Giannini, Ferruccio

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Giannini, Ferruccio

Giannini, Ferruccio, Italian-American tenor, father of Dusolina and Vittorio Giannini; b. Ponte d’Arnia, Nov. 15, 1868; d. Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 1948. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1885; studied with Eleodoro De Campi in Detroit. He made his debut in Boston in 1891, then toured the U.S. with the Mapleson Opera Co. (1892-94); made the first operatic recordings, which were issued by Emile Berliner in 1896. He later settled in Philadelphia, where he presented operas, concerts, and plays in his own theater.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire