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Leo Nucci

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Leo Nucci is an Italian opera baritone, born in Castiglione dei Pepoli, near Bologna, in 1942. He studied singing with Giuseppe Marchese and made his debut in 1967 in Spoleto as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He then became a member of the chorus of La Scala in Milan, where he made his solo debut in 1975, again as Rossini's Figaro. His career quickly became international. In 1978 he made his debut at Covent Garden in London as Miller in Luisa Miller, in 1980 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Renato in Un ballo in maschera, in 1981 in Paris and in 1989 at the Salzburg Festival under Herbert von Karajan.

Music and breakthrough

Nucci is above all a singer of Verdi and verismo. His repertoire runs from bel canto to verismo, with roles such as Macbeth, Count di Luna, Giorgio Germont, Rodrigo, Amonasro, Iago and Falstaff. He sang Rigoletto alone more than five hundred times. Records include Le Villi, Il turco in Italia, Aida, La rondine, Andrea Chénier, Don Pasquale and Don Carlos. He performed with Luciano Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland and Plácido Domingo.

Influence

His voice sounds powerful and dramatic, and his acting is an important part of his art. He remained remarkably active for a long time: in 2016 he sang Rigoletto again at La Scala, and in 2019 he performed at the Verdi commemoration in Parma. Nucci is regarded as one of the most important Verdi baritones of his time.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to an aria from Rigoletto in his interpretation and notice the difference between the grim, fierce tone of the jester and the softer moments when he sings as a father.

Discography

Studio albums

Categories: Artists