Silveri, Paolo
Silveri, Paolo
Silveri, Paolo, Italian baritone; b. Ofena, near Aquila, Dec. 28, 1913. He studied in Milan and at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 1939 he made his operatic debut as Schwarz in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. After singing bass roles, he turned to baritone roles after successfully appearing as Germont in Rome in 1944. In 1946 he sang Marcello, Scarpia, and Rossini’s Figaro with the Teatro Sâo Carlo of Naples during its visit to London’s Covent Garden. He continued to sing at Covent Garden until 1952, both with the resident company and with the visiting La Scala company of Milan as Rigoletto, Count Luna, Amonasro, and lago. He sang Don Giovanni and Renato with the Glyndebourne company during its visit to the Edinburgh Festival (1948, 1949). From 1949 to 1955 he sang regularly at La Scala. On Nov. 20, 1950, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Don Giovanni. He remained on its roster until 1953, singing such roles as Tonio, Marcello, Germont, Escamillo, Rigoletto, and Scarpia. He then pursued his career in Europe. In 1959 he sang the tenor role of Otello in Dublin but then resumed his career as a baritone. His farewell performance took place at the Camden Festival in 1967 as Donizetti’s Israele. From 1970 he taught voice in Rome.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire