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Beniamino Gigli (1890-1957) was a beloved Italian tenor whose 41 year career encompassed stage, screen, concerts, recordings, radio and television. Born in Recanati, Gigli was the youngest of six children of an impoverished shoemaker. He showed early promise as a boy soprano and joined the choir of his hometown Cathedral at age seven. Gigli spent several years with the choir and was eventually elevated to soloist. In 1905, Gigli made his debut Macerata’s Teatro Lauri Rossi as the title character in Billi’s operetta La Fuga di Angelica, singing the title part…a soprano role! Although the 15 year old youth was mortified by having to appear in drag, the applause he received at the end of the evening somewhat assuaged his embarrassment. At 17, Gigli joined his brother Catervo (a budding sculptor) in Rome, where the two lived a rather Bohemian existence. After working several jobs (not to mention a stint in the army), Gigli entered the Academy of Santa Cecilia and studied with legendary baritone Antonio Cotogni. He was soon reassigned to Enrico Rosati, with whom he completed his studies. In 1914, Gigli entered an international singing competition in Parma. Out of 105 entrants, Gigli took first prize, one of the judges writing the now legendary notation, “At last, we have found THE TENOR!”, on the singer’s report. Although the outbreak of WWI prevented Gigli from singing in Chicago (the competition’s actual prize), he made his official debut as Enzo in La Gioconda at Rovigo’s Teatro Sociale on October 15, 1914. The tenor caught the attention of renowned conductor, Tullio Serafin, who invited him to open the season at Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice as des Grieux in Manon in December. Appearances in Palermo, Naples, Bologna, Brescia, Turin, Verona and Rome followed and within a year of his debut, the budding tenor’s repertoire had increased to seven roles. Critical response was favorable, and Gigli was soon established as one of Italy’s finest young talents. Following appearances in Madrid and Barcelona, Gigli made his La Scala debut on December 26, 1918 in Mefistofele. Five months later, he made his Buenos Aires debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Teatro Colón. Gigli became an audience favorite in South America and made semi regular appearances there for the next 30 years. His Met debut took place on November 26, 1920 (again in Mefistofele) to positive reviews. Although the company was dominated by Caruso, who would shortly withdraw due to his fatal illness, Gigli was soon recognized by the New York critics and public alike as an artist of the first rank. The tenor spent twelve seasons with the Met, singing 29 roles in such operas as Cavalleria Rusticana, La Bohème, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, Manon Lescaut, Roméo et Juliette, L’Africaine and the Met premieres of Andrea Chénier, Le Roi d’Ys, Loreley, and La Rondine. Gigli left the Met over a salary dispute in 1932 but returned in early 1939 for a handful of performances, including Radames in Aïda. Gigli spent the 1930s appearing in the major theaters of Rome, London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen, Budapest and Prague, as well as starring in a series of films. The unlikely cinema star went on to appear in over 20 pictures, the first of which, “Non ti scordar di me”, was released in 1935. Throughout the 1940s, Gigli showed no signs of slowing down, despite contracting diabetes in his 50s. However, when his health began to fail, the aging tenor decided to embark on a farewell tour which culminated in a May 25, 1955 recital in Washington, D.C. After his retirement, Gigli returned to his birthplace, where he suffered a serious heart attack in the fall of 1955. He continued to struggle with diabetic complications and cardiac issues but remained active as a teacher and coach. Gigli was injured in a September 1957 automobile accident and was later struck down with Asiatic flu. Although he seemed to be recovering, he developed double pneumonia and rapidly deteriorated. Despite doctors’ best efforts, Gigli passed away at his villa in Recanati on November 30. He was 67. Gigli’s repertoire of 60 roles encompassed everything from Bel Canto to Verismo…with a solitary Wagner role (Lohengrin) tossed in for good measure. Among his greatest roles were the leads in Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Un Ballo in Maschera, La Favorita, L’Elisir d’Amore, Lodoletta, L’Amico Fritz, Maristella and L’Arlesiana. In spite of the ravages of illness, the voice remained largely intact to the end of the tenor’s career. Gigli’s recorded legacy is monumental… over 400 discs, including several complete operas, made for Victor and HMV between 1918 and 1955. These records reveal a full lyric tenor, which took on spinto characteristics as he matured. Here, Gigli gives a limpid reading of “Je crois entendre encore” (or “Mi par d’udir ancora” as we hear it in Italian) from Bizet’s Les Pêcheurs de Perles. This was recorded live at the Teatro Gran Rex in Buenos Aires in 1950.
