Bergonzi was a great lyric tenor. He had what the Italians call “lo squillo”, or a ringing sound in his upper registers. See if you can hear it.
He was an extremely gifted and expressive artist. I have made selections from the earlier part of his career, but even at 70 years old, he possessed a beautiful, expressive voice.
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor, “Tu che a Dio spiegasti”
EDGARDO
Tu che a Dio spiegasti l’ali,
o bell’alma innamorata,
ti rivolgi a me placata,
teco ascenda il tuo fedel.
Ah, se l’ira dei mortali
fece a noi sì cruda guerra,
se divisi fummo in terra,
ne congiunga il Nume in ciel,
o bell’alma innamorata,
ne congiunga il Nume,
ecc.
(Trae rapidamente un pugnale.)
Io ti seguo…
RAIMONDO
Forsennato! Forsennato!
RAIMONDO e CORO
Ah, che fai?
EDGARDO
Morir voglio!
RAIMONDO e CORO
Ritorna in te, ritorna.
EDGARDO
No, no, no!
(Si ferisce.)
RAIMONDO e CORO
Ah!
RAIMONDO
Che facesti?
EDGARDO
A te vengo…oh bell’alma…
RAIMONDO
Sciagurato!
EDGARDO
…ti rivolgi, ah, il tuo fedel.
RAIMONDO
Pensa al ciel.
EDGARDO
Ah, se l’ira dei mortali…
CORO
Quale orror! Quale orror!
EDGARDO
…sì cruda guerra.
O bell’alma, ne congiunga il Nume in Ciel!
O bell’alma innamorata,
ecc.
Ne congiunga il Nume in Ciel!
RAIMONDO
Oh Dio, perdona…
Pensa al ciel…
Dio perdona tanto orror.
CORO
Oh tremendo, oh nero fato!
Dio, perdona tanto orror.
(Tuttisi inginocchiano. Edgardo spira.)
Donizetti, Lucia di Lammermoor, “You who spread . . .”
EDGARDO
You who spread your wings to Heaven,
o sweet loving heart,
look down on me serenely,
and let your true love soar up to join you.
Ah, though mortal’s fury
so cruelly assailed us,
though we were parted on earth,
may God unite us in Heaven,
O sweet, loving heart,
may God unite us,
etc.
(drawing his dagger)
I will follow you…
RAIMONDO
Madman! Madman!
RAIMONDO and CHORUS
Ah, what are you doing?
EDGARDO
I want to die!
RAIMONDO and CHORUS
Come to your senses.
EDGARDO
No, no, no!
(He stabs himself.)
RAIMONDO and CHORUS
Ah!
RAIMONDO
What have you done?
EDGARDO
I come to you… o dear heart…
RAIMONDO
Wretched man!
EDGARDO
…look down, ah, on your true love.
RAIMONDO
Think of Heaven.
EDGARDO
Ah, if mortal’s fury…
MOURNERS
Oh, horror! oh, horror!
EDGARDO
…so cruel a war.
O dear heart, may we be united by God in Heaven,
o sweet loving heart,
etc.
May we be united by God in Heaven!
RAIMONDO
Oh God, forgive…
Think of Heaven…
God, forgive, such a horrible deed.
CHORUS
Oh terrible, oh black fate!
God, forgive such a horrible deed.
(All kneel. Edgardo dies.)
Verdi, Aida, “Celeste Aida”
RADAMÈS
Se quel guerrier
Io fossi! se il mio sogno
S’avverasse!… Un esercito di prodi
Da me guidato… e la vittoria… e il plauso
Di Menfi tutta! E a te, mia dolce Aida,
Tornar di lauri cinto…
Dirti: per te ho pugnato, per to ho vinto!
Celeste Aida, forma divina.
Mistico serto di luce e fior,
Del mio pensiero tu sei regina,
Tu di mia vita sei lo splendor.
Il tuo bel cielo vorrei redarti,
Le dolci brezze del patrio suol;
Un regal serta sul crin posarti,
Ergerti un trono vicino al sol.
Verdi, Aida, “Heavenly Aida”
RADAMÈS
If I were
that warrior! If my dreams
were to come true! A valiant army
led by me… and victory… and the acclamations
of all Memphis! And to return to you, my sweet Aida,
crowned with laurels…
to tell you: for you I fought, for you I conquered!
Heavenly Aida, form divine,
mystical garland of light and flowers,
of my thoughts you are the queen,
you are the light of my life.
I would return to you your lovely sky,
the gentle breezes of your native land;
a royal crown on your brow I would set,
build you a throne next to the sun.
Donizetti, L’elisir d’amore, “Una furtiva lagrima”
Una furtiva lagrima
negli occhi suoi spuntò:
Quelle festose giovani
invidiar sembrò.
Che più cercando io vo?
Che più cercando io vo?
M’ama! Sì, m’ama, lo vedo. Lo vedo.
Un solo instante i palpiti
del suo bel cor sentir!
I miei sospir, confondere
per poco a’ suoi sospir!
I palpiti, i palpiti sentir,
confondere i miei coi suoi sospir…
Cielo! Si può morir!
Di più non chiedo, non chiedo.
Ah, cielo! Si può! Si, può morir!
Di più non chiedo, non chiedo.
Si può morire! Si può morir d’amor.
Donizetti, The elixir of love, “A secret tear”
A single secret tear
from her eye did spring:
as if she envied all the youths
that laughingly passed her by.
What more searching need I do?
What more searching need I do?
She loves me! Yes, she loves me, I see it. I see it.
For just an instant the beating
of her beautiful heart I could feel!
As if my sighs were hers,
and her sighs were mine!
The beating, the beating of her heart I could feel,
to merge my sighs with hers…
Heavens! Yes, I could die!
I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.
Oh, heavens! Yes, I could, I could die!
I could ask for nothing more, nothing more.
Yes, I could die! Yes, I could die of love.
Carlo Bergonzi
July 13, 1924 – July 25, 2014
Bergonzi was considered by many to be the foremost Verdi tenor of his age. He sang more than 300 times with the Metropolitan Opera of New York from the 1950s to the ’80s, appearing opposite a roster of celebrated divas that included Maria Callas, Risë Stevens, Victoria de los Angeles and Leontyne Price.
A lyric tenor of some vocal heft, Bergonzi lacked the sonic weight and brilliance of tenors in the Wagnerian mold. But what he did possess was an instrument of velvety beauty and nearly unrivaled subtlety.
In the view of his many fans, this vocal elegance amply compensated for the fact that Mr. Bergonzi was no actor and, by his own ready admission, no matinee idol. “I know I don’t look like Rudolph Valentino,” he told The Times in 1981. “I know what a proper physique should be for the parts I sing, but I have tried to learn to act through the voice. The proper, pure expression of the line is the most important thing.”
Bergonzi began his career as a baritone, and after becoming a tenor a few years later was careful not to push his voice past its natural confines. As a result, he largely escaped the vocal wear that can force singers to retire by the time they reach their early 50s; Bergonzi, by contrast, continued to sing on prominent stages — and, as critical opinion had it, sing well — into his late 60s.
The son of a maker of Parmesan cheese, Carlo Bergonzi was born in Vidalenzo, not far from Verdi’s hometown, Busseto, in northern Italy. As a youth, he sang in church, later attending the Parma Conservatory, where he studied with the baritone Edmondo Grandini.
During World War II, Mr. Bergonzi spent three years in a German concentration camp for his anti-Nazi activities. He returned home after the war, weighing 80 pounds, and resumed singing.
Mr. Bergonzi made his operatic debut in 1948 as a baritone, singing the title part in Rossini’s “Barber of Seville” in Lecce, in southern Italy. After coming to realize that tenor parts were better situated for his voice, he made a second debut, as a tenor, in the title role in Umberto Giordano’s “Andrea Chénier” in Bari in 1951.
In 1955, Mr. Bergonzi made his United States debut with the Lyric Theater of Chicago (now the Lyric Opera of Chicago) as Luigi in Puccini’s “Il Tabarro.” The next year, on Nov. 13, he made his Met debut as Radames opposite Antonietta Stella, also making her debut that night.
At the Met in March 1964, Bergonzi was a soloist (with Ms. Price, Rosalind Elias and Cesare Siepi) in an acclaimed performance of Verdi’s “Requiem” in memory of President John F. Kennedy, under the baton of Georg Solti.
The younger, supple-voiced Mr. Bergonzi endures on his many recordings, including several of “Aida” (opposite Ms. Price, Martina Arroyo and Montserrat Caballé); a “Bohème” and a “Butterfly” opposite Renata Tebaldi; Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” with Beverly Sills; and a three-record set for Philips on which he sings all of Verdi’s tenor arias.