Bassi, Luigi

views updated

Bassi, Luigi

Bassi, Luigi, Italian baritone; b. Pesaro, Sept. 4, 1766; d. Dresden, Sept. 13, 1825. He studied with Pietro Morandi in Senigallia, making his debut in Pesaro at the age of 13. He then sang in Florence, and in 1784 went to Prague, where he soon became greatly appreciated. Mozart wrote the part of Don Giovanni for him and heeded his advice in matters of detail. Bassi was in Vienna from 1806 to 1814, then briefly in Prague. In 1815 he joined an Italian opera company in Dresden.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire