Giuseppe Nessi


Giuseppe Nessi was an Italian operatic tenor.

Life

Nessi was born in Bergamo, near Milan in Italy. He made his debut in Saluzzo in 1910, in the role of Alfredo in La Traviata. However, on the advice of renowned Italian conductor Tullio Serafin, the majority of his career was focussed on character tenor roles. He was La Scala's leading comprimario tenor between 1921 and 1959, and also performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and at the Salzburg Festival under Arturo Toscanini. He created, among others, the roles of Pong in Turandot, the Priest in Il re, Donna Pasqua in Il campiello, and an archer in Francesca da Rimini; in Zandonai's opera he would later regularly perform the role of Malatestino, which became one of his most notable parts together with Bardolph in Falstaff.

Recordings

As a character tenor, Nessi was less likely than many other singers to be cast in a lead role. He does, however, play minor supporting roles on several important recordings, including: