas in Aida in Mexico in 1951 and Norma in La Scala in 1955. I prefer his earlier Otello recording with Erede. Both Del Monaco and Tebaldi in better vocal condition. Del Monaco is at his best before hisd car accident in 1963. He has some filmed performances, which you can get from Vaimusic:
> 
> Otello 1959 Japan with Gabriella Tucci and Tito Gobbi
> Pagliacci 1961 Japan with Tucci and Aldo Protti
> ...


The last video will be used in my speech. Riveting. So exciting in his acting and the top so easy. God, he was gorgeous!


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

annaw said:


> I will use the opportunity - can anyone give some good recommendations for MDM's recordings? I think I've only listened to his Otello in Karajan's recording. As Seattleoperafan, I also discovered him only quite recently.


My top two recommendations for studio recordings that represent Del Monaco at his best are: 
1. Giordano's Andrea Chènier (Tebaldi, Bastianini; Gavazzeni, cond.)








2. La Gioconda (Cerquetti, Simionato, Bastianini, Siepi; Gavazzeni, cond.)


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

Diminuendo said:


> Live performances are the best. He is a stage animal. For example live with Callas in Aida in Mexico in 1951 and Norma in La Scala in 1955. I prefer his earlier Otello recording with Erede. Both Del Monaco and Tebaldi in better vocal condition. Del Monaco is at his best before hisd car accident in 1963. He has some filmed performances, which you can get from Vaimusic:
> 
> Otello 1959 Japan with Gabriella Tucci and Tito Gobbi
> Pagliacci 1961 Japan with Tucci and Aldo Protti
> ...


Oh yes, I've been listening to this recital disc a lot these last few days! Thank you, and everyone else, for recommendations!


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

One of Del Monaco's excellent live recordings is Berlioz Les Troyens/ I Troiani at La Scala in 1960


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## Tuoksu (Sep 3, 2015)

I'm shocked by the stories about his rivalry with Callas :lol: Corelli I could get, but Callas? I'm glad his pettiness didn't deprive us of such a dream combination, but now all the lovely photos of them together in Norma and Chenier etc look very different.

Another thing that shocked me about MDM was his speaking voice!! It's so soft, sweet and gentle!

Singers back in the day were generally much pettier than today. In this tv appearance he gets mad at Gigi Ballista saying things like "try to sing di quella pira like we do"






Here I was shocked to learn he has blue/grey eyes! He was so hot even with that mustache:






Here you can hear him sing Violetta (now we know why he was so jealous of Callas):


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

I'm going to revive this once again. Any thoughts on MDM's _Ernani_ recordings?


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

annaw said:


> I'm going to revive this once again. Any thoughts on MDM's _Ernani_ recordings?


The RAI recording from 1958 is my preference 





It's a concert performance and the sound quality is excellent for the time. I may be in the minority but I think Mario actually sounds on better form here than in the 1957 Florence recording which on paper has the starry cast. Araujo sounds younger and lighter-voiced here than Cerquetti or Milanov and I'm a fan of Sereni and Siepi so that's a bonus.

Del Monaco is definitely more relaxed-sounding here than at the Met in 1956 where for better or worse he sounded turbo-charged: one of those recordings where I find him a little too hectoring and loud. The voices were closely recorded which is certainly vivid: Milanov and Warren can be powerful singers so it is a big grand performance.

The 1961 Santini set has Mario sounding relaxed but the cast is arguably no better than the RAI and the sound quality is not so good so I don't really listen to it very often.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

Revitalized Classics said:


> The RAI recording from 1958 is my preference
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks! I'll check these out! Out of pure interest I listened do an excerpt from the 1956 Met and "turbo-charged" seems to be an accurate description :lol:.


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