Giacomo Aragall (b1939)

During the following two decades Aragall became an indispensable part of the operatic world, singing lyric tenor rôles such as Edgardo/Lucia di Lammermoor, Pinkerton/Madama Butterfly, Fernando/La favorita, Alfredo/La traviata, Werther, Faust, Cavaradossi/Tosca, Des Grieux/Manon, Don Carlo, Maurizio/Adriana Lecouvreur, Riccardo/Un ballo in maschera and Gabriele/Simon Boccanegra. Highlights included Romeo in the La Scala production of Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Renata Scotto and Luciano Pavarotti, Claudio Abbado conducting (1966); the first twentieth-century performances of Donizetti’s Caterina Cornaro in Naples with Leyla Gencer (1972) and later Montserrat Caballé; the rediscovery of Massenet’s Esclarmonde with Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge at San Francisco (1974) and the Metropolitan (1976); and Rodolfo with Carlos Kleiber conducting at Covent Garden (1979).

Towards the end of his career, when he tended to sing heavier rôles, Aragall also gave song-recitals, for instance touring Germany in 1997; and at the reopening of the Teatro Real, Madrid in 1997 he sang the rôle of Pedro in Manuel de Falla’s opera La vida breve. In 1994 he founded the Giacomo Aragall International Singing Competition. His many honours include being named a kammersänger at the Vienna State Opera. Aragall possessed a rich natural tenor voice, which he used with style and discretion as well as virility when required. Although his commercial recording career was limited, he may be found singing on a large number of unofficial opera recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, always giving performances of a very high standard.

Courtesy of David Patmore