1800–76, Italian

Antonio Tamburini, the Italian baritone, was 18 when he made his debut in Cento in Contessa di colle erboso (‘Countess of the Grassy Hill’, 1814) by Pietro Generali. Tamburini went on to appear at La Scala, Milan in 1822 and 1827–30, in Naples in 1824 and 1828–32), the London Haymarket (1832–51) and Covent Garden (1847). He sang regularly at the Théâtre Italien in Paris between 1832 and 1854 and also appeared in Vienna, Genoa and St Petersburg. The handsome, popular Tamburini was personable, with a ‘rich, sweet and equal’ voice, splendid coloratura technique and ‘sensational’ falsetto. When he failed to appear at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1840, the disappointed audience staged a riot. Tamburini performed in Mozart and Rossini operas and created roles in Bellini’s Il pirata and I puritani. He sang in 10 operas by Donizetti, including Lucia di Lammermoor and Don Pasquale, in which he appeared as the doctor Malatesta.

Introduction | Early Romantic | Opera
Personalities | Giovanni Battista Velluti | Early Romantic | Opera
Houses & Companies | La Scala, Milan | High Romantic | Opera