Giuseppe Taddei was an Italian baritone, who, during his career, performed multiple opera composed by numerous composers. Taddei was born in Genoa, Italy, and studied in Rome, where he made his professional debut in 1936 as the Herald in Wagner's Lohengrin. He sang at the Rome Opera until he was conscripted into the army in 1942. After the war, he resumed his opera career and appeared for two seasons at the Vienna State Opera. He made his debut in London in 1947, at the Cambridge Theatre. The following year, 1948, saw his debut at the Salzburg Festival, La Scala in Milan, and the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. His American debut took place at the San Francisco Opera in 1957, followed by his appearance with Lyric Opera of Chicago in 1959. He sang regularly at the Royal Opera House in London from 1960 to 1967. Taddei was equally effective in comedy and drama. His acting repertoire included the two Figaros, from The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville, both Leporello and Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, both Belcore and Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, as well as Don Carlo in Ernani, Macbeth in Macbeth, Rigoletto in Rigoletto, Amonasro in Aida, Iago in Otello, Falstaff in Falstaff, Barnaba in La Gioconda, Gérard in Andrea Chénier, and Scarpia in Tosca, among others. His vocal longevity allowed him to continue singing into old age, including a debut at the Metropolitan Opera, on 25 September 1985, in the title role of Falstaff, at the age of 69. Taddei left many recordings, notably as Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro and Leporello in Don Giovanni in the Carlo Maria Giulini renditions, as Macbeth, opposite Birgit Nilsson, in Macbeth, conducted by Thomas Schippers, and as Scarpia in Tosca and as Falstaff in Falstaff, both conducted by Herbert von Karajan.
Discography
Year – Opera – Composer – Director – Singer – Character
1940–1949
1941 – Andrea Chénier – Oliviero de Fabritiis: Giuseppe Taddei
1941 – Andrea Chénier – Oliviero de Fabritiis: Giuseppe Taddei
1949 – Gianni Schicchi – Alfredo Simonetto: Giuseppe Taddei
1950–1959
1950 – Il barbiere di Siviglia – Fernando Previtali: Giuseppe Taddei
1950 – Falstaff – Mario Rossi: Giuseppe Taddei
1951 – Ernani – Fernando Previtali: Giuseppe Taddei
1951 – La traviata – Oliviero de Fabritiis: Giuseppe Taddei
1951 – Aida – Oliviero de Fabritiis: Giuseppe Taddei
1951 – La Bohème – Gabriele Santini: Giuseppe Taddei
1952 – Guillaume Tell – Mario Rossi: Giuseppe Taddei
1952 – Adriana Lecouvreur – Gabriele Santini: Giuseppe Taddei
1952 – La traviata – Gabriele Santini: Giuseppe Taddei
1953 – Madama Butterfly – Angelo Questa: Giuseppe Taddei
1953 – Linda di Chamounix – Alfredo Simonetto: Giuseppe Taddei
1953 – L'elisir d'amore – Gianandrea Gavazzeni: Giuseppe Taddei
1953 – Die Zauberflöte – Herbert von Karajan: Giuseppe Taddei
1953 – Eugen Onegin – Nino Sanzogno: Giuseppe Taddei
1954 – Tosca – Oliviero de Fabritiis: Giuseppe Taddei
1954 – Rigoletto – Angelo Questa: Giuseppe Taddei
1955 – Otello – Franco Capuana: Giuseppe Taddei
1954 – L'elisir d'amore – Gianandrea Gavazzeni: Giuseppe Taddei DVD
1955 – Don Giovanni – Max Rudolf: Giuseppe Taddei
1955 – Les Huguenots – Tullio Serafin: Giuseppe Taddei
1955 – Andrea Chénier – Angelo Questa: Giuseppe Taddei
1955 – Tosca – Vincenzo Belleza: Giuseppe Taddei
1956 – Moïse et Pharaon – Tullio Serafin: Giuseppe Taddei
1956 – Linda di Chamounix – Tullio Serafin: Giuseppe Taddei
1956 – Falstaff – Tullio Serafin: Giuseppe Taddei DVD
