Guest
“Dimitrie Onofrei (1897-1991) was an outstanding Romanian tenor whose stage and concert career spanned two decades. Born in the Moldavian city of Iaşi, Onofrei began his musical career as a treble in the choir of Saint Spyridon Orthodox Church. After his voice broke, he sang as a baritone, gaining a reputation as a fine concert artist. Despite his love of singing, Onofrei enrolled in University of Iaşi, majoring in architecture. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted during WWI. Twice wounded in battle, he returned home late in 1917, deciding to abandon architecture in favor of singing. By this time, Onofrei suspected that he was a tenor and spent a year retooling his technique. He entered a national singing competition, receiving 1st prize, as well as a contract with Romanian National Opera in Bucharest. After a season in Bucharest, Onofrei realized he wasn’t quite ready for a stage career and left for Milan for further work. He studied voice at La Scala and made his official debut as the Duke in Rigoletto in Malta in the spring of 1922. After bouncing around the Italian provinces, Onofrei was heard by legendary impresario, Fortune Gallo, who offered to take him to the U.S. to perform with the San Carlo Grand Opera. Onofrei’s U.S. debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème occurred on September 25, 1923 at New York’s Century Theatre. It was a rousing success. Billed as Demetrio Onofrei, he soon set out on a tour with San Carlo, which took him to dozens of cities in the U.S. and Canada. His repertoire included such audience favorites as Faust, Carmen, Traviata, Rigoletto, Martha, and Madama Butterfly. After surviving 90 performances in six months, Onofrei took a break…. but not for long. He was soon back in harness, crisscrossing North America with San Carlo. The remuneration was good, enabling the tenor to purchase a farm in Pennsylvania. There were other benefits, as well. Onofrei frequently shared the stage with soprano, Bianca Saroya. Love blossomed and the two were wed in October of 1924. The honeymoon lasted but a day, however, and the pair was soon back on tour, averaging a performance every other day. Onofrei’s Met debut was as Lohengrin on May 19, 1937. According to the NY Times critic, “In the name part Dimitri Onofrei, who has given a fine account of himself in this work previously here in other surroundings, made little headway at this debut.” The tenor’s voice carried well in European and smaller American theaters but, alas, the cavernous Met was too great for him to successfully navigate. This Lohengrin was his only appearance with the company. After 19 seasons with San Carlo, Onofrei decided to retire from performing. In 1943, the Onofreis opened a voice studio in their Chicago apartment. This venture was not without complications. A perturbed neighbor, one Amanda Spielman, began maliciously imitating Onofrei and loudly banging pots and pans whenever he was teaching lessons. When Mrs. Spielman, clearly NOT an opera lover, began harassing his students, Onofrei swore out a complaint against his neighbor. When the case came to court in July 1944, the tenor was asked to give a demonstration of his singing, which won the praise of the judge and applause from onlookers. Despite testimony from Onofrei’s pupils and a ruling by the judge that the tenor’s singing was not noise, the case was dismissed. In 1946, the Onofreis joined the voice faculty of the Cincinnati Conservatory, where they spent several years working with young voice students. After a further stint of private teaching in Chicago and New York, the pair moved to San Francisco in 1965. Onofrei continued to teach, counting Rolf Björling among his pupils. He also enjoyed adding to his impressive stamp collection, valued at just over $250,000 in today’s money! The couple enjoyed a 57 year marriage, which ended with Saroya’s death in 1981. Onofrei spent the final decade of his life in Bethlehem, PA, where he passed away on March 20, 1991, at the ripe old age of 93. Dimitrie Onofrei’s repertoire of nearly 40 roles included the leads in Carmen, Manon, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, La Gioconda, Mefistofele, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Tosca. Although he appeared with Philadelphia Grand Opera, Cincinnati Zoo Opera, Manhattan Opera Company, Chicago Civic Opera, as well as performing throughout Europe, Cuba and Puerto Rico, the bulk of his career was spent with San Carlo Grand Opera. Because of this, Onofrei is often regarded as a “cut rate” tenor, but nothing could be further from the truth. Onofrei was a versatile artist and a very expressive singer. Although his voice may not have been voluminous enough to fill the Met, he was quite effective in most other theaters. Onofrei's recordings showcase a pleasingly Italianate lyric tenor, with eloquent phrasing and impressive breath control. Here, Onofrei gives a sensitive reading of “Elle ne croyait pas” (in Italian) from Thomas’ Mignon. This was recorded in Berlin for the Odèon label in 1928.“
