Pinza, Ezio (baptized Fortunio)
Pinza, Ezio (baptized Fortunio)
Pinza, Ezio (baptized Fortunio), celebrated Italian bass; b. Rome, May 18,1892; d. Stamford, Conn., May 9, 1957. The family moved to Ravenna when he was an infant; he studied engineering. He began to study voice at the age of 18 with Ruzza and Vizzani at the Bologna Cons. He made his operatic debut as Oroveso in Norma in Soncino (1914); after military service in World War I, he resumed his career, making his first important appearance as Comte Des Grieux in Rome (1920); then sang at La Scala in Milan (1922–24); was selected by Toscanini for the leading part in the premiere of Boito’s Nerone (May 1, 1924). He made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in N.Y. as Pontifex Maximus in Spontini’s La Vestale (Nov. 1,1926), and remained on its staff until 1947; appeared also in San Francisco, Chicago, and other cities in the U.S.; also sang in Europe and in South America. His most celebrated roles were Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust, Don Giovanni, and Boris Godunov. In 1949 he appeared as a musical comedy star in South Pacific, and immediately became successful in this new career; also appeared in films.
Bibliography
R. Magidoff, ed., E. P.: An Autobiography (N.Y., 1958).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire