Antonio Cortis

Antonio Cortis was a tenor using a Caruso-like lyric tone of voice capable of dealing with the main dramatic roles. He previously excellent technique, the real exciting tenor “band,” and a wealthy lyrical range. His tone of voice was therefore Caruso-like, actually, when he sang Beppe’s offstage serenade in Pagliacci at Buenos Aires in 1916 the viewers assumed it had been Caruso (who was simply the Canio for the reason that performance). The fantastic Italian was pleased to arranged the record directly and allow his young colleague receive his credited accolades and thereafter treated Cortis like a protégé, not really complaining when the press started calling the thin Spaniard “Il piccolo Caruso.” By 1921 (the entire year of Caruso’s loss of life) Cortis got graduated through the comprimario roles towards the leading parts, and embarked on an extremely successful 10 years of opera, recitals, and documenting. He had arrive towards the opera by a normal path: He sang in the children’s chorus in the Teatro True in Madrid, became a member of the adult chorus in 1911, and proved helpful his method into minor assignments. As a young child he was violin participant. When his profession flowered, his acquired his most significant successes in the Chicago Opera (showing up there each year from 1924 to 1932) and was also very popular in SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA. He produced his Covent Backyard debut in 1931 as Calaf in Puccini’s Turandot. Influential critic Ernest Newman designated his functionality of the fantastic aria “Nessun dorma” to be unusually 100 % pure and significantly apt to be sung being a nocturne “without the from the gallery-catching vulgarities of vocal screen that generally disfigure it.” Cortis, by all accounts, was either unschooled in or turned down acting tips. His insufficient posturing in his assignments produced his portrayals appear more organic. The worldwide financial disaster of the first 1930s impacted his profession significantly. The Covent Backyard debut of 1931 was therefore successful that he’d have already been reengaged for this company’s Italian period 1932, but that needed to be canceled for economic factors. The Chicago Civic Opera was also strike. He came back to Italy, after that withdrew to Spain in 1935. The Spanish Civil Battle broke out, after that World Battle II, and he previously no possibility to reignite his worldwide career. Also his recordings vanished, not to end up being revived before compact disc period years after his loss of life. He sang on in Spain, producing his last stage appearance in-may 1951, as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca.