DOMENICO VIGLIONE BORGHESE (MONDOVI, 3 JULY, 1877 –
MILAN, 26 OCTOBER, 1957)
He studied at the
Conservatorio Rossini in Pesaro and under Antonio Cotogni in Rome. He made his
debut in 1899 at the Teatro Verdi as the King’s Herald in Lohengrin. Over the
next two years, he sang at various Italian opera houses before emigrating to North
America in 1901. In San Francisco, he worked as a railroad worker and docker
while taking extensive singing lessons. With the recommendation of Enrico
Caruso, impresario Scognamillo engaged him in his opera troupe, which also
included Luisa Tetrazzini. The troupe toured Mexico, the Caribbean islands, the
Antilles, and Venezuela during the 1905-06 season, where he achieved
significant success.
He returned to Italy in 1906
and made his debut at the Teatro Regio in Parma as Amonasro in Aida in 1907. He
continued to perform at major Italian opera houses with great success,
regularly appearing at La Scala and the Teatro Costanzi in Rome, where he was
featured in the premiere of Ruggiero Leoncavallo’s Maia in 1910. In 1914, he
performed at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa in the Italian premiere of
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s I Gioielli della Madonna. He also sang at the Teatro
Reale in Madrid in 1913, at the Arena di Verona in 1914, and later at the
Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires in 1919.
In the 1930s, he appeared on
Italian radio and in opera houses in Turin and Palermo. His star role was Jack
Rance in Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, and Puccini himself referred to him
jokingly as ‘Il principe degli sceriffi’. He also performed as a guest in
Paris, Warsaw, and at the Teatro Regio in Turin in the Italian premiere of
Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cock in 1925. His final performance was at the
Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels in 1938. He retired from the stage in 1940
and went on to teach singing in Milan.
His repertoire included more
than 70 roles, predominantly in Verdi and verismo operas. He was known for his
powerful and imperious dramatic baritone voice, described as having a sweet
timbre but also capable of delivering commanding performances.
Chronology of some appearances
1906 Caracas Teatro Municipal
Boheme (Marcello)
1907 San Paolo Politeama
Boheme (Marcello)
1909 Roma Teatro
Costanzi Andrea Chenier (Gerard)
1909 Santiago del Cile
Teatro Municipal Boheme (Marcello)
1909 Valparaiso Teatro
Victoria Boheme (Marcello)
1909 Buenos Ayres Teatro
Coliseo Carmen (Ecamilio)
1912 Budapest Volgsopera Ballo
in Maschera (Renato)
1913 Treviso Teatro
Sociale Ballo in Maschera (Renato)
1915 Madrid Teatro Reale
Barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro)
1916 Milano Teatro Dal
Verme Amica (Rinaldo)
1918 Firenze Teatro Della
Pergola Andrea Chenier (Gerard)
1918 Brescia Teatro
Sociale Ballo in Maschera (Renato)
1919 Milano Teatro Dal
Verme Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1921 Reggio Emilia
Teatro Municipale Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1923 Il Cairo
Teatro Khediviale Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1924 Torino Teatro
Regio Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1926 Milano Teatro Dal
Verme Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1927 Milano Teatro
Carcano Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1928 Bologna Teatro
Comunale Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1930 Milano Teatro La
Scala Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1932 Genova Teatro
Carlo Felice Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1935 Milano Teatro
Lirico Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1937 Bologna
Teatro Del Corso Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1939 Brescia Teatro
Grande Fanciulla del West (Rance)
1940 Milano Teatro
Lirico Fanciulla del West (Rance)
TRACKLIST
Africaine (Meyerbeer)
Adamastor re dell’ onde profonde 72940 Polydor, Berlin (ac)
Aida (Verdi) Di Napata le gole
with Icilio Calleja, Ester Mazzoleni and Laura del Lungo 92673 xPh 4366
Fonotipia Milano, 11-10-10
Andrea Chénier (Giordano) Son
sessant’anni 92647 XPh4218 Fonotipia Milano, 03-12-09
Andrea Chénier (Giordano) Un
dì m’era di gioia 92648 XPh4223 Fonotipia Milano, 04-12-09
Carmen (Bizet) Con voi ber J
22036 Polydor, Germany 1924
Cavalleria Rusticana
(Mascagni) Il cavallo scalpita 72941 Polydor, Germany 1924
Faust (Gounod) Morte di
Valentino 72940 Polydor, Berlin (ac)
Forza del destino (Verdi)
Solenne in quest’ora with Mario Gilion 92663 XPh4367 Fonotipia, Milano
1910-10-11
Germania (Franchetti) Ascolta,
io moriro 92672 xPh 4370 Fonotipia Milano, 12-10-10
Germania (Franchetti) Ferito,
prigionier! 92782 XPh4372 Fonotipia Milano, 12-10-10
Germania (Franchetti) Tu m’eri
innanzi 92671 XPh4374 Fonotipia, Milano 1910-10-12
Gioconda (Ponchielli) O
monumento 92650 xPh 4222 Fonotipia Milano, 03-12-09
Gioconda (Ponchielli) O
monumento 72939 Polydor, Berlin (ac)
Gioconda (Ponchielli)
Pescatore Affonda L’esca J 22038 643AZ Polydor, Germany 1924
Herodiade
(Massenet) Visione fuggitiva 92646 xPh 4221 Fonotipia Milano, 03-12-09
Otello (Verdi) Credo J22044
675 AZ Polydor, Germany 1924
Pagliacci
(Leoncavallo) Si puo J 22045 Polydor, Germany 1924
Rigoletto (Verdi) Cortigiani
vil razza 72937 641AZ Polydor, Germany 1924
Rigoletto (Verdi) Pari siamo
72937 Polydor, Germany 1924
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