Paskuale Amato Italian singer (baritone) Country: Italy

1. Biography of Pasquale Amato
2. Career and Teaching
3. Selected Discography

Biography of Pasquale Amato

Pasquale Amato (1878-1942) was an Italian singer (baritone). He was born in Naples and studied at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella under Beniamino Carelli and Vincenzo Lombardi. He made his debut in 1900 at the Teatro Bellini, performing the role of Georges Germont. Amato's early career rapidly developed and he soon began singing roles such as Escamillo, Renato, Valentin, and Lescaut in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut". He performed at Teatro alla Verme in Milan, Genoa, Salerno, Catania, Monte Carlo, Odessa, and theaters in Germany. He had great success in operas such as Donizetti's "Maria di Rohan" and Leoncavallo's "Zaza". In 1904, Amato made his debut at Covent Garden, performing the role of Rigoletto. He also had successful performances in South Africa in various roles. In 1907, Amato gained fame after his performance at La Scala in the Italian premiere of Debussy's opera "Pelléas et Mélisande" in the role of Golaud. He expanded his repertoire to include roles such as Kurwenal in Wagner's "Tristan und Isolde", Gellner in Catalani's "La Wally", and Barnaba in Ponchielli's "La Gioconda". In 1908, Amato was invited to the Metropolitan Opera, where he became a frequent partner of Enrico Caruso, mostly in Italian repertoire. In 1910, he participated in the world premiere of Puccini's "The Girl of the Golden West" alongside Emma Destinn, Enrico Caruso, and Adam Didur. Amato's repertoire included roles such as Count di Luna in Verdi's "Il Trovatore", Don Carlos in Verdi's "La Forza del Destino", Enrico Ashton in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor", Tonio in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci", Rigoletto, Iago in Verdi's "Otello", Amfortas in Wagner's "Parsifal", Scarpia in Puccini's "Tosca", and Prince Igor. He had a repertoire of about 70 roles. Amato also performed in various contemporary operas by composers such as Giordano, Chilèa, Janetì, and Damrosch.

Career and Teaching

From the very beginning of his career, Amato relentlessly exploited his magnificent voice. The consequences of this began to show in 1912 when the singer was only 33 years old, and in 1921, he was forced to stop performing at the Metropolitan Opera. Until 1932, he continued to sing in provincial theaters, and in his later years, Amato taught vocal art in New York. He became one of the greatest Italian baritones, known for his unique voice that could not be mistaken for any other. His voice had remarkable power and a stunningly bright upper register. In addition, Amato had excellent bel canto technique and impeccable articulation. His recordings of arias such as Figaro, Renato's "Eri tu", Rigoletto's "Cortigiani", duets from "Rigoletto" (with Frieda Hempel), "Aida" (with Ester Mazzoleni), the prologue from "Pagliacci", and the role of Iago, among others, are considered some of the best examples of vocal art.

Selected Discography

1. MET - 100 Singers, RCA Victor.
2. Covent Garden on Record Vol. 2, Pearl.
3. La Scala Edition Vol. 1, EMI.
4. Recital Vol. 1 (Arias from operas by Rossini, Donizetti, Verdi, Meyerbeer, Puccini, Francketti, De Curtis, De Cristofaro), Preiser - LV.
5. Recital Vol. 2 (Arias from operas by Verdi, Wagner, Meyerbeer, Gomez, Ponchielli, Puccini, Giordano, Francketti), Preiser - LV.
6. Famous Italian Baritones, Preiser - LV.