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Antonino VottoItalian opera conductor
Date of Birth: 30.10.1896
Country:  Italy |
Content:
Biography of Antonio Votto
Antonio Votto was an Italian opera conductor who achieved worldwide fame in the 1950s. He was widely recognized for his significant success in numerous opera recordings on EMI, collaborating with the renowned soprano Maria Callas. Votto was also a protégé of the legendary Arturo Toscanini and gained a reputation as one of the leading opera conductors of his time.
Early Life and Education
Antonio Votto was born on October 30, 1896, in Piacenza, a major city in northern Italy. He studied at the Conservatorio di Musica San Pietro a Majella in Naples and later found a position as a rehearsal pianist at La Scala in Milan. From 1921 to 1929, the brilliant Arturo Toscanini served as the principal conductor at La Scala, and Votto became his assistant conductor during this time. In 1923, Votto made his official debut as a conductor in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut."
Career and Achievements
Regularly performing at La Scala and other major opera houses in Italy and abroad, Votto gradually gained a reputation as one of the most outstanding Italian opera conductors of his generation. In 1941, he began teaching at the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, where future stars such as Claudio Abbado and Riccardo Muti were among his students.
Votto became the resident conductor at La Scala in 1948, although Victor de Sabata remained the musical director of the theater. Over the next two decades, a fierce competition unfolded between de Sabata, Votto, and his younger successors, Carlo Maria Giulini and Guido Cantelli, both in the recording studio and on the opera stage.
During the 1950s, Votto made several highly successful recordings with Maria Callas, primarily featuring extravagant productions at La Scala. Their collaboration on Puccini's "La bohème" and Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" in 1956, as well as Bellini's "La Sonnambula" in 1957, were enthusiastically received by critics and audiences. However, according to many fans of this artistic duo, their live recordings of "Norma" and "Andrea Chenier" from 1955 surpass the studio recordings in terms of passion and intensity. Some critics reproached Votto's studio works for lacking emotional immediacy.
Later Years and Legacy
Although Antonio Votto made his debut at Covent Garden in 1924, performing in productions of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" and Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci," his American debut only occurred in 1960. He conducted the orchestra at the Chicago Lyric Opera in two Verdi masterpieces, "Aida" and "Don Carlo." Votto continued to work at La Scala until 1967 and performed infrequently during the last two decades of his life.
Antonio Votto passed away on September 9, 1985, in Milan at the age of 88. His contributions to the world of opera, particularly his collaborations with Maria Callas and his esteemed position at La Scala, solidified his legacy as one of the most prominent Italian opera conductors of the 20th century.
