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Gino Martinez-Patti (1866-1925) was a gifted spinto tenor who enjoyed a 20 year career in opera and concert. Born in Palermo of Spanish heritage, Martinez-Patti was often reported to be the nephew of soprano Adelina Patti. However, he was, by his own admission, just a distant relative of the celebrated diva. Following vocal studies in his home town, Martinez-Patti made his debut in March of 1888 in the small role of Léonard in Les Huguenots at Messina’s Teatro Vittorio Emanuele. After taking a year to further hone his vocal technique, the young tenor graduated to principal roles and made a second debut as Poliuto at the Teatro Bellini in Palermo in May of 1889. The following year, Martinez-Patti made his international debut as Enzo in La Gioconda at the Teatro Nacional in Guatemala City. This was followed by appearances in Buenos Aires and a very successful season at the Teatro Payret in Havana. The tenor was back in Brazil in March of 1892, making appearances in Belém and Manaus in such operas as Ernani, Trovatore, Traviata, Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, Norma, and Fra Diavolo. Martinez-Patti returned to Italy at the beginning of the 1892/93 season, with performances of L’Africaine at Este’s Teatro Sociale and Traviata at the Teatro Alfieri in Asti. He was overseas again in 1894 for the summer season in Rio, returning to Italy the following year. Although he rarely sang in major theatres, Martinez-Patti soon found himself in demand as a leading spinto tenor in the provincial houses including the Teatro Reale in Malta, Genoa’s Politeama Genovese, the Arena Nazionale in Florence, Torino’s Teatro Vittorio Emanuele, the Teatro Sociale in Mantua, Bari’s Teatro Piccinni, the Teatro Adriano in Rome and others. The busy tenor amassed a diverse repertoire of more than 50 leading roles in such operas as Ruy Blas, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Andrea Chénier, Adriana Lecouvreur, Francesca da Rimini, La Bohème (both Puccini and Leoncavallo), Manon Lescaut, Robert le Diable, Faust, Manon, and Salome. Despite his vocal and interpretive gifts, Martinez-Patti’s career was essentially a provincial affair. The tenor’s North America debut was to have been on New Year’s Day, 1907, with a small touring company, the Lambardi Grand Opera (often erroneously referred to as “Lombardi”). Unfortunately, Martinez-Patti, who caught a severe chill during the ocean crossing from England, had to cancel. His rescheduled debut occurred on January 4 as Rodolfo in La Bohème. This was followed by performances of Pagliacci, La Gioconda, Fedora, Carmen, and La Traviata. It was also during this tour that Martinez-Patti, to great acclaim, created the title role in the American premiere of Orefice’s opera Chopin. Martinez-Patti enjoyed a certain celebrity status in the U.S. Newspapers carried his photo and wrote stories of his European career. He even endorsed the new Autopiano in the company’s advertising campaign. Despite these successes, this was the tenor’s only season in the U.S. He was reportedly a rather high strung and emotional character (a reporter once noted him crying actual tears during a scene in Fedora), but there may have been another reason. Martinez-Patti filed a lawsuit filed against Mario Lambardi, director of the Lambardi Grand Opera, claiming that he was still owed $700 in fees. A Spokane court placed an attachment on Lambardi’s properties at the local theatre, causing great difficulty for the impresario. After a careful check of company ledgers, however, it was discovered that the tenor had been paid in full and the suit was finally dismissed in 1909. The lawsuit (not to mention the negative press surrounding it) cannot have endeared Martinez-Patti to Lambardi…or any other American impresarios, for that matter. In the fall of 1907, the tenor was in Amsterdam for performances at the Paleis voor Volksvlijt. In November of that year, he was Herod in the Dutch premiere of Strauss’ Salome at the Gebouw voor Kunsten en Wetenschappen in the Hague, under the direction of the composer. Martinez-Patti returned to Italy in early 1908 and began winding down his career. Following performances of Fedora and Chopin at Palermo’s Teatro Biondo in October of 1910, the tenor, at the relatively young age of 44, retired from the stage. Martinez-Patti opened a studio in Rome, where he taught voice and directed the occasional opera production. It was there that he passed away in 1925 at the age of 59. Gino Martinez-Patti was a prolific recording artist, with over 200 discs made between 1904 and 1910 for Columbia, G&T, Victor, Fonotipia, Pathé, Odéon and others.
