Valletti, Cesare
Valletti, Cesare
Valletti, Cesare, notable Italian tenor; b. Rome, Dec. 18,1922; d. Genoa, May 13, 2000. He was a student of Tito Schipa. In 1947 he made his operatic debut as Alfredo in Bari. After singing in Rome (1947-48), he appeared as Count Almaviva in Palermo and as Elvino in La sonnambulain Naples in 1949. In 1950 he sang Don Narciso in II Turco in Italiaat the Eliseo in Rome. Following his London debut as Fenton with the visiting La Scala company of Milan in 1950, he appeared with the company in Milan in such roles as Lindoro in L′Italiana in Algeri,Nemorino, and Vladimir in Prince Igor. In 1951 he sang Alfredo in Mexico City opposite Callas. He made his U.S. debut as Werther at the San Francisco Opera in 1953. On Dec. 10,1953, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Don Ottavio, where he remained on the roster until 1960 singing such admired roles as Tamino, Ferrando, Count Almaviva, Alfredo, Massenet’s Des Grieux, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus. In 1958 he sang Alfredo opposite Callas at London’s Covent Garden, and appeared as Giacomo in Donna del lagoat the Florence Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. In 1960 he sang Don Ottavio at the Salzburg Festival. In 1968 he appeared as Nero in L′incoronazione di Poppeaat the Caramoor Festival in Katonah, N.Y. He retired from the operatic stage that same year. Valletti’s admired vocal gifts placed him in the forefront of the bel canto revival of his day
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire