Charles Richard (Tenor) (Paris 1901 – Paris 1960)

                                                                Cavaradossi

The child of American parents, Charles Richard grew up in England and after brief voice training began singing in variety in France. He then turned to operetta and eventually moved into opera at the end of the 1930's. He appeared in various houses in the French provinces, sang from 1943 to 1945 at the Opera in Marseille and in 1945 was invited to the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where his debut was as des Grieux in Massenet's ''Manon''. He remained one of the leading tenors in the house until 1956, specializing in the French and Italian repertoire including Vincent in ''Mireille'', Wilhelm Meister in ''Mignon'', Gérald in ''Lakmé'', Jean in ''Le jongleur de Notre Dame'', Alfredo in ''La traviata'', Rodolfo in ''La bohème'', Pinkerton, Cavaradossi, and the title rôle in ''Werther''. He continued to make guest appearances, including the Opera at Monte Carlo in 1947 (as Nicias in Massenet's Thaïs), in 1950-51 at the Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and also in the major houses in the French provinces. He frequently took part in opera productions on French radio.

Chronology of some appearances

1943-1945 Marseille Opera

1947 Monte Carlo Opera

1945-1956 Paris Opéra-Comique

1950-1951 Brussels Théâtre de la Monnaie

RECORDINGS FOR SALE 

Columbia, 1930-04-24
Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach): Scintille diamant RFX10 WLBX1

HMV, Paris 1944-05-11 
Mignon (Thomas): Adieu Mignon DB11119 2LA4283
Mignon (Thomas): Elle ne croyait pas DB11119 2LA4284
Mireille (Gounod): Anges du paradis    

Edison Bell

Un soir de réveillon (Moretti): Ninon (ne me dites pas non) FS 1151 PR 612

Edmond Tirmont (Tenor) (Abbeville 1883 – Paris 1985)

He was a pupil of the  Paris Conservatoire and began his career as as an operetta singer before 1910. In 1912 he appeared at the Paris Scala in Leo Fall's ''Dollar princess''. In 1913 he joined to the Opéra-Comique in Paris. In 1914 he appeared at the Opéra-Comique in the title role of the biblical opera ''Joseph'' of Méhul. In 1913 he sang at the Théâtre of the Champs Elysées in Paris the role of Dimitri in ''Boris Godunov'' with Eugenio Giraldoni in the title part. His career stretched till the 1930's and still in 1932 he appeared in Amsterdam in J. Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann".

Chronology of some appearances

1912 Paris Scala

1913 Paris Théâtre of the Champs Elysées

1914 Paris Opéra-Comique

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Gramophone, Paris 1911-07-08

Fille du Tambour-Major (Offenbach): C'est un billet de logement with Régis, Dupouy & Payan 34284 16532u

Gramophone, Paris 1911-07-13
Mireille (Gounod): O Magali with Martyl 034106 01992v

Gramophone, Paris 1912-05-03
Robert le diable (Meyerbeer): Ah, l'honnête homme with P. Payan 034130 02385v

Gramophone, Paris 1912-05-22
Madame Sherry (Hoschna): Je n'sais comment 0232189 02442v

Gramophone, Paris 1912-06-13
Je vous aime... et j'en meurs (Dickson) 0232192 02462v

Gramophone, Paris 1912-06-25
Valse d'un jour (Fragson-Christiné) 0232193 02476½v

Antonio Laffi (Baritone) (Vergato di Bologna 1887 - Milano 1982)

He was trained by the pedagogue Villa in Naples. In 1911 he made his debut at the Teatro Quirino in Rome as De Siriex in ‘’Fedora’’of  U. Giordano. During the 1920’s he had a significant career at the famous opera houses of Parma, Genoa, Florence, Naples, Turin and Bologna. He also appeared at the Teatro Alla Scala in Milano. In 1924 he took part in an Australia tour with an opera troop which famous prima donna Nellie Melba had put together. He spent his old age in the Casa di riposo Verdi in Milan.

Chronology of some appearances

1911 Roma Teatro Quirino Fedora (De Siriex)

1913 Vicenza   Teatro Verdi Lucia di Lammermoor (Enrico)

1919 Torino Teatro Scribe Trovatore (Conte)

1922 Piacenza Teatro Municipale Wally (Pedone)

1925 Bergamo Teatro Donizetti Boheme (Schaunard)

1928 Milano Teatro alla Scala Andrea Chenier (Roucher)

1931 Reggio Emilia Politeama Ariosto Lucia di Lammermoor (Enrico)

1936 Milano Teatro Lirico Il Piccolo Marat (Soldato)

1939 Brescia Teatro Grande Hansel e Gretel (Pietro)

1942 Catania Teatro Bellini Boheme (Schaunard)

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Fonotipia, Milano 1928-01-17

Gioconda (Ponchielli): O monumento 120116 XXPh6120

Fonotipia, Milano 1928-03-22

Rigoletto (Verdi): Cortigiani, vil razza dannata  120155 XXPh6219

Fonotipia, Milano 1928-05-29

Carmen (Bizet): Con voi ber 120155 XXPh6290

Leone Fischer-Ferry (Tenor) (? - Riga 1941)

He was of Jewish origin. He studied singing in Italy under Giovanni Battista Lamperti and appeared at the Berlin Opera.

Chronology of appearance

Berlin Opera

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Beka, Berlin, early 1911 with Orchestra
Aida (Verdi): Holde Aida (Celeste Aida) 13440  B.3660

Beka, Berlin, early 1911 with Orchestra
Eugen Onegin (Tchaikovsky): Whither, whither have you gone 13457
Carmen (Bizet): La fleur que tu m’avais jetée 13455

Anker, Berlin, late 1919 with Piano Felix Günther
Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Lache, Bajazzo (Ridi, Pagliacco) 2552

Tosca (Puccini): Und es blitzten die Sterne (È lucevan le stelle) 2554

Tosca (Puccini): Wie sich die Bilder gleichen (Recondita armonia) 2555 

Robert Marvini (Bass)

Probably he made his debut in 1909 as Fasolt in ‘’Das Rheingold’’ at the o Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Since then most closely his work associated with the Opéra de Monte-Carlo (1910-1911, 1914, 1923, 1928-1938). Here his repertoire included not only Hunding in ‘’Die Walküre’’, Hagen in "Götterdämmerung", Sparafucile in ‘’Rigoletto’’, Ramphis in ‘’Aida’’, Conte Rodolfo in ‘’La Sonnambula’’, Alvise in ‘’La Gioconda’’, Colline in ‘’La Bohème’’, but also Zuniga in ‘’Carmen’’, Schlemihl in "Hoffmanns Erzählungen", Monterone in ‘’Rigoletto’’', Roucher in ‘’Andrea Chénier’’, Saint Bris in ‘’Les Huguenots’’, Tristan in ‘’Martha’’ and Geronte in ‘’Manon Lescaut’’. Later he sang Buffo roles (Bartolo in ‘’Il Barbiere di Siviglia’’, Sakristan in ‘’Tosca’’) and sang also in operettas. He appeared at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in several opera premieres: In 1914 as Ennius in ‘’Cléopâtre’’ by J. Massenet, two years later in ‘’Béatrice’’ of A. Messager, during the same year also in ‘’I Mori di Valenza’’ of  A. Ponchielli, in 1923 in ‘’Lysistrata’’ of R. Gunsbourg, in 1929 in ‘’'La Femme nue’’of H. Fevrier, in 1937 as Marmont in ‘’L'Aiglon’’ of Honegger-Ibert. In 1934 he sang at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in the French-speaking première of ‘’Arabella’’ by R. Strauss. At the Grand Opéra in Paris he made guest appearances between 1909 and 1913 (debut in ‘’Le vieil Aiglon’’ of R. Gunsbourg). In 1927 he sang at the Théâtre Fémina in Paris with the opera troop of Marguerite Bériza in the premiere of J. Ibert’s ‘’Angélique’’ in the role of the Fabigen, which he reported in in the 1930-1934 seasons also at the Opéra-Comique in Paris. In 1913 he made guest appearance at the Covent Garden in London as Mephistofeles in ‘’Faust’’ and as Frère Laurent in ‘’Roméo et Juliette’’. In most appearances he is announced as Mr Marvini.

Chronology of some appearances

1909-1911 Monte-Carlo Opéra
1909-1913 Paris Grand Opéra
1914 Monte-Carlo Opéra
1923 Monte-Carlo Opéra
1927 Paris Théâtre Fémina
1928-1938 Monte-Carlo Opéra
1930-1934 Paris Opéra-Comique

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Pathé, Paris 1912?
Favorite (Donizetti) with Lassalle, Albers, Lapeyrette and Gantéri
Trovatore (Verdi) with Fontaine, Noté, Morlet and Gantéri

Idéal - Aspir, Paris 1913?
Quo Vadis (Nouguès): Récit de Saint-Pierre, pt 1 6179
Quo Vadis (Nouguès): Récit de Saint-Pierre, pt 2 6182
Quo Vadis (Nouguès): Récit de Saint-Pierre, pt 3 6183
Quo Vadis (Nouguès): Pourquoi vous plaignez-vous 6184

Stefan Islandi (Tenor) (Skagafjord, Island 1907 - Skagafjord, Island 1994)

His real name was Gud Gudmundsson. Originally he was ahairdresser. From 1930 to 1935 he studied singing under the great italian baritone Ernesto Caronna. Still during education he made his debut in 1933 at the Teatro Comunale in Florence as Cavaradossi in ‘’Tosca’’. From 1935 to 1940 he gave guest performances and concerts in the European music centers. Since 1938 he sang regularly at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen, where he made his debut as Pinkerton in ‘’Madama Butterfly’’. He made guest appearances in Italy,  France, Germany and Sweden. Till 1959 he belonged to the Copenhagen Opera, where his repertoire included Duke in ‘’Rigoletto’’, Rodolfo in ‘’La Bohème’’, Turiddu in ‘’Cavalleria Rusticana’’ and José in ‘’Carmen’’. In 1946 he undertook a big concert tour through North America. In the 1950’s he appeared several times in his native country, where at the National Theatre of Iceland in Reykjavik he appeared with great success in  ‘’Rigoletto’’ and ‘’Tosca’’. In 1966 he returned to Iceland and became a pedagogue at the Reykjavík College of Music. From 1940 to 1949 married to the Danish mezzo-soprano Else Brems.

Chronology of some appearances

1933 Florence Teatro Comunale Tosca (Cavaradossi)

1938 Copenhagen Royal Opera Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton)

RECORDING FOR SALE

HMV, København 1940-09-02

Bohème (Puccini): Che gelida manina DB5247 2CS1680

Tudor Davies (Tenor) (Cymmer, near Porth, South Wales 1892 - London, England 1958)

He studied in Cardiff and at the Royal College of Music in London. He served as an engineer in the Royal Navy during World War I. He toured the United States, Canada and Australia (where he shared the stage with Maggie Teyte and then returned to Britain, where he sang with the British National Opera Company, Sadler's Wells Opera and the Carl Rosa Opera Company. He sang Rodolfo to Dame Nellie Melba's Mimi in ''La bohème'' in 1922 at Covent Garden. He sang a number of leading tenor parts from the Italian, French and German repertoire, such as Lohengrin, Tamino, Florestan, Faust, Don José and the Duke of Mantua. He also appeared in English operas such as Dame Ethel Smyth's ''Fête Galante'', and Arthur Benjamin's ''The Devil Take Her''. He created the title role in Ralph Vaughan Williams' opera ''Hugh the Drover'' in 1924. (In 1928, he also sang in the United States premiere of the opera, with the Washington National Opera.) He created Prince Hal in Gustav Holst's ''At the Boar's Head'' in 1925. He sang the title role in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Don Carlos'' in the opera's first performance in England in 1938, and he appeared in the first Sadler's Wells performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's ''The Snow Maiden''. In his later career he was mainly a concert singer, and teacher in Cardiff.

Chronology of  some appearances

1922 London Covent Garden 

1924 His Majesty's Theatre 

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Columbia
Complete Madame Butterfly (Puccini) with Rosina Buckman, Frederick Ranalow, Nellie Walker, Gladys Peel and Sydney Coltham

Victor
The Valkyrie (Wagner): Siegmund sees the sword hilt in the tree 55204 B
The Valkyrie (Wagner): Siegmund greets the Spring night 55205 A/B
The Valkyrie (Wagner): Brunnhilde fortells Siegmund's death with Austral 55207 A

Victor
Siegfried (Wagner): forges the broken sword 55209 A
Siegfried (Wagner): The forest bird warns Siegfried with Russell and Austral 55209 B
Siegfried (Wagner): follows the forest bird with Jones 55210 A

Victor
Twilight of the Gods (Wagner): The parting of Brunnhilde and Siegfried with Austral 55212 A/B
Twilight of the Gods (Wagner): Gunther and Gutrune welcome Siegfried with Radford and Jones 55213 A

Giovanni Lazzarini (Baritone) (Lucca 1883 - ?)

He studied singing under Pietrasanta. In 1912 he spent a few months in the USA and came back to Italy. He made his debut in 1913 at the Teatro Giglio in Lucca in G. Verdi’s ‘’Rigoletto’’. In November 1924 he went to Canada to sing at Montreal. In 1927 he moved to USA, where he continues his career. He made only one record.

Chronology of some appearances

1913 Lucca Teatro Del Giglio Rigoletto (Rigoletto)

1915 Madrid Teatro Reale Boheme (Marcello)

1919 Malta Teatro Reale  Manon Lescaut (Lescaut)

1921 Cairo Kursaal Dalbagni   Trovatore (Conte)

1923 Lucca Teatro Del Giglio Boheme (Marcello)

1926 Trapani   Teatro Garibaldi Gioconda (Barnaba)

1929 New York Starlight Park Aida (Amonasro)

RECORDING FOR SALE

Odeon Fonotipia, Milano 1911/1912?

Andrea Chénier (Giordano): Un dì m'era di gioia 110387

Sante Canali (Baritone) (Romiglione 1877 - Milano 1958)

Probably he made his debut at the Teatro Mariani in Ravenna as Malatesta in ''Don Pasquale''. He had a successful career at the smaller Italian opera stages as well as at guest performances in Spain, France and South America. He lived after ending of his singer's career in the Casa di riposo Verdi in Milan where he has also died.

Chronology of some appearances

1905 Ravenna  Teatro Mariani Don Pasquale (Malatesta)

1908 Bologna  Teatro Del Corso Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1910 Ancona   Teatro Vittorio Emanuele Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1912 Borgo Valsugana Teatro Sociale Traviata (Germont)

1914 Casale Monferrato Kursaal Don Pasquale (Malatesta)

1917 Milano Teatro Dal Verme Le Educande di Sorrento di E. Usiglio (Rodolfo)

1921 Montecchio Teatro Zacconi Elisir d'amore (Belcore)

1924 Cuneo Teatro Toselli Don Pasquale (Malatesta)

1926 Ravenna  Teatro Mariani Boheme (Benoit/Alcindoro)

1931 Roma Eiar IL RE di U. Giordano (Prete)

1933 Modena  Teatro Storchi  Barbiere di Siviglia (Don Bartolo)

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Odeon Fonotipia, Milano 1930-10-15

Cenerentola (Rossini): Miei rampoli femminini, pt 1 168616 Mo3221

Odeon Fonotipia, Milano 1930-10-17

Cenerentola (Rossini): Miei rampoli femminini, pt 2 (Ma d'un sogno) 168616 Mo3228

Tina Costa (Mezzo-Soprano)

Probably she made her debut in 1914 at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan as Gutruna in ''Crepuscolo Degli Dei''.

Chronology of some appearances

1914 Milano Teatro Dal Verme Crepuscolo Degli Dei (Gutruna)

1919 Pisa Teatro Verdi  Trovatore (Azucena)

1924 Cesena Teatro Comunale  Rigoletto (Maddalena)

1927 Madrid Teatro Zarzuela Gioconda (Cieca)

1928 Madrid Teatro Zarzuela  Racconti di Hoffmann

1930 Orvieto Teatro Unione  Ballo in Maschera (Ulrica)

1931 Galatina  Teatro Comunale Rigoletto (Maddalena)
1932 Novara Teatro Coccia  Gioconda (Cieca)

RECORDING FOR SALE

Odeon Fonotipia, Milano

Gioconda (Ponchielli): Voce di donna Z21500

Ildebrando Santafè (Baritone)

Probably he made his debut in 1924 at the Teatro Balbo in Turin as Sivlio in R. Leoncavallo's ''Pagliacci''.

Chronology of some appearances

1924 Torino  Teatro Balbo Pagliacci (Silvio)

1926 Castelsangiovanni  Teatro Verdi Ernani (Carlo)

1928 Milano Liceo Sperimentale Puritani (Riccardo)

1930 Milano Teatro Verdi Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1932 Fiorenzuola d'Arda Teatro Verdi Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1934 Bergamo Teatro Nuovo Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)

1937 Bari Teatro Petruzzelli  Boheme (Schaunard)

1940 Fano Teatro della Fortuna I Quattro Rusteghi (Maurizio)

1942 Novara Teatro Coccia Manon Lescaut (Lescaut)

1944 Macerata Teatro Lauro Rossi Barbiere di Siviglia (Don Bartolo)

1946 Lisbona Coliseo Recrejos Barbiere di Siviglia (Don Bartolo)
1948 Livorno Teatro Goldoni Lodoletta (Franz)

RECORDINGS FOR SALE

Odeon Fonotipia, Milano

Don Pasquale (Donizetti): Pronto io son with Pina Bruschi 168504 a 10451

Don Pasquale (Donizetti): Siamo intesi with Pina Bruschi 168504 b 10451