RIP Silvano Carroli

Obituary: Legendary Baritone Silvano Carroli Dies at 81

Opera Wire

By Francisco Salazar

April 5, 2020

Italian baritone Silvano Carroli died on April 4, 2020 in Lucca at the age of 81.

The baritone, who was born on Feb. 22, 1939, went on to study with Marcello Del Monaco before perfecting his technique with legendary tenor Mario Del Monaco. He also studied at the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia under the guidance of Mario Labroca, Francesco Siciliani, and Floris Ammannati.

He quickly made his debut in 1963 as Marcello in “La Bohème” in a production by Franco Zeffirelli with Mirella Freni and Giacomo Aragall.

That debut led him to perform many of the repertory staples and he became acclaimed for his interpretations in Verdi’s music. He sang the roles of Ezio in “Attila,” Iago in “Otello,” Renato in “Un ballo in maschera,” Don Carlo in “La forza del destino,” Monforte in “I vespri siciliani,” Germont in “La traviata,” the title roles of “Simon Boccanegra,” “Macbeth,” and “Nabucco,” Roger in “Jérusalem,” Pagano in “I Lombardi alla prima crociata,” and Amonasro in “Aida.”

He also sang the works of Puccini, Zadonani, Donizetti, Leoncavallo, Saint-Saens, Ponchielli, and Mascagni.

Carroli performed at the some of the greatest theaters including the Royal Opera House, the Teatro alla Scala, Teatro la Fenice, Arena di Verona, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, where he had one of his most successful triumphs in the role of Scarpia in “Tosca.”

Critics raved about Carroli stating “He has a flexible, beautifully articulated voice; and though it is not a baritone of great weight, it is always warm and penetratingly clear.”

During his illustrious career Carroli performed alongside the likes of Boris Christoff, Mario Del Monaco, Magda Olivero, Carlo Bergonzi, Cesare Siepi, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova, Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, and José Carreras. He also worked under conductors James Levine, Carlos Kleiber, Zubin Mehta, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Francesco Molinari Pradelli, Giuseppe Sinopoli, and Claudio Abbado.

The baritone continued to performed well in the 2000s. In 2007, he performed the role of Zaccaria in “Nabucco” at the Arena di Verona and in 2008 He performed “La Fanciulla del west” in Rome and the Royal Opera House. In 2009 he sang Scarpia in Tel Aviv under Daniel Oren.

Shortly after he started to teach at the Fondazione Del Monaco.

Carroli left a number of recordings behind including DVDs of “I Lombardi” with Carreras and Dimitrova, “Attila” with Maria Chiara, “La Fanciulla del “West” with Domingo and Carol Neblett, and “La Forza del Destino” with Ivo Vinco.

Here he is in his legendary Scarpia.

CARROLI, Silvano

Born: 2/22/1939, Venice, Veneto, Italy

Died: 4/4/2020, Lucca, Tuscany, Italy

Silvano Carroli’s western – actor, singer:

La fanciulla del West (TV) – 1982 (Jack Rance)