Galli, Filippo

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Galli, Filippo

Galli, Filippo, celebrated Italian bass; b. Rome, 1783; d. Paris, June 3, 1853. He made his operatic debut as a tenor in Naples in 1801, and continued to sing tenor roles until an illness interrupted his career in 1811. He soon returned to the stage as a bass singing in a performance of Rossini’s La Cambiale di matrimonio in Padua in 1811. Galli created roles in several of Rossini’s operas, including Fernando in La gazza ladra (Milan, May 31, 1817) and the title role in Maometto II (Naples, Dec. 3, 1820). In 1823 he made his first appearance in Paris. From 1827 to 1833, he was a leading singer at the King’s Theatre in London. On Dec. 26, 1830, Galli created the role of King Henry VIII in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena in Milan. His voice began to decline about 1840, after which he was active as a chorus master in Lisbon and Madrid. From 1842 to 1848 he taught voice at the Paris Cons.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire