SALVATORE BACCALONI (ROME, 14 APRIL, 1900 – NEW YORK CITY, 31 DECEMBER, 1969)
After beginning his musical training at the Sistine Chapel Choir School at the age of seven, Salvatore Baccaloni studied voice with the celebrated baritone Giuseppe Kaschmann (Josip Kašman, 1847–1925). Initially aspiring to be an architect, he ultimately chose a career in opera. He made his professional debut in 1922 as Bartolo in The Barber of Seville at Rome’s Teatro Adriano. In 1926, he debuted at La Scala, Milan, in Ildebrando Pizzetti’s Debora e Jaele.
At La Scala, he initially performed standard bass roles, including Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Sparafucile in Rigoletto. However, under the guidance of Arturo Toscanini, La Scala’s principal conductor, Baccaloni shifted focus to comic roles. He soon became renowned for his portrayals of Leporello in Don Giovanni, Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore, Don Pasquale, Varlaam in Boris Godunov, and the title characters in Falstaff and Gianni Schicchi. He also excelled in supporting roles, such as Benoit in La Bohème and the Sacristan in Tosca, which he enlivened with humorous stagecraft.
Baccaloni premiered several operatic roles, including L’Uomo di Legge (the Lawyer) in Umberto Giordano’s Il Re (La Scala, 1929), as well as parts in Riccardo Zandonai’s La Farsa Amorosa (Rome, 1933) and Guerrini’s Vigna (Rome, 1935). His international career flourished, with debuts at Covent Garden as Timur in Turandot (1928), the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Melitone in La Forza del Destino (1930), the Glyndebourne Festival as Alfonso in Così fan tutte (1936), the San Francisco Opera as Leporello (1938), and the Metropolitan Opera as Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro (1940). He remained at the Met until 1962.
In the 1940s, Baccaloni founded his own touring opera company, Baccaloni Co., which performed across the United States. He frequently appeared in Philadelphia with various companies, including the Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera Company (debuting in 1951 as Don Pasquale), the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company (1956, as Benoît/Alcindoro in La Bohème), and the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company (1959, also as Benoît/Alcindoro).
Baccaloni is widely regarded as the finest comic bass of his era. His rich, resonant voice, impeccable diction, and charismatic stage presence made him a standout, particularly during his prime years (1925–1950). Known for his rotund build—he sometimes weighed over 300 pounds—he balanced musicianship with exuberant comedic talent, though his unrestrained humor occasionally led to over-the-top performances.
In addition to his opera career, Baccaloni appeared in several films during the 1950s and 1960s and made a memorable guest appearance as himself on the television show Make Room for Daddy on April 27, 1959.
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
TRACKLIST
Aida (Verdi) Quest’assisa with Maria Pia Pagliarini, Mariano Stabile and Erminia Rubadi B 1160 82599 Columbia, Milano
Ballo in maschera (Verdi) E scherzo with Aurora Rettore, Alessandro Bonci, Giuseppe Menni and Erminia Rubadi GQX 10148 BX 70 Columbia, Milano
Ballo in maschera (Verdi) La rivedro nell’estasi with Alessandro Bonci, Giuseppe Menni and Aurora Rettore Columbia D14681
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 Columbia, Milano
Boheme (Puccini) Marcello! Sirena! with Luigi Marini, Ljuba Mirella, Rosetta Pampanini, Aristide Baracchi, Gino Vanelli and Tancredi Pasero Columbia D14521 BX447
Boheme (Puccini) Sa dirmi, scusi with Rosetta Pampanini and Gino Vanelli Columbia D14522 BX417
Crispino e la Comare (Ricci) Dapprima…figuratevi with Irma Mion CQX16451 WBX789 Columbia, Milano
Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Cheti cheti immantinente P.I° II° with Emilio Ghirardini D 5963 D 5963 B 2255 B 2256 Columbia, Milano
Falstaff (Verdi) Siamo pentiti e contriti with Giacomo Rimini, Aurora Buades and Giuseppe Nessi Columbia LKX5256 BX1188
Falstaff (Verdi) Udrai quanta egli sfoggia with Pia Tassinari, Aurora Buades, Rita Monticone, Roberto d’Alessio, Emilio Ghirardini, Giuseppe Nessi and Emilio Venturini LX244 WBX1185 Columbia, Milano 1932-04-04
Falstaff (Verdi) Voi le stregate tutte with Giacomo Rimini, Aurora Buades, Emilio Ghirardini and Giuseppe Nessi Columbia LKX5256 BX1189
Faust (Gounod) Su da bere – Kermesse Columbia WBX 493 11881
Gotterdammerung (Wagner) Racconto di Siegfried, pt 1, pt 2 with Isidoro Fagoaga and Giuseppe Nessi GQX10268 WBX520 GQX10268 WBX521 Columbia, Milano 1929-04-10
La Sonnambula (Bellini) A fosco cielo with Elena Cheni, Ida Mannarini and Emilio Venturini Columbia GQX10735 BX669
L’elisir d’amore (Donizetti) Quanto amore! P.I° II° with Aurora Rettore DQ 244 DQ 244 WB 3199 WB 3200 Columbia, Milano
Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Chi mi frena with Maria Gentile, Gino Vanelli, Dino Borgioli, Giuseppe Nessi, Ida Mannarini & chorus Columbia D 18016 WBX 104
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