Tamburini, Antonio
Tamburini, Antonio
Tamburini, Antonio, esteemed Italian baritone; b. Faenza, March 28, 1800; d. Nice, Nov. 8, 1876. He was a pupil of A. Rossi and B. Asioli, making his operatic debut in Generalas La Contessa di colle in Cento in 1818. In 1822 he first sang at Milan’s La Scala in Rossini’s Matilde di Shabran, returning there that same year to take part in the premiere of Donizetti’s Chicara e Ser afin. Following engagements in Trieste and Vienna, he went to Rome and sang in the first performance of Donizetti’s L’ajo nell’imbarazzo (1824). After singing in Naples and Venice, he appeared in Palermo, where he sang in the premiere of Donizetti’s Alahor di Granata (1826). Returning to La Scala, he created Ernesto in Bellini’s II Pirata (Oct. 27, 1827); after appearing in the first performance of Donizetti’s Alina, regina di Golconda in Genoa (1828), he went to Naples and sang in the premieres of Donizetti’s Gianni di Calais (1828), Imelda de’ Lammbertazzi (1830), Francesca di Foix (1831), La Romanziera (1831), and Fausta (1832). On Feb. 14, 1829, at La Scala, he created Valde-burgo in Bellini’s La Straniera, a role he repeated at the King’s Theatre in London on June 23, 1832; that same year he made his first appearance at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, and subsequently appeared regularly in London and Paris during the next 11 years. On Jan. 24, 1835, he created the role of Sir Richard Forth in Bellini’s I Puritani at the Théâtre-Italien; returned there to create Israele in Donizetti’s Marino Failiero (March 12, 1835) and Malatesta in his Don Pasquale (Jan. 3, 1843). After singing in St. Petersburg, he returned to London to appear as Assur in Semiramide in the first production mounted by the Royal Italian Opera at Covent Garden. In 1855 he retired from the operatic stage; however, in 1860 he sang Rossini’s Figaro in Nice. In 1822 he married the mezzo-soprano Marietta Goja (1801-66).
Bibliography
J. de Biez, T. et la musique italienne (Paris, 1877); H. Gelli-Ferraris, A. T. nel ricordo d’una nipote (Livorno, 1934).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire