Bonci, Alessandro

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Bonci, Alessandro

Bonci, Alessandro, Italian tenor; b. Cesena, Feb. 10, 1870; d. Viserba, Aug. 8, 1940. He studied with Pedrotti and Coen in Pesaro, and with Delle Sedie in Paris. On Jan. 20, 1896, he made his operatic debut as Fenton in Parma; after appearances at Milan’s La Scala (1897) and London’s Covent Garden (debut as Rodolfo, 1900), he toured throughout Europe. On Dec. 3, 1906, he sang Lord Arthur Talbot in I Puritani at the opening of the new Manhattan Opera House in N.Y. On Nov. 22, 1907, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as the Duke of Mantua, and remained on its roster until 1910. He later sang in Chicago (1919–21) and at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome (1922–23) before settling in Milan as a voice teacher. Among his best roles were Count Almaviva, Ottavio, Wilhelm Meister, and Rodolfo. He also appeared in German Heder recitals.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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