Giovanni Zenatello (1876-1949) was one of the most important spinto-dramatic tenors of his generation, whose 30 year career took him to most of the major world theaters. Born Eugenio Zenatello in Verona, he first displayed his voice by singing in the streets as he delivered bread from his father’s bakery. He was accepted into the local church choir and after his voice changed, began his training as a baritone. He debuted as Silvio in Pagliacci at Beluto’s Teatro Sociale in April of 1898 and soon graduated to the role of Tonio. During another production of Pagliacci, this time at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples, the Canio fell ill and Zenatello, who had been working his tenor range (and had learned Canio by osmosis) stepped in at a moment's notice. This is probably the only instance of a singer who took on all three principal male roles in Pagliacci in less than a year's time! After this second debut, Zenatello sang only tenor roles, with Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor and the title role in Faust following in quick succession.
After a brief period of further study, Zenatello pursued his career in earnest, appearing for the first of many times in South America and making his La Scala debut in Damnation de Faust in December of 1902. On December 19, 1903, Zenatello created the role of Vassili in Giordano's Siberia, and two months later, sang Pinkerton in the premiere of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, both at La Scala. Neither work was a success, but the tenor got another shot at Pinkerton in the much more successful revised edition at Brescia on May 28. In October of 1905, Zenatello made his Covent Garden debut (with San Carlo Grand Opera) as Riccardo in Ballo in Maschera to glowing reviews. He followed this with Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Andrea Chénier, Mefistofele, Faust and Aïda. Zenatello returned to London the following fall for Butterfly, Bohème, Tosca, Adriana Lecouvreur, Fedora, Carmen and Faust.
November 1907 saw Zenatello’s North American debut with Hammerstein’s Manhattan Opera as Enzo in La Gioconda. Although he never sang on the Met stage (there were a few performances on tour with the company, spelling an ailing Caruso), the tenor became an important fixture in New York. Appearances in Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago followed, and Zenatello found himself in demand in both North and South America during the next several seasons. He returned to Italy in 1913 and was instrumental in establishing the opera festival at the Arena di Verona that summer. Zenatello spent the war years in New York, appearing throughout the U.S., as well as in Mexico and Cuba. It was not all smooth sailing, however. A 1915 Carmen found Zenatello nearly coming to blows with George Baklanoff (the Escamillo) over the baritone’s amorous onstage lovemaking with the Carmen of Maria Gay, who was Mrs. Zenatello offstage. In 1917, Zenatello lost $29,000 in fees when Boston Grand Opera filed for bankruptcy and the following year, his touring company had to cut short a Mexican tour due to the country’s perilous political climate.
Following the war, Zenatello returned to Europe, appearing in Madrid, Moscow, Vienna, London and, of course, Verona, where he drew tremendous crowds at the Arena. In October of 1924, he appeared in a Berlin production of Aïda, organized by Mascagni. The performance failed to attract an audience, leaving the composer destitute and the entire company unpaid. More successful was Zenatello’s return to Covent Garden for a June 1926 production of Otello. Although the 50 year old tenor’s voice was showing its age, he was still powerful in what was now considered his signature role.
Zenatello began to curtail his appearances in the late 1920s. After a lengthy absence from the stage, the veteran tenor returned for a final Pagliacci at New York’s Mecca Auditorium in September of 1933. He continued to teach and tried his hand as a manager, guiding such artists as Nino Martini and Lily Pons (though he and Pons later had a very bitter falling out). Following the death of his wife in 1943, the tenor remained active with the Arena di Verona, bringing both Maria Callas and Richard Tucker to the venue. Zenatello remained remarkably busy well into his 70s, and passed away in New York on February 11, 1949, shortly before his 73rd birthday.
Giovanni Zenatello’s career was significant, with a repertoire of over 50 operas including Rigoletto, Trovatore, Traviata, Forza del Destino, Louise, Les Huguenots, Pique Dame, Loreley, Iris, Germania, and his crowning achievement, the title role in Verdi's Otello. Zenatello’s vast recorded output for G&T, Fonotipia, Columbia, Edison, and Victor, covers over a quarter century and nearly 200 discs, essentially documenting the tenor’s entire career. Here, Zenatello is joined by soprano Gloria Marion and baritone Andreas Boehm (neither of whom seem vocally up to the task) for “Ella è pura” from Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera. This was recorded for Victor in Camden, NJ on March 12, 1930.
