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Sesto BruscantiniItalian operatic bass-baritone
Date of Birth: 10.12.1919
Country:  Italy |
Content:
Biography of Sesto Bruscantini
Sesto Bruscantini was an Italian operatic bass-baritone, one of the greatest comic singers of the post-war era, particularly renowned for his performances of works by Mozart and Rossini. He was born on December 10, 1919, in the commune of Civitanova Marche, Italy. After obtaining a degree in law, he pursued vocal studies at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, under the guidance of conductor and music educator Luigi Ricci. Bruscantini won a singing competition organized by RAI, the Italian radio and television company, in 1947 and made his debut at La Scala in Milan in 1949, performing the role of Geronimo in Cimarosa's opera "Il Matrimonio segreto".
Renowned Performances
Bruscantini quickly established himself in comic roles in the operas of Mozart and Rossini, such as "Le nozze di Figaro", "Don Giovanni", "Cosi fan tutte", "Il turco in Italia", "L'italiana in Algeri", "Il barbiere di Siviglia", and "La Cenerentola". He was also unrivaled in the works of Gaetano Donizetti, including "L'elisir d'amore", "La fille du régiment", and "Don Pasquale". In some of these works, he often alternated between different roles, such as Figaro and Count Almaviva in "Le nozze di Figaro", Guglielmo and Alfonso in "Cosi fan tutte", and Belcore and Dulcamara in "L'elisir d'amore". Bruscantini also participated in the revival productions of operas by Pergolesi, Scarlatti, and Cimarosa. He even recorded the first modern interpretation of Antonio Vivaldi's "Orlando Furioso" with mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne.
Later Career
In the 1960s, Bruscantini began to take on more lyrical and dramatic roles, such as Riccardo and Giorgio in "I puritani" and Alfonso and Baldasare in "La favorite". He added roles from Verdi's operas to his repertoire, including Rigoletto, Germont in "La Traviata", Simon Boccanegra, Melitone in "La forza del destino", Rodrigo in "Don Carlos", and Ford in "Falstaff".
International Success
Bruscantini was a regular guest at the Glyndebourne and Salzburg music festivals and performed at the Vienna State Opera. He also sang in Brussels, Monte Carlo, Paris, and London. Outside of Europe, he had relatively few performances, but in 1961, he sang the role of Figaro in "Il barbiere di Siviglia" at the Lyric Opera in Chicago. The singer was married for some time to Austrian soprano Sena Jurinac, with whom he frequently performed on stage in the 1950s.
Legacy
Sesto Bruscantini had a long and illustrious career and even in his 60s, he continued to sound magnificent. His belated debut at the Metropolitan Opera took place in 1981, where he portrayed Taddeo in "L'italiana in Algeri". Bruscantini sang at the Metropolitan Opera for two seasons and also performed the roles of Bartolo in "Il barbiere di Siviglia" and Dulcamara in "L'elisir d'amore". He left an impressive discography and continued recording until 1986 when he performed the role of Don Romualdo in Donizetti's "Emilia di Liverpool" for the British record label 'Opera Rara'. Sesto Bruscantini passed away on May 4, 2003, at the age of 83, in his hometown of Civitanova Marche.
