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Frustratingly little is known of the life of dramatic tenor Mario Gilion (1870-1914), whose brief career took him to major theaters on both sides of the Atlantic. Born Marius Gillion in Marseilles, his early life is clouded in mystery. Nothing is known of his training, but it is believed that he began his career as a baritone during the 1890s. Gilion’s debut as a tenor came about in 1901 in Monza as Vasco da Gama in L’Africaine, after which he spent a few years singing in the provincial theaters of Italy, Spain and Eastern Europe. Of his May 1904 appearances in Bucharest (in Tosca, La Bohème and Il Trovatore), a critic for Le Courrier Musical wrote that, “…a great tenor of great stature, Mario Gilione, his real name, Marius Gillion, originally from Marseilles, was discovered. Beautifully ringing and even voice, a fine physique, intelligent acting, this singer brings together all the qualities that make the great tenors and I do not think I'm wrong in predicting a very bright career.” The critic for Le Courrier Musical proved correct, for Gilion enjoyed a very fine career in both provincial houses and major theaters, including the Teatro Principale in Modena, Rome’s Teatro Costanzi, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Venice’s La Fenice, Trento’s Teatro Massimo, the Teatro Real in Madrid, the Teatro Politeama in Buenos Aires, as well as theaters in Genoa, Turin, Barcelona, Budapest, Odessa and Warsaw. His repertoire of more than 20 roles included Radames in Aïda, Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Walter in Loreley, Eléazar in La Juive, the title roles in Otello, L’Amico Fritz, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Samson et Dalila, Tannhäuser, and his three “calling card” roles, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Raoul in Les Huguenots and Arnold in Guillaume Tell. Gilion made a rather late debut at the Opéra de Paris on New Year’s Eve, 1910. The role was Arnold which, one assumes, he sang in French. The tenor also sang Radames that same season, but never returned to the Opéra. His final performance seems to have been as Manrico at Barcelona’s Teatro Liceo in May of 1912. Gilion returned to the city of his birth, Marseilles, where he died on November 24, 1914 at the early age of 44. Attempting to examine the life and career of Mario Gilion raises more questions than it answers. Stories abound regarding his origins. Was he born in France or was he really Italian? His diction was frequently praised by Italian critics, who marveled at such impeccable Italian pronunciation from a singer who claimed to be French. This very attribute has led to the notion that Gilion was actually Italian born. There is no doubt that the bulk of Gilion’s career was spent in Italian theaters and that nearly all of his recordings were sung in Italian. However, the occasional hint of a southern French twang…as well as frequent references by critics to his French background…betray the tenor’s true origins. As to where Gilion received his vocal training, some have suggested Italy, others France. In reality, no one seems to have the vaguest idea of where this artist was educated. Based on the vocal production we hear on his records, the technique seems to be decidedly of the 19th century French school, in the tradition of Escalaïs, Scaramberg and Affre. Another question that arises is why Gilion left the stage at the age of 42? One might suspect an illness of some sort, since the tenor passed away at such a young age. Even the circumstances of his death are a matter of conjecture. One rumor has it that he “died in uniform”, that is, on the battlefield. This is hardly likely since at 44, Gilion would have been a bit too old for military service. Besides that, he died in Marseilles…not the site of any major WWI skirmishes. The answers to these and other riddles regarding Gilion are probably lost to the ages. Mario Gilion possessed a remarkable instrument of tremendous power and range and seemed to have almost inexhaustible vocal resources. According to a critic for Lo Spettatore, during a January 1906 Il Trovatore in Rome, the tenor sang “Di quella pira” (complete with the da capo), then encored the entire cabaletta, for a total of ten high Cs. Gilion’s brilliant high notes made for some very exciting, full throated singing and yet he was also capable of very sensitive phrasing. All in all, Mario Gilion was a force to be reckoned with during his all too brief career and worthy of the reputation he continues to enjoy more than a century after his death. The entire recorded legacy of Mario Gilion is comprised of nearly 60 discs made for the Fonotipia label between 1906 and 1910. Most of the repertoire consists of operatic arias and duets, almost exclusively sung in Italian.
