Name Vincenzo Galli | ||
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Vincenzo Galli (1905-1964)
Vincenzo Galli (1798 – 1858) was an Italian opera singer and impresario. Considered an outstanding basso buffo singer, he created many roles on Italian stages, including ones in two of Donizetti's operas: Ivano in Otto mesi in due ore and Cesare Salzapariglia in Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali. Luigi Ricci composed the role of Michelotto in his opera Chiara di Rosembergh specifically for Galli's voice.
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Life and career
Galli was born in Rome, the younger brother of Filippo Galli, an even more famous bass. Vincenzo was sometimes referred to as "il Galli minore" (the minor Galli). He made his stage debut at the Teatro Argentina in Rome in 1819 as Eugaro in Giuseppe Nicolini's Giulio Cesare nelle Gallie and his La Scala debut in 1824 as Giorgio in Rossini's Torvaldo e Dorliska with his brother Filippo as the Duke of Ordow. Galli was very active in Italian opera houses, primarily at La Scala, throughout the 1820s and 30s when he sang in numerous world and Italian premieres. He sang in Lisbon in the 1842/43 season at the Theatro de São Carlos, primarily in Donizetti operas, and then returned to Milan for the 1844/45 season at the Teatro della Canobbiana where he sang in several Rossini and Donizetti operas. In the 1840s he also formed his own travelling opera company which Jacopo Foroni joined as the conductor in 1848. While the company was in residence at Stockholm's Mindre Theatre, it premiered Foroni's opera Cristina, regina di Svezia.
In 1850 he appeared at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris as Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. His last stage performance was as Don Annibale Pistacchio in Donizetti's Il campanello at the St James's Theatre in London in November 1857. The critic in The Musical World described him as "an excellent buffo" who contributed to the opera's success with the London audience. Galli died of a stroke in Milan a year later at the age of 60. According to Francesco Regli, he was a "handsome and jovial figure whose voice remained strong and in tune throughout his career." Galli's son Achille (1829–1905) was a composer and teacher of piano and voice.