Alessandro Bonci by Esplugas

Alessandro Bonci (1870-1940); Italian tenor.
He studied singing at the Conservatory of Pesaro and continued his studies in Paris with Enrico delle Sedie. In 1896 he made his debut at the Teatro Reggio di Parma as Fenton in Verdi's "Falstaff". The next year he made guest appearances at Livorno and at La Scala Milan where he created the role of Eraste in Franchetti's "Il signor di Pourceaugnac". In the following years he made guest appearances in St. Petersburg, Lisbon (1899-1900, 1903-04), Barcelona (1898-1901, 1903-04), Madrid (1902-03, 1905-06), Graz (1903), Brno (1903), Prague (1903-04) and Monte Carlo. In 1900 he sang for the first time at London's Covent Garden (as Rodolfo in "La Bohème"). In 1905/06 he participated in an Australian-tour. In 1906 he made his American debut at the Manhattan Opera Company in New York .He remained two seasons with the company, becoming a popular competitor to Enrico Caruso, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera. Bonci joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1908 and in 1914 the Chicago Opera. He also made a transcontinental tour of America in 1910-11 giving song recitals. From 1909 he enjoyed great successes in South America (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Montevideo). During World War I he served in the Italian Army. After the war he returned to America to tour for three seasons. He appeared again at the Metropolitan Opera and sang in Chicago during the 1920-21 season. In 1922 and 1923 he served as the principal tenor of the Teatro Costanzi in Rome and conducted master classes across the United States the following year. After 1925 Bonci entered into partial retirement, devoting himself primarily to teaching in Milan. He still sang occasionally in public as late as 1935. He died in Viserba di Rimini in 1940, at the age of 70.