Dante del Papa & Gina Ciaparelli - Non sai tu
Dante del Papa (1854-1924) was born in Pisa and studied at the Milan Conservatory. Following a few local concerts in his hometown, the young tenor made his debut as the Duke in Rigoletto at the Teatro Mariani in Ravenna in 1879. During the course of the next fifteen years del Papa appeared in Rome, Florence, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara, Livorno, Turin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Zagreb and Alexandria in such operas as Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Un Ballo in Maschera, I Due Foscari, La Traviata, Mignon, I Pescatori di Perle, Carmen, Faust, Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana. He immigrated to the United States in 1894 and settled in New York where he sang for the New York Grand Opera Company. Del Papa was also a fixture on the opera stages of Philadelphia and Boston. Despite reports that he had been a “star” at the Metropolitan Opera, del Papa made a single appearance with the company, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, while the MET was on tour in Boston on April 12, 1895. In his early forties, del Papa began to curtail his operatic performances, concentrating more and more on concerts and recitals. The tenor founded a school of singing, The Verdi Grand Opera School, around 1900 and became one of New York’s most successful voice teachers. Although he retired from professional singing in 1903, del Papa was coaxed back to the stage for a few charity concerts in 1915 and 1916. At the time, the tenor was still in fine voice, despite his advancing age. Dante del Papa continued to teach from his New York studio until his death in 1924 at the age of seventy. Dante del Papa was one of the musical artists who made the acquaintance of socialite and recording pioneer Lieutenant Gianni Bettini (1860-1938). Bettini made hundreds of cylinder recordings of famous (and not so famous) singers in New York and Paris during the 1890s and early 1900s. Del Papa was frequently invited to Bettini’s Central Park South salon to make recordings, both as a solo artist and in ensembles. Although del Papa recorded scores of cylinders for Bettini (nineteen solo arias are listed in Bettini’s May, 1897 catalogue alone), only about a dozen of the tenor’s recordings are known to survive today. Here, del Papa joins voices with the young Gina Ciaparelli (later Gina Viafora) (1877-1936) for an excerpt from the love duet, "Non sai tu" from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. This was recorded for Bettini in his New York studio, probably in 1899.
Dante del Papa (1854-1924) was born in Pisa and studied at the Milan Conservatory. Following a few local concerts in his hometown, the young tenor made his debut as the Duke in Rigoletto at the Teatro Mariani in Ravenna in 1879. During the course of the next fifteen years del Papa appeared in Rome, Florence, Milan, Bologna, Ferrara, Livorno, Turin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Zagreb and Alexandria in such operas as Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Un Ballo in Maschera, I Due Foscari, La Traviata, Mignon, I Pescatori di Perle, Carmen, Faust, Pagliacci and Cavalleria Rusticana. He immigrated to the United States in 1894 and settled in New York where he sang for the New York Grand Opera Company. Del Papa was also a fixture on the opera stages of Philadelphia and Boston. Despite reports that he had been a “star” at the Metropolitan Opera, del Papa made a single appearance with the company, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, while the MET was on tour in Boston on April 12, 1895. In his early forties, del Papa began to curtail his operatic performances, concentrating more and more on concerts and recitals. The tenor founded a school of singing, The Verdi Grand Opera School, around 1900 and became one of New York’s most successful voice teachers. Although he retired from professional singing in 1903, del Papa was coaxed back to the stage for a few charity concerts in 1915 and 1916. At the time, the tenor was still in fine voice, despite his advancing age. Dante del Papa continued to teach from his New York studio until his death in 1924 at the age of seventy. Dante del Papa was one of the musical artists who made the acquaintance of socialite and recording pioneer Lieutenant Gianni Bettini (1860-1938). Bettini made hundreds of cylinder recordings of famous (and not so famous) singers in New York and Paris during the 1890s and early 1900s. Del Papa was frequently invited to Bettini’s Central Park South salon to make recordings, both as a solo artist and in ensembles. Although del Papa recorded scores of cylinders for Bettini (nineteen solo arias are listed in Bettini’s May, 1897 catalogue alone), only about a dozen of the tenor’s recordings are known to survive today. Here, del Papa joins voices with the young Gina Ciaparelli (later Gina Viafora) (1877-1936) for an excerpt from the love duet, "Non sai tu" from Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. This was recorded for Bettini in his New York studio, probably in 1899.