CESARE BARDELLI, PRINCE OF BARITONES

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

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His vocal fiber was that of a dramatic baritone but his singing was at all times lyrical, never forced or overblown. He clearly sang in the grand old manner, having studied with the great Carlo Tagliabue. Without overly modifying his vowels, even when he “covers” on an E natural for the sake of coloring more than out of necessity, Bardelli never muddles the words, the vocal emission remaining pure, steady, unencumbered by trickery or manipulations.

In a recording that dates back to the 1950’s, he delivers a spectacular Nemico della patria from Giordano’s Andrea Chenier: https://youtu.be/Ynz0HeYRZAY In the same manner he rides the perils and potential pitfalls of the Prologue from I Pagliacci (NYC, 1965) without breaking a sweat, capping it with as good an Ab as this listener has ever heard: https://youtu.be/BQS_0krPwno

Sadly, the MET wasted him in second-tier roles like Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana at a time when Merrill and Warren ruled the Verdi roost, occasionally throwing a Tonio in his direction. Other American and many European opera houses put Bardelli’s talents to better and more imaginative use. His 1966 Escamillo from Philadelphia is a case in point. With bravura by spades, handling both the high and low ends of the Toreador Song with equal ease, Bardelli is an Escamillo to the manner born.

The cantilena section in Rigoletto‘s Cortigiani: “Miei signori, perdono…” shows the kind of legato singing that is often absent from our stages these days: https://youtu.be/mHb5-UgfGLs His Il ballen (https://youtu.be/_15x-5ucaz0), on the other hand, shows both the lyrical and heroic singing Bardelli could deliver back to back when he moves into the cabaletta that follows the aria.

Even though he grew up fast as a singer, debuting at age 27, Bardelli stayed vocally fresh though his retirement, singing a grueling and steady diet of Scarpias, the role becoming a signature of his. But he remained at heart and at his very core a true Verdi baritone: Ezios’ scena from Attila is a lesson in Verdian singing, bringing to life what Verdi called “lunga la linea”: https://youtu.be/Ynz0HeYRZAY

This might have just been one of the sturdiest baritone voices this listener ever heard: the longer he sang the better he got. His Scarpia, which he sang hundreds of times: https://youtu.be/mHb5-UgfGLs justifiably earned Bardelli the sobriquet of Prince of Baritones: a well deserved, hard earned tribute.

Rafael de Acha www.                      Rafael’sMusicNotes.com       All About the Arts

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”