Enrico Crivelli was an Italian opera singer who sang leading baritone and bass-baritone roles in the major opera houses of Italy as well as in Spain, Russia, Germany, France, and England. He also composed collections of art songs and published two books on the art of singing. He was born in Brescia, the youngest son of the celebrated tenor Gaetano Crivelli and died in Milan after a career spanning almost 30 years.
Life and career
Crivelli was born in Brescia to a musical family, the most famous of which was his father, the tenor Gaetano Crivelli. His two older brothers also became musicians. Domenico Crivelli was a composer and singing teacher. Giovanni Crivelli was also a baritone opera singer who died in London at the age of 32. Crivelli initially studied law at the wish of his father. However, following his father's death in 1836 and with the encouragement of Simon Mayr, he began singing studies with Eliodoro Bianchi. He made is stage debut in 1841 as Filippo in Bellini's Beatrice di Tenda at the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona. He went on to sing leading baritone roles in the major opera houses of Northern Italy, appearing at La Fenice, La Scala, and the Teatro Regio di Torino amongst others, as well as in Spain, Russia, Germany, France, and England. He sang a wide repertoire ranging from bel canto roles such as Alphonse in La favorita, Severo in Poliuto, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Iago in Rossini's Otello to Verdian roles which included the title role in Nabucco, Miller in Luisa Miller, Conte di Luna in Il trovatore, Guido di Monforte in I vespri siciliani, and Rolando in La battaglia di Legnano. Crivelli also created a number of roles in the world premieres of now-forgotten operas such Tristano in Federico Ricci's Griselda. Beginning in the 1850s, he essayed several bass-baritone roles including Oroveso in Norma and the title role in Mosè in Egitto, Assur in Semiramide, and Oberthal in Le prophète. Crivelli composed a number of art songs and published two books on the art of singing, Metodo di canto and Grammatica musicale. He was member of the music academies of Rome, Florence, Bologna, Turin, and Brescia and an honorary member of the academies of Zaragoza and Cordoba in Spain. He died in Milan c.1870. The exact date of his death is unknown.
Roles created
Roles sung by Crivelli in world premieres include:
Alberigo in Francesco Malipiero's Alberigo da Romano; Venice, La Fenice, 26 December 1846
Tristano in Federico Ricci's Griselda; Venice, La Fenice, 13 March 1847
