Mandini, Stefano
Mandini, Stefano
Mandini, Stefano, notable Italian baritone; b. 1750; d. c. 1810. He sang in Venice (1775–76) and Parma (1776). With his wife, the soprano Maria Mandini, he made his Vienna debut with the Italian Opera in Cimarosa’s L’italiana in Londra (May 5,1783), where they soon established themselves as prominent figures on the operatic stage. Mandini scored a major success as Alma viva in Paisiello’s II Barbiere di Siviglia during the 1783–84 season. He sang the role of the Poet in Salieri’s Prima la musica e poi le parole on Feb. 7,1786. On May 1, 1786, he created the role of Count Alma viva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, his wife taking the role of Marcellina. Mandini remained in Vienna until 1788, and then sang in Paris and Venice (1794–95). In 1795 he once more sang in Vienna. His brother, Paolo Mandini (b. Arezzo, 1757; d. Bologna, Jan. 25,1842), was a tenor. He studied with Saverio Valente. After making his debut in Brescia (1777), he appeared at Milan’s La Scala (1781), and in Turin, Parma, Bologna, and Rome. In 1783–84 he sang under Haydn at Esterháza. On May 6,1785, he made his Vienna debut in Anfossi’s I viaggiatori felici. After a sojourn in Venice (1787), he returned to Vienna in 1789.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire