LA SONNAMBULA – BELLINI
Presented on May 21, 23, 25, 28 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin as part of Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Margherita Rinaldi – Amina
Ugo Benelli – Elvino
Plinio Clabassi / Ferruccio Mazzoli[May 28] – Rodolfo
Leila Bersiani – Lisa
Anna di Stasio – Teresa
Ernesto Vezzosi – Alessio
Guido Pasella – Notary
Ottavio Ziino – Conductor
Carlo Acly Azzolini – Producer
Listen to this production here:
The recording appears to have been made on an evening when Plinio Clabassi was singing Rodolfo
Like Pavarotti, the young tenor Ugo Benelli arrived in Dublin in that spring of ’63 an unknown to sing Elvino in Bellini’s “La Sonnambula”. He made an immediate impression and was hailed as a discovery and a lyric tenor of remarkable promise. He was blessed with handsome dark looks, a slim figure and a winning personality. He owed his presence in Dublin to Colonel Bill O’Kelly. They had first met in an agency office in Milan where the tenor was auditioning for pianist and composer Franco Mannino, the brother-in-law of Luchino Visconti. After he had sung his first aria the door opened and Colonel O’Kelly arrived with Maestro Botti and sat down on chairs to listen to him sing. ‘I had no idea who these two men were,’ Benelli recalls, ‘but afterwards they introduced themselves and Bill O’Kelly said he would like to have me sing in “La Sonnambula” in Dublin. I noticed that Maestro Botti was hesitant, as though he had someone else in mind, but O’Kelly was insistent and said he would finalise the contract with my agent. I liked his direct manner and when he said it was just the voice the society was looking for I believed him.’ He felt indebted to O’Kelly. ‘I was entirely unknown to him and although I had already sung roles in Italy and elsewhere he could have overlooked me, as Both appeared to want him to do, and for days afterwards I remembered that.’ He had married two years previously and his wife Angela was expecting their first child. He was aware of his new responsibilities and welcomed any offers of work. His career had progressed to his satisfaction and he was fulfilling a childhood ambition to be a singer. Although born in Genoa his parents had moved to Florence where they set up a hat-making business. He was seven years of age when his mother and aunt decided it was time for him to learn the piano and for the next few years he studied diligently. By the age of twelve he discovered he had a promising voice and people around him began to notice it also. A woman who lived above his family was fond of opera and one day gave him the music of arias from “Traviata” and “Fra Diavolo” and he tried to sing them. And another friend, who sang in amateur musicals, told him he had a beautiful voice and that when he reached eighteen she would introduce him to a singing teacher. She kept her word and before long he entered for a competition for a place at the La Scala Opera. ‘I was told there were about two hundred and eight competitors but I decided to he daring and sang difficult arias from “I Puritani” and “La Sonnambula”. I suppose I was eager to show off my lyric tenor voice and ample range and had no fears. Eventually I was chosen with two other competitors – one was Fiorenza Cossotto – to begin my studies at the school. The opportunity came at just the right time for me to get instruction from famous old singers and producers on all aspects of singing and stagecraft.’ It was by now the late fifties. He had acquired an agent and was engaged to sing in Montevideo, South America. It was a short intermezzo by Mozart which the management used to stage between the first and second acts of the main opera and lasted about twenty-five minutes. It required, however, refined vocal technique and good breath control and he was pleased with his performance. His real debut was at the Liceo Theatre in Barcelona as Fenton in “Falstaff”, produced by Franco Zeffirelli, and he received promising reviews; he sang it again in Parma in that same year. He had already met his wife-to-be in Genoa where she was an interpreter and at first it seemed she wasn’t keen to marry ‘this young singer’ ; but when she and her mother attended his recital he deliberately changed a song at the end of the programme to make it sound more romantic. He remembers this made her cry so her mother said to her, ‘Ugo made you cry, now you’d better marry him.’ ‘Angela was younger than me, very intelligent and had a critical mind. Since she too was taking singing lessons she was able to discuss my career with me. I was shy at the time but I do believe it was love at first sight. When this other girl introduced Angela to me I looked at her and immediately decided, “This is the girl for me.” ‘ Angela Benelli recalls that her first meeting with Ugo was at their teacher’s studio. ‘I thought his voice was by far the best of all other students and never doubted he could be a professional singer. As I loved music and opera I had voice training for some years. I always trusted Ugo and never thought about the risks of marrying a young singer. He has been very sincere and trustworthy. I am a strong optimist and I seldom worried about his travelling for engagements and tried to telephone him as often as I could.’ The first opera she heard him sing was “L’Elisir d’Amore” in 1956 at Teatro Falcone in Genoa and the quality of his voice and his pathos captured her heart. She once had a difficult job trying to prevent him from signing for the Spoleto Festival where the producer Luchino Visconti wanted him to sing Alfredo in “Traviata”. ‘I remember Luchino had personally asked Ugo to go there but he was very young and his tenore di grazia voice could have been spoiled by this role.’ After their marriage Angela and Ugo took an apartment in Milan; it was absolutely necessary, he told me, as the telephonic communications between Genoa and Milan were at the time inadequate and an obstacle to progress in his profession. They were happy days for them both, though in the operatic field the competition was keen and there were a lot of good voices around. ‘I dreamed his career would take him to sing in La Scala and other prestigious opera houses,’ said Angela. ‘I had heard about Ireland and I was pleased he was going there to sing as it would further his experience.’ Before he set out for Dublin, he talked to Maestro Botti about the climate and the food and the clothes to wear. It did not worry him unduly that the fee offered him was small. He wanted the work and the satisfaction of singing with established professionals. On arrival in Dublin he didn’t take a taxi from the airport, instead he travelled by horse and carriage having agreed a reasonable fare with the cabman. He was booked into the old Jury’s Hotel in Dame Street. It was a wonderful place and some of his Italian colleagues were also staying there. The restaurant was downstairs where he breakfasted in the following weeks but avoided having dinner as it was too early. To the young Benelli, it seemed a luxurious hotel and he regarded it a novelty to be staying there. He was told that Bill O’Kelly had negotiated a special deal for singers with the management; it was a lively place also and he was intrigued by the Irish cabaret put on there. He was struck by the scarcity of cars in the city and some of the vehicles he saw in the streets were old American Fords. The traffic was light in comparison to Milan and the air fresher. It was the friendliness of the people that struck him most forcibly, the way they greeted each other or stopped in the street and talked and didn’t appear afraid to talk to strangers. Angela, he knew, would enjoy the scene but being pregnant was unable to come with him. He was able to relax because he knew the music of “La Sonnambula” and looked forward to his own DGOS debut confident that he would do well. He was introduced to Nico’s restaurant and loved the atmosphere. ‘I think Ruggero Nico was very grateful to us for going there and sometimes we sang for the important customers like government ministers and diplomats; in return, he provided us with free dinners. The food was very good and I can still remember the big, juicy steaks. Ruggero was a nice man and loved having singers in his restaurant.’ Chorus members took to Benelli from the first rehearsal. He had an easy sense of humour and was friendly. To Dick Hanrahan his musicianship was very evident and he used his lyrical voice stylishly, never forcing it. Aileen Walsh and Joan Rooney felt he fitted into the society’s scenario like a glove. Like everyone else they admired his comic flair on stage and he was made for romantic roles. ‘Ugo was a charmer,’ said Florrie Draper, ‘and had the looks of a film star. Sometimes his singing reminded me of Tito Schipa’s voice.’ Dympna Carney said he knew his music before he arrived at rehearsals and his voice blended beautifully with that of Margherita Rinaldi.’ Benelli says he did not encounter either Luciano Pavarotti or Giuseppe di Stefano in Dublin as they were staying in different hotels and singing on different dates. He had met Pavarotti at a concert in Italy and remembered him to be big and friendly and was talking about a vocal competition he had won. It was the warmth of his personality however that tended to stick in the mind. The only time up to then that he had met di Stefano was in Cincinnati where he was singing in “Manon”. ‘There was a story that he liked playing roulette and that he had lost all his money and was forced to fly back to Italy on a second class ticket. They say it was true.’ Despite the ‘rave’ press reviews “La Sonnambula” was a box-office flop that season, which was a mystery to both Dr Larchet and Bill O’Kelly. Benelli’s honeyed tones and total credibility as the village youth Elvino won all hearts, including those of some veteran critics. To Robert Johnston (Irish Press) Benelli was a real find who in his opinion would grace world stages within a few years. ‘The voice is pure and fresh-toned and he says more with a single facial expression, or a smile, than other artists double his age. Let’s have him back in Dublin again – and soon.’ Mary MacGoris told Irish Independent readers that it was a well-placed voice with an attractive quality, while Brian Quinn (Herald) stated he was one of the best lyric tenors heard in Dublin for some years. ‘It was love at first sight between me and the audience,’ Benelli said later. ‘After that I began to be known and since I had good English I was able to thank people when they talked about my success. It made me feel good. The role of Elvino was perfect for my voice and I would sing it many times in my career.’ To the tenor the cast was outstanding and their brilliant performances, particularly by Rinaldi and Clabassi, helped in his success. He soon discovered that Clabassi was a gentleman. ‘I had heard he could be detached in his manner towards young singers like myself and that made me feel uneasy, but after the last performance of “Sonnambula” he came to me in my dressing room and said with a smile, ‘Ugo, you can speak with me. Your Elvino is very good. You will go far.’ Colonel O’Kelly expressed delight at his successful debut and said he would have him back. Young Benelli saw him as a fatherly figure running a large operatic family. He admired his sincerity as well as his managerial skills. He was to return home to Milan a happy man. ‘Ugo was enthusiastic about the Dublin audience,’ recalled his wife Angela. ‘As a young singer their support meant so much to him.’
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
Opera in Ireland 