After attending the Sistine Chapel choir school
from age seven, he studied voice with the celebrated baritone Giuseppe
Kaschmann (Josip Kašman, 1847–1925) and cast aside his initial ambitions to
become an architect. He made his professional debut as Bartolo in The Barber of
Seville, at Rome's
Teatro Adriano, in 1922. He sang for the first time at La Scala, Milan, in 1926, in
Ildebrando Pizzetti's Debora e Jaele. Initially, he performed the standard bass
parts there, such as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Sparafucile in
Rigoletto. However, on the advice of La Scala's principal conductor, Arturo
Toscanini, he decided to specialise in comic roles. He thus went on to make an
indelible impression as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore,
the title character in Don Pasquale, Varlaam in Boris Godunov, the title
character in Falstaff and the title character in Gianni Schicchi. Baccaloni
also sang supporting roles such as Benoit in La bohème and the sacristan in
Tosca, infusing them with a lot of humorous stage business. He created several
operatic roles, too, including that of L'uomo di legge (the Lawyer) in Umberto
Giordano's Il re (at La Scala in 1929) and parts in Riccardo Zandonai's La
Farsa amorosa (Rome, 1933) and Vigna by Guerrini
(Rome, 1935). Baccaloni
enjoyed a successful international career as well, making his debut at London's
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Timur in Turandot in 1928; at the Lyric
Opera of Chicago as Melitone in La forza del destino in 1930; at the Glyndebourne
Festival as Alfonso in Così fan tutte in 1936; at the San Francisco Opera as
Leporello in 1938; and, at the Metropolitan Opera, on 7 December 1940, as
Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro. He was to remain at the Met until 1962. Baccaloni had his own opera company which
toured the United States in
the 1940s, Baccaloni Co. Baccaloni also sang often in Philadelphia with a succession of opera
companies from 1951 through to 1966. He made his debut with the Philadelphia
Civic Grand Opera Company in 1951 in the title role of Don Pasquale, his debut
with the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company in 1956, as Benoît/Alcindoro La
Bohème, and his debut with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company in 1959, as
Benoît/Alcindoro. Salvatore Baccaloni is generally considered to have been the
finest comic bass of his era. Rotund in build (at times he weighed more than
300 pounds), he possessed a rich and resonant voice, coupled with impeccable
diction and, during the years of his prime in the 1925–50 period, a commendable
degree of musicianship. However, he could also display a lack of artistic
restraint from time to time when 'live' on stage, owing to the abundance and
the exuberance of his comedic talent. He also appeared in several movies during the 1950s and '60s.
On 27 April 1959, he appeared as himself on Make Room for Daddy starring Danny
Thomas.
Chronology of some appearances
1922 Rome Teatro Adriano
1926 Milan La Scala
1928 London Covent Garden
1929 Milan La Scala
1930 Chicago Lyric Opera
1938 San Francisco Opera
1940 New York Metropolitan Opera
RECORDINGS FOR SALE
Columbia, Milano
Don Pasquale (Donizetti): Cheti cheti
immantinente P.I° II° with Emilio Ghirardini D 5963/D 5963 b 2255/b 2256
Ballo in maschera (Verdi): V'è se di notte pt
1, 2 with Enrico Molinari, Giannina Arangi-Lombardi and Attilio Bordonoali D
14591, D 14591 bx 652, bx 656
Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti): Chi mi frena with
Gino Vanelli, Dino Borgioli, Maria Gentile, Giuseppe Nessi and Ida Mannarini D 18016 bx 104
Crispino e la comare (Ricci): Fermo là with Irma
Mion CQX16451
Aida (Verdi): Quest’assisa with Maria Pia
Pagliarini, Mariano Stabile and Erminia
Rubadi b 1160 82599
Un ballo in maschera (Verdi): E scherzo with Aurora Rettore, Alessandro Bonci, Giuseppe Menni and Erminia Rubadi GQX 10148 bx 70
L'elisir d'amore (Donizetti): Quanto amore! P.I°
II° with Aurora Rettore DQ 244 DQ 244 b
3199/wb 3200
Columbia, New York 1941-02-06
Ah! Pietà Signori miei (-); Don Giovanni (Mozart): Madamina, pt 1 71048-D xCo29733
Don Giovanni (Mozart): Madamina, pt 2 71048-D xCo29734
