Raimondi, Ruggero

Raimondi, Ruggero , notable Italian bass; b. Bologna, Oct. 3, 1941. He was a student of Pediconi (1961–62) and Piervenanzi (1963–65) at the Cons. di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 1964 he made his operatic debut as Colline in Spoleto, and then sang at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice until 1969. In 1964 he made his first appearance in Rome as Procida. In 1968 he made his debut at Milan’s La Scala as Timur in Turandot, and his London debut in a concert perf. of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. He sang Don Giovanni at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1969. In 1970 he made his first appearance at the Salzburg Festival as a soloist in the Verdi Requiem. On Sept. 14, 1970, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Silva in Emani, and subsequently made regular appearances there. He made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden as Verdi’s Fiesco on Feb. 23, 1972. In 1978 he returned to the Salzburg Festival to make his operatic bow as Philip in Don Carlos. He sang at the Paris Opéra in 1979. In 1982 he appeared as Don Quichotte at the Vienna State Opera. In 1987 he sang Mozart’s Count Almaviva in Chicago. He appeared in the opening concert at the new Opéra de la Bastille in Paris in 1989. In 1990 he sang Attila at Covent Garden. In 1992 he appeared as Scarpia in Rome. He returned to Covent Garden in 1994 as Rossini’s Mosè. In 1996 he sang lago in Salzburg. Raimondi’s vocal resources are ably complemented by his stage deportment. Among his other distinguished roles are Boris Godunov, Méphistophélès, Sparafucile, Oroveso, and Ramfis.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire