Pasquale Amato
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Charles-François Gounod, Giacomo Puccini, (Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Giuseppe Verdi, Georges Bizet, Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Amilcare Ponchielli, Alberto Franchetti, Giacomo Meyerbeer
Label: Prima Voce
Magazine Review Date: 6/1999
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 80
Mastering:
ADD
Catalogue Number: NI7897
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Pagliacci, 'Players', Movement: Si può? (Prologue) |
Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Francis Lapitino, Harp Pasquale Amato, Baritone Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Composer Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| Carmen, Movement: ~ |
Georges Bizet, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Georges Bizet, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| Otello, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| Aida, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Johanna Gadski, Soprano Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| (Un) ballo in maschera, '(A) masked ball', Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| (La) traviata, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Frieda Hempel, Soprano Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| (Il) trovatore, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, Composer Johanna Gadski, Soprano Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| Rigoletto, Movement: ~ |
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer
Giuseppe Verdi, Composer New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| Faust, Movement: A votre santé! (Sword Scene) |
Charles-François Gounod, Composer
Charles-François Gounod, Composer New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| Dinorah, '(Le) pardon de Ploërmel', Movement: Ah! mon remords te venge |
Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| (L')Africaine, '(The) African Maid', Movement: Adamastor, roi des vagues |
Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer
Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| (La) Gioconda, Movement: ~ |
Amilcare Ponchielli, Composer
Amilcare Ponchielli, Composer New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
| Germania, Movement: Ferito prigionier |
Alberto Franchetti, Composer
(Anonymous) Orchestra Alberto Franchetti, Composer Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| Tosca, Movement: Tre sbirri (Te Deum) |
Giacomo Puccini, Composer
Giacomo Puccini, Composer New York Metropolitan Opera Chorus New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Pasquale Amato, Baritone |
| (Il) Guarany, Movement: Senza tetto, senza cuna |
(Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer
(Antonio) Carlos Gomes, Composer New York Metropolitan Opera Orchestra Pasquale Amato, Baritone Walter B. Rogers, Conductor |
Author: Patrick O'Connor
Amato was born in Naples in 1878, where he sang Giorgio Germont in La traviata in 1900 – the same role took him to the Metropolitan in New York in 1908. He remained a member of the Met company until the early 1920s, creating the role of Jack Rance in the world premiere of Puccini’s La fanciulla del West in 1910, as well as other parts including Napoleon in Giordano’s Madame Sans-Gene. His voice was a baritone veering towards bass-baritone – there is a hint of strain or tightness on some high notes which plagued him later in his life, so that although he continued singing into the 1930s, his major career petered out.
He is a total artist, a man of the theatre with a vivid personality and presence that can be heard in every record. A bit of a ham too: he does a wonderful ‘hushed’ voice in Escamillo’s Toreador song, and he has that ability suddenly to invest the most familiar things with such immediacy that one hears them as if for the first time. In the Act 4 duet from Il trovatore with the sturdy Johanna Gadski, his utterance of the words ‘Piu l’ami e piu terribile’ makes the force of Luna’s jealousy immediate and convincing. His Rigoletto is full of subtle detail. Only the Traviata duet with Frieda Hempel rather disappointed me: the sound is even and the singing refined, yet by today’s standards – or yesterday’s if you listen to Melba – they seem uninvolved.
The quality of these Victor recordings is very fine. Nimbus’s technique of re-recording continues to divide enthusiasts but when it works as well as it does on some of these selections one is convinced. At Escamillo’s entrance I felt that Amato was in the room with me.'
He is a total artist, a man of the theatre with a vivid personality and presence that can be heard in every record. A bit of a ham too: he does a wonderful ‘hushed’ voice in Escamillo’s Toreador song, and he has that ability suddenly to invest the most familiar things with such immediacy that one hears them as if for the first time. In the Act 4 duet from Il trovatore with the sturdy Johanna Gadski, his utterance of the words ‘Piu l’ami e piu terribile’ makes the force of Luna’s jealousy immediate and convincing. His Rigoletto is full of subtle detail. Only the Traviata duet with Frieda Hempel rather disappointed me: the sound is even and the singing refined, yet by today’s standards – or yesterday’s if you listen to Melba – they seem uninvolved.
The quality of these Victor recordings is very fine. Nimbus’s technique of re-recording continues to divide enthusiasts but when it works as well as it does on some of these selections one is convinced. At Escamillo’s entrance I felt that Amato was in the room with me.'
Pasquale Amato
Discover the world's largest classical music catalogue with Presto Music.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £8.75 / month
Subscribe
Gramophone Full Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Full website access
From £11.00 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.