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Titta Ruffo

Italian operatic baritone known as the 'Voce del leone'

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Titta Ruffo

via Wikipedia: Titta Ruffo · see source

Titta Ruffo was a celebrated operatic baritone born Ruffo Titta in Pisa, who reversed his forename and surname for the stage.[1] He was a prolific recording artist who made over 130 78-rpm records, both acoustic and electric.[2] At age 76, Titta Ruffo passed away in Florence on 5 July 1953, with heart disease being the cause.[3]

Making and release

Ruffo was the son of a foreman at an ironworks, who named him after a favourite dog, Ruffo.[1] He studied singing and voice production with several teachers.[4] Ruffo reached the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1922 as Figaro in The Barber of Seville, having enlisted in the Italian army during World War I.[5] He gave a total of 46 performances at the Met from 1922 through 1929.[5]

"Cafiero" was the sole name his mother used for him.[4] Ruffo's first performances in major venues included Buenos Aires in 1902, London in 1903, Milan in 1904, Lisbon in 1907, the Paris Opéra in 1911, and São Paulo's Theatro Municipal also in 1911.[5] In 1912, Ruffo's first American performance took place in Philadelphia, and he performed frequently in Chicago.[5] During his time with the Met, Estelle Liebling served as his voice teacher.[5]

A movie contract worth $350,000 was signed by Ruffo in 1929.[5]

What the cited sources add

After coming back to Italy in 1937, Ruffo was subsequently taken into custody for his opposition to the Fascist government and his socialist views.[6]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Titta Ruffo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ruffo 1995, p. 7 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Titta Ruffo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: see (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Titta Ruffo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Titta Ruffo, Noted Baritone, 76, Dead. Star at the Metropolitan After First World War Possessed Great Box-Office Appeal", New York Times, July 6, 1953 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Titta Ruffo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ruffo 1995, p. 7; Peeler, ""Ruffo Titta" - His Personality", Musical America, December 27, 1913, p. 13 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Titta Ruffo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Estelle Liebling Dies Here at 90; Was a Leading Operatic Coach", The New York Times, September 26, 1970; Dean Fowler, "Estelle Liebling: An exploration of her pedagogical principles as an extension and elaboration of the Marchesi method, including a survey of her music and editing for coloratura soprano and other voices", U; "Titta Ruffo Quits the Metropolitan Opera For $350,000 Contracts With the 'Talkies'", New York Times, March 23, 1929 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Titta Ruffo" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Ruffo, "My Parabola", Baskerville Publishers, 1995 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Titta Ruffo (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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1. In what year did Titta Ruffo die?

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Not quite. The answer is 1953.

2. In which place was Titta Ruffo born?

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Not quite. The answer is Pisa, Italy.

3. In what year was Titta Ruffo born?

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Not quite. The answer is 1877.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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