Marini, Ignazio
Marini, Ignazio
Marini, Ignazio, outstanding Italian bass; b. Tagliuno (Bergamo), Nov. 28, 1811; d. Milan, April 29, 1873. He made his operatic debut most likely in Brescia about 1832. From 1833 to 1847 he was a leading member of Milan’s La Scala, where he created the role of Guido in Donizetti’s Gemma di Vergy (Dec. 26, 1834) and the title role in Verdi’s Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio (Nov. 17, 1839). He befriended the youthful Verdi, who added the Cabaletta to Infelice in Ernani for him (1844). He later created the title role in Verdi’s Attila (Venice, March 17, 1846). From 1847 to 1849 he sang at London’s Covent Garden, and then in N.Y. from 1850 to 1852. From 1856 to 1863 he appeared in St. Petersburg. Marini was greatly admired for his true basso cantante. Among his other famous roles were Rossini’s Mosè and Mustafà, and Bellini’s Oroveso. His wife, Antonietta Rainer-Marini, was a noted mezzo- soprano. She created the role of Leonora in Verdi’s Oberto, as well as the Marchesa in his Un giorno di regno (Milan, Sept. 5, 1840).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire