Taddei, Giuseppe
Taddei, Giuseppe
Taddei, Giuseppe, noted Italian baritone; b. Genoa, June 26, 1916. He studied in Rome, where he made his debut at the Teatro Reale dell’Opera as the Herald in Lohengrin in 1936; sang there until he was drafted into the Italian army in 1942. After World War II, he appeared at the Vienna State Opera (1946-48); made his London debut at the Cambridge Theatre in 1947 and his Salzburg Festival debut in 1948. He sang at Milan’s La Scala (1948-51; 1955-61) and at London’s Covent Garden (1960-67); also appeared in San Francisco, Chicago, and other music centers. On Sept. 25, 1985, at the age of 69, he made his long-awaited debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. as Falstaff. In 1986 he appeared as Scarpia at the Vienna State Opera. He sang Falstaff in Stuttgart in 1990. He excelled in both lyrico-dramatic and buffo roles.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire