Moriani, Napoleone

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Moriani, Napoleone

Moriani, Napoleone, outstanding Italian tenor; b. Florence, March 10,1806; d. there, March 4,1878. He studied with C. Ruga, making his operatic debut in Pacini’s Gli Arabi nelle Gallie in Pavia in 1833. He then sang throughout Italy, garnering great praise for his interpretations of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi; he created the role of Enrico in Donizetti’s Maria di Rudenz in Venice in 1838, and that of Carlo in Linda di Chamounix in Vienna in 1842. He sang in Madrid (1844–46) and London (1844–45); made his Paris debut at the ThéâtreItalien (1845), where he returned in 1849–50 before appearing again in Madrid. He retired from the stage in 1851. Having sung so many death-laden tenor roles, he became known as “il tenore della bella morte.”

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire