From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alessandro Bonci (February 10, 1870 – August 10, 1940) was an Italian lyric tenor
known internationally for his association with the bel canto repertoire. He sang
at many famous theatres, including New York's Metropolitan Opera, Milan's La Scala
and London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
A native of Cesena, Romagna, Bonci started out as an apprentice shoemaker. He secured
a music scholarship to the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro, working for five years
with Carlo Pedrotti (the teacher of the heroic tenor Francesco Tamagno) and then
Felice Coen. He also had private singing lessons in Paris with the retired baritone
Enrico Delle Sedie.
Alessandro Bonci made his debut in Parma in 1896, singing the role of Fenton in
Giuseppe Verdi's Falstaff at the Teatro Regio. Before the end of his first season
he was engaged to sing at La Scala, Milan, where he debuted in Vincenzo Bellini's
I Puritani. Appearances elsewhere in Europe followed, including at London's Royal
Opera House, Covent Garden. He first sang at Covent Garden in 1900 and he would
return there in 1903 and 1907-08. On December 3, 1906, Bonci made his American debut
with the Manhattan Opera Company in New York City; again the opera was I Puritani.
He stayed two seasons with the company, becoming a popular competitor to Enrico
Caruso, who was the rival Metropolitan Opera's major drawcard. Bonci himself joined
the Metropolitan Opera in 1908 and, in 1914, the Chicago Opera.