A native of Turin, Gandolfi began his career as a cameraman for the Cines film company in Rome in c. 1906. He worked for a variety of film companies in Italy while training as a vocalist with the opera singer Chiarina Fino-Savio. He made his professional opera debut in Turin in 1911, and over the next five years periodically performed in operas in Italy while primarily working as a cinematographer in the United States. He notably portrayed Amfortas in the first staging in Italy of Richard Wagner's Parsifal at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1914, a role he repeated at La Scala, the Teatro Regio in Turin, and the Teatro Carlo Felice.
Gandolfi formed a prolific partnership with the film director Oscar Apfel. From 1914 through 1924 he worked as Apfel's cinematographer on 15 feature-length silent films which were made for a variety of film studios including the Fox Film Corporation, Paramount Pictures, and the World Film Company among others. He also made several films with other directors for Selznick Pictures during the early 1920s. After this, his career in film was mainly over as his opera career in the United States became his focus. He worked as a cinematographer on two final films: The Viking (1931) and Amore e morte (1932).
Gandolfi was committed to the Chicago Civic Opera in 1923–1924. From 1924 to 1929 he was a leading baritone of the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company. In 1923 he made his debut at the San Francisco Opera, but was not a regular performer with the company until the 1930s. He notably portrayed Scarpia in Tosca with the company for the grand opening of the newly built War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in 1932. He simultaneously worked as a singer at the Metropolitan Opera from 1929 through 1936, appearing in more than 300 performances on the Met stage. In New York he had supporting roles in the world premieres of Arrigo Pedrollo's La Veglie (1924), Deems Taylor's Peter Ibbetson (1931) and Howard Hanson's Merry Mount (1934). He wrote the libretto to Anthony F. Paganucci's one-act opera Idillio Pastorale (1932). After retiring from the stage he lived in New York City and worked as a voice teacher.
Early career as both singer and cinematographer
Alfredo E. Gandolfi was born on 18 May 1885 in Turin, Italy.[1] He worked as both a cinematographer and a singer.[2] In c. 1906 he began his professional life as a cinematographer for the Cines film company in Rome, and then worked for Itala Film in his native city and for Pathé film until 1910.[3] During this time he studied singing in his native city with mezzo-sopranoChiarina Fino-Savio.[1] In 1911 he made his professional opera debut in Turin at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele as Lord Enrico Ashton in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor.[1] He later returned to that theater in 1913 as Lescaut in Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut.[1]
In November 1922 Gandolfi portrayed Germont in La traviata at the Broad Theatre in Newark, New Jersey.[34]
He made an unexpected debut at the Chicago Civic Opera (CCO) on November 17, 1923, replacing an ailing Giacomo Rimini as Lord Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor with Florence Macbeth in the title role.[35] He was heard with the company again the following December as the Fiddler in Königskinder with Claire Dux as The Goose Girl.[36] Other roles he sang with the CCO included Alessio in La sonnambula (1924),[37] Lord Ashton (1924),[38] and Marchese d'Obigny in La traviata (1924, on tour to the Boston Opera House).[39]
In April 1924 Gandolfi portrayed the title role in Verdi's Rigoletto for performances at the Crescent Temple in Trenton, New Jersey,[40] and the Broad Theater in Newark.[41] In May 1924 he appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra on tour to the 25th Annual Spartanburg Music Festival in South Carolina where he performed the role of the Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore with Frances Peralta as Leonora.[42] In September 1924 he portrayed Scarpia at the Manhattan Opera House with Beatrice Melaragno as Tosca and Giuseppe Radelli as Cavaradossi.[43] He performed the role of the Count di Luna at the 28th season of the Maine Music Festival in October 1924 with Joan Ruth as Inez and Marcella Roeseler as Leonora.[44][45]
On December 20, 1924, Gandolfi created the role of Mike Dara in the world premiere of Arrigo Pedrollo's one-act opera La Veglie (English: The Wake) which was given at the Hotel Pennsylvania with Giuseppe Bamboschek as the music director.[46]
Philadelphia Civic Opera Company and other work from 1925 to 1929
In 1926 he toured the United States and to Cuba with Andrés de Segurola's New York Civic Opera in such operas as Lucia di Lammermoor and Carmen.[57] In May 1926 he portrayed Scarpia in Tosca at the Gran Teatro de La Habana in Cuba with Bianca Saroya in the title role as part of this tour.[58][59] He later toured with this company again to Florida in 1927.[60]
By 1936 Gandolfi had performed a total of 38 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera and appeared in more than 300 performances with the company.[1] On February 7, 1931, he portrayed the manservant in the world premiere of Deems Taylor's Peter Ibbetson at the Met.[67] On February 10, 1934, he created the role of Myles Brodrib in the world premiere of Howard Hanson's Merry Mount at the Met.[68] He recorded this latter role for a complete recording of the opera released by Naxos Records in 1934.[69] While his roles at the Met tended to be in small- to mid-sized supporting roles,[1] on occasion he would portray bigger parts such as Scarpia in Tosca.[70][71] Other roles in his repertoire at the Met included Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana,[72] Baron Douphol in La Traviata,[1] Cappadocian in Salome,[73] Filiberto in Il signor Bruschino,[74] Fléville in Andrea Chénier,[1] Fra Melitone in La forza del destino,[1] Monterone in Rigoletto,[75] Paolo Albiani in Simon Boccanegra,[76] Ruggiero in La Juive,[77] Sacristan in Tosca,[1] Ser Amantio di Nicolao in Gianni Schicchi,[78] and Springer (the ringmaster) in The Bartered Bride.[79] His final performance at the Met was as Amantio in Gianni Schicchi on March 20, 1936.[65]
San Francisco Opera
Gandolfi was a leading baritone at the San Francisco Opera (SFO) in the 1930s. While he made his debut at the (SFO) in 1923[1] as Marcello in La bohème with Queena Mario as Mimì[80] he was not seen on the SFO stage again until nine years later.[1] He notably sang Scarpia in Tosca at the inaugural opening of the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in 1932,[64][81] a performance which was recorded[1] and whose other stars included Claudia Muzio as Tosca and Dino Borgioli as Mario Cavaradossi.[1] He later reprised the role of Scarpia at the SFO in 1934 with Lilli Lehmann as Tosca.[82]
In 1930 Gandolfi appeared as a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, singing Anthony F. Paganucci's The Gypsy King.[92] He later collaborated with Paganucci on the opera Idillio Pastorale (published 1932 by Carl Fischer Inc.), serving as the composer's librettist for that work,[93] and served as lyricist for Paganucci's Columbina, a work described as a "dramatic episode".[94]
In August 1933 he performed arias from Carmen with his future wife, the soprano Alice Kurkjian, and the New York Philharmonic (NYP) at Lewisohn Stadium,[102] which were broadcast on American radio.[103] He performed in several more concerts with the NYP at the Lewisohn Stadium in the summers of 1934 and 1935.[104] In May 1934 he performed with the NYP at the Westchester County Music Festival in which he was a featured soloist in excerpts from Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg.[105]
In 1932 Gandolfi was appointed to the faculty of the newly established New York School of Vocal Art.[120] He married soprano Alice Kurkjian at St. Clare Church in Manhattan on February 3, 1934.[121] After retiring from the stage, the couple lived at The Ansonia in New York City where Gandolfi also had a private studio as a voice teacher.[64]
Gandolfi died of anemia at the age of 78 on 9 June 1963 at St. Luke's Hospital (now Mount Sinai Morningside) in New York City.[64][2]
^Dean Fowler, Alandra (1994). Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices (PhD). University of Arizona.
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