Giorgio Tozzi
Giorgio Tozzi | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 8, 1923 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 30, 2011 (aged 88) Bloomington, Indiana, U.S. |
| Occupation | Operatic bass |
Giorgio Tozzi (January 8, 1923 – May 30, 2011) was an American operatic bass. He was associated with the Metropolitan Opera for many years and sang principal bass roles in nearly every major opera house worldwide.
Career
[edit]Tozzi was born George John Tozzi in Chicago, Illinois.[1] He studied at DePaul University with Rosa Raisa, Giacomo Rimini and John Daggett Howell. He later studied singing in New York City with Beverley Peck Johnson.[2] He made his professional debut in the Broadway production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia in 1948 as Tarquinius. His signature roles included Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Philip II in Verdi's Don Carlos, Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust.[3]
In 1957 he portrayed the title role in a nationally broadcast performance of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with the NBC Opera Theatre.[4]
In 1958, he created the role of The Doctor in Samuel Barber's Vanessa. In July 1958, Tozzi also recorded an album alongside Dame Julie Andrews in the operetta Rose Marie. The album was conducted by Lehman Engel, with the New Symphony Orchestra of London. Tozzi was the recipient of three Grammy Awards: in 1960 the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance, Operatic or Choral for The Marriage of Figaro with Erich Leinsdorf; in 1961 the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Puccini's Turandot, with Erich Leinsdorf; and in 1963 the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Sir Georg Solti's recording of Verdi's Aida (with Leontyne Price and Jon Vickers). Tozzi also sang the bass part in the recording of Sir Thomas Beecham's version of Handel's Messiah for RCA Victor in 1959.
After dubbing the singing voice for the character of Emile de Becque (portrayed by Rossano Brazzi) in the 1958 film version of South Pacific, Tozzi spent many years playing the role of de Becque himself in various revivals and road tours of the show, including one at Lincoln Center in the late 1960s. In a return to live national television in 1964, he collaborated with the conductor Alfredo Antonini in the role of Herod in CBS Television's adaptation of Berlioz's oratorio L'enfance du Christ. In 1980, Tozzi earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his work as Tony in The Most Happy Fella.[5][6]
Tozzi was a professor at the Juilliard School, Brigham Young University, and Indiana University. He served as Distinguished Professor of Voice at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music from 1991 until he retired in 2006.[7]
Tozzi also acted on television and appeared on several TV shows in the 1970s and 1980s, including The Odd Couple, Baretta, Kojak, and Knight Rider.[8]
In 1997, Tozzi published a novel, The Golem of the Golden West.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Tozzi was twice married. He first married Catherine Dieringer, who died in 1963; in 1967 he married Monte Amundsen, a singer, with whom he had a son and a daughter.[10]
Tozzi died on May 30, 2011, in Bloomington, Indiana, aged 88, of a heart attack.[11][12]
Partial filmography
[edit]- South Pacific (1958) – Emile De Becque (singing voice)
- Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1971) – Hans Sachs
- Shamus (1973) – Dottore
References
[edit]- ^ "Opera singer and Broadway performer". The Los Angeles Times. June 3, 2011. Archived from the original on December 7, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2011.
- ^ Anthony Tommasini (January 22, 2001). "Beverley Peck Johnson, 96, Voice Teacher". The New York Times.
- ^ Faust, retrieved 2017-12-20
- ^ Raymond Ericson (March 19, 1961). "Bass on the Rise; Giorgio Tozzi is that rarity in opera circles, a basso who has become well-known". The New York Times.
- ^ "L'enfance du Christ". 20 December 1964. Retrieved 18 November 2017 – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ "Giorgio Tozzi". IMDb. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
- ^ indiana.edu, IU Office of Creative Services, iuweb @. "Endowments & Scholarships: Giving: Jacobs School of Music: Indiana University Bloomington". music.indiana.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Giorgio Tozzi Interview with Bruce Duffie". Bruceduffie.com. 2011-06-02. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
- ^ The Golem of the Golden West by Giorgio Tozzi on Open Library at the Internet Archive
- ^ "Obituary: Giorgio Tozzi". The Daily Telegraph. 14 June 2011. Retrieved 2016-04-11.
- ^ Driscoll, F. Paul (May 31, 2011). "Bass Giorgio Tozzi, 88, an Artist Beloved by Met Audiences for More than Two Decades, has Died". Opera News. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- ^ Margalit Fox (June 2, 2011). "Giorgio Tozzi, Esteemed Bass at the Met, Is Dead at 88". The New York Times.
External links
[edit]- Interview with Giorgio Tozzi by Bruce Duffie, January 17, 1988
- Bernheimer, Martin (July 2002). "Giorgio Tozzi". Opera News. 67 (1): 46–50.
- Giorgio Tozzi discography at Discogs
- Giorgio Tozzi at the Internet Broadway Database
- Giorgio Tozzi at IMDb
