Bialystok-Stavenuiter's photos

Alois Pennarini, born Federler (1870-1927); Austrian tenor. In 1893 he made his debut at the Stadttheater von Preßburg (Bratislava) as Turiddu in Mascagni's "Cavalleria rusticana. He sang then 1895/96 at the Stadttheater von Olmütz (Olomouc), 1896/97 at the Stadttheater von Elberfeld and 1897/98 at the Theater an der Wien. In 1898/1900 he was engaged at the Stadttheater von Graz, where he focused in particular on singing Wagner roles (heldentenor). In 1899 he sang minor roles at the Bayreuther Festspiele in "Der Meistersinger" and "Parsifal". In 1900 he was engaged as "first heroic tenor" at the Opernhaus von Hamburg, where he worked until 1913 with brilliant successes. He appeared in Hamburg in the premiere of Siegfried Wagner’s operas "Der Kobold" (1904) and "Bruder Lustig" (1905) and in the premiere of Eugen d'Albert's ‘’Tragaldabas’’ (1907) as well. He made guest appearances in 1900 and 1903 at the Wiener Hofoper and from 1900 till 1912 at the Berliner Hofoper. Since 1900 he often appeared at the Hofoper von München and the Hoftheater von Stuttgart. In 1908 he gusted at the Hofoper von Dresden. In 1904 he sang with the Savage Opera Company in North America. He made guest performances at the Covent Garden in London, in Amsterdam and The Hague. From 1913 to 1920 he was the manager of the Nürnberger Stadttheater, where he also performed as a singer. In 1920 he was appointed as director of the Stadttheater von Reichenberg (Liberec). He was married to the soprano Gabriella (Ella) Appelt. Pennarini appeared also in several silent movies.

Eugenia Mantelli (1860-1926); Italian contralto/soprano. She made her debut in 1883 at the Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon as page Urbain in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots". In the same year she sang in Italy, where her first appearance was in Treviso as Kaled in Massenet's "Le Roi de Lahore". It was followed by various tours of guest appearances in Germany, Italy and South America together with the famous Spanish tenor Julián Gayarre. In Buenos Aires she appeared in 1889 along with Mattia Battistini. In 1894, she sang as a partner of Francesco Tamagno at the Court Opera of Moscow. From 1894/1900 she was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera New York where she sang 19 different roles in 127 performances. In 1896 she made guest appearances at Covent Garden London. She took part in a U.S.A. tour with the Grand Opera Company (under the direction of Pietro Mascagni) and sang in 1902 at the Manhattan Opera House in New York the title role of Mascagni's "Zanetto". In the 1902/03 season she was engaged once again at the Metropolitan Opera and in 1903/04 she undertook a U.S.A, tour with her own opera troupe. In 1904/05 she appeared in New York in music halls and operetta performances. Since 1905 she lived in Lisbon where she had her last stage performance in 1910. The universally talented singer's repertoire ranged from the coloratura role to the Wagner heroine.

Victor Maurel (1848-1923); French baritone who created Iago in Verdi's "Otello" (1887) and Sir John Falstaff in Verdi's "Falstaff" (1893). He studied singing at the conservatories of Marseille and Paris, where he was a pupil of Vauthrot and Duvernoy. He made his debut in 1867 in Marseille as Wilhelm Tell in Rossini's eponymous opera. He was then in 1868 at the Grand Opéra Paris (debut as Count Luna in "Il Trovatore" and as Nevers in "Les Huguenots). Then guest performances in St. Petersburg, Cairo, and Venice. In 1870 at La Scala Milan he created the role of Il Cacico in the premiere of "Il Guarany" by Carlos Gomes. In 1873 he created the role of Cambro in "Fosca", another world premiere of this Brazilian composer. He became famous as a Verdi interpreter. The maestro himself gave him at the Italian premiere of his opera "Don Carlos" in 1871 "at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples the part of Posa. He had great success in London's Covent Garden Opera, where he appeared 1873/79, 1891/95 and 1904. In 1873 he performed for the first time in North America and sang Amonasro in the American premiere of Verdi 's "Aida" at the Academy of Music in New York. At the age of 25 he had become practically the most important baritone for the Italian repertoire of his generation. Over the following three decades, he hurried to the major opera houses throughout the world from triumph to triumph. The focus of his artistic activities formed the La Scala Milan, the Grand Opéra Paris (1879/94) and the New York Metropolitan Opera, where he was engaged from 1894 to 1899. Moreover he made guest appearances in London, Madrid, Lisbon, Barcelona, Cairo, Naples, St. Petersburg and Moscow.In 1892 he created at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan in the world premiere of Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" the role of Tonio. Because this role did not contain a single aria, Leoncavallo transfered the prologue -which originally was for Canio- to Tonio. Only under this condition the famous singer was willing to accept the role. In 1897 at Monte Carlo he sang at the première of De Lara's opera "Moïna". In 1900 he created in Paris the role of Mathias in Erlanger's "Le Juif Polonais". In 1904 Maurel decided to end his triumphant career on the stage. He then lived as a teacher in Paris and since 1909 in New York City. On the photo he is seen is in his creator role of Mathias in Erlanger's "Le Juif Polonais". The opera was first performed in Paris at the Opéra Comique on 11 April 1900.

Virginia Ferni-Germano (1849-1934); Italian soprano. Just like her two cousins, the sisters Carolina Ferni (-Giraldoni) and Virginia Ferni (-Teja), she was very talented in both singing as violin playing. As a child of seven years old she sang virtuoso Spanish songs and accompanied herself on the violin. In 1876 she made her opera debut at the Teatro Real in Madrid as Siebel in Gounod's "Faust".This lead to a very succesful career in Europe and North and South America. She sang at Teatro Liceo in Barcelona (1878/80), at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (1884), at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna (1884) and at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome (1885). In 1886/87 she made guest appearances at Triëst and Padua and in 1887 at St. Petersburg. She sang at various world premières. In 1884 at theTeatro Comunale Bologna as Isora d'Aix in Mancinelli's "Isora di Provenza". In 1886 at La Scala Milan she created the title role in Catalani's "Edmea" and in 1890 at the Teatro Regio in Turin she created the title role in Catalani's "Loreley". She was married to the violin player Carlo Germano and their son Carlo Germano jr. became also a well known violinist. In 1896 she retired from the stage.

Letter to Virginia Ferni-Germano, written and signed by the famous baritone Leone Giraldoni on notepaper with his name. Ferni-Germano was a cousin of Giraldoni's wife Carolina Ferni (1839-1928).The text reads as follows: Cara Virginia, io non sono stato fortunato l'altro giorno nel venire a trovarvi a casa. Eravate uscita. Ma sarò più felice un'altra volta lo spero. Intanto permettetemi di offrirvi un piccolo mio stornello dedicato già a vostra cugina Virginia. Mi è venuto in mente che nessuno potrebbe dirlo come voi che avete le parole sulle labbra e l'espressione del verbo così efficace. Non ve ne abbiate a male. Sapete già che basta avere messo al mondo anche uno storpio, gli si vuole bene. E' un poco il caso mio. Ma come dice il mio stornello avete un modo di emettere il canto, che fà ringiovanire il cuor più tardi, per cui saprete anche raddrizzare il mio storpio se lo volete prendere in affetto. Desidero vedervi presto perché ho notizie di vostra cugina Virginia e di sua povera figlia Valeria che credo v'interesseranno abbenché sieno tutt'altro che consolanti. Intanto abbiatevi un affet- tuoso saluto dal servo vro (vostro) L. Giraldoni "Miliontinski péréoulok Maison Bardina App n°1 31 marzo / 11 aprile 89" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leone Giraldoni (1824-1897); Italian baritone. He was married to the soprano Carolina Ferni (1839-1926) and father of the also famous baritone Eugenio Giraldoni (1871-1924). Among his premieres were the title-role of "Simon Boccanegra" by Verdi at the Teatro Fenice in 1857,Renato in "Un ballo in maschera" by Verdi at the Teatro Apollo (Rome) in 1859, the title role in Pedrotti's "Mazeppa" at the Gran Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1861 and the title-role in Donizetti's "Il duca d'Alba" in 1882 also at the Teatro Apollo.

Letter to Virginia Ferni-Germano, written and signed by the famous baritone Leone Giraldoni on notepaper with his name. Ferni-Germano was a cousin of Giraldoni's wife Carolina Ferni (1839-1928).The text reads as follows: Cara Virginia, io non sono stato fortunato l'altro giorno nel venire a trovarvi a casa. Eravate uscita. Ma sarò più felice un'altra volta lo spero. Intanto permettetemi di offrirvi un piccolo mio stornello dedicato già a vostra cugina Virginia. Mi è venuto in mente che nessuno potrebbe dirlo come voi che avete le parole sulle labbra e l'espressione del verbo così efficace. Non ve ne abbiate a male. Sapete già che basta avere messo al mondo anche uno storpio, gli si vuole bene. E' un poco il caso mio. Ma come dice il mio stornello avete un modo di emettere il canto, che fà ringiovanire il cuor più tardi, per cui saprete anche raddrizzare il mio storpio se lo volete prendere in affetto. Desidero vedervi presto perché ho notizie di vostra cugina Virginia e di sua povera figlia Valeria che credo v'interesseranno abbenché sieno tutt'altro che consolanti. Intanto abbiatevi un affet- tuoso saluto dal servo vro (vostro) L. Giraldoni "Miliontinski péréoulok Maison Bardina App n°1 31 marzo / 11 aprile 89" ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leone Giraldoni (1824-1897); Italian baritone. He was married to the soprano Carolina Ferni (1839-1926) and father of the also famous baritone Eugenio Giraldoni (1871-1924). Among his premieres were the title-role of "Simon Boccanegra" by Verdi at the Teatro Fenice in 1857,Renato in "Un ballo in maschera" by Verdi at the Teatro Apollo (Rome) in 1859, the title role in Pedrotti's "Mazeppa" at the Gran Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1861 and the title-role in Donizetti's "Il duca d'Alba" in 1882 also at the Teatro Apollo.

Blanche Deschamps-Jehin (1857-1923); French contralto. She studied singing in Lyon and Paris and in 1874 she sang at the Alhambra Theater in Brussels in the operetta "Giroflé-Girofla" by Lecocq. She made her professional opera début in 1879 in the title role of Ambroise Thomas' "Mignon" at La Monnaie in Brussels. Here she created in 1881 the title role in the world premiere of Massenet's Hérodiade and in 1884 the role of Uta in the premiere of Reyer’s "Sigurd". In the mid-1880s she was engaged at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, singing there for more than a decade. While there she notably portrayed Margared in the premiere of Lalo's "Le roi d'Ys" (1888), Madame de la Haltière in the premiere of Massenet’s Cendrillon (1899) and the Mother in the premiere of Charpentier's "Louise" (1900). She also occasionally performed at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo where she sang the title role in the first performance of César Franck’s "Hulda" (1894) and created the Baroness in the world premiere of Massenet’s "Chérubin" (1905). In 1891 she made her first appearance at the Paris Opéra as Léonor de Guzman in Donizetti's "La favorite". Here she created in 1897 the role of Véronique in the first performance of Alfred Bruneau’s "Messidor". On the photo she is seen in her creator role of Véronique in "Messidor".

Marie van Zandt (1858-1919); American soprano who created the role of Lakmé at the première of Delibes’ eponymous opera. She received her first singing lessons from her mother,the soprano Jenny van Zandt. After coming to Europe she continued her singing studies with Francesco Lamperti in Milan. In 1879 she made her debut at Turin as Zerline in “Don Giovanni”. From 1880/85 she was engaged by the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where in 1883 she created the role of Lakmé. The composer Delibes had composed this role of Lakmé especially for her voice. In 1885 she sang in London at the English première of Lakmé at the Gaiety Theatre. During her career she made very successful guest appearances; at The Imperial Opera of St. Petersburg and of Moscow (1888), at Covent Garden London (1889), at theTeatro San Carlos Lisbon (1887 and 1889), at the Budapest Opera (1889), at Brussels and Copenhagen (1896) and at the Monte Carlo Opera (1897). In the season 1891/92 she was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera New York. In 1898 she retired from the stage after her marriage with the Russian Count Micha de Tcherinoff. On the photo she is seen in her creator role of Lakmé in the eponymous opera by Delibes.

Sybil Sanderson (1865-1903); American soprano. She attended the Conservatoire National de Paris and was a student of the famous Mathilde Marchesi de Castrone and Giovanni Sbriglia. In 1888 she made her debut at the Théâtre Royal de la Haye in The Hague in the title role of Massenet's "Manon" (under the name of Ada Palmer). In 1889 she joined the Opéra-Comique in Paris, where she had sensational successes. Jules Massenet, who admired her beautiful voice and her enormous acting talent, composed several operas for her. In 1889 she sang at the Opéra-Comique in the premiere of Massenet's "Esclarmonde" the title role and in 1894 she created at the Grand Opéra Paris the title role in the premiere of his opera "Thaïs". In 1893 she created the title role in Saint-Saëns' "Phryné" at the Opera-Comique. In 1891 she made guest appearances in London at Covent Garden. In the seasons 1894/95 and 1901/02 she was engaged by the Metropolitan New York. In England and in North America her successes were however not as big as in Paris. She died at the height of her career, during a stay in Paris of a malignant influenza. Massenet wrote about her: "She was an ideal Manon and an unforgettable Thaïs". On the photo she is seen in her creator role of Esclarmonde in the eponymous opera by Massenet.

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.

Enrico Caruso (1873-1921); Italian tenor who sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles from the Italian and French repertoires that ranged from the lyric to the dramatic. He also made approximately 260 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920. In 1894 he made his debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples in Morelli's "L'amico Francesco". In the following years he sang -without special successes- iin Cairo (1896), in Palermo at the Teatro Massimo (1897) and in Russia (1897/98 and again 1900). The great success came when in 1898 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan he created the role of Count Loris Ipanov in the première of Giordano's "Fedora" with Gemma Bellincioni in the role of Fedora. In 1899 he sang at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires and in 1900 he made his debut at La Scala Milan as Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme". In the same year he made guest appearances in Russia at St. Petersburg and Moscow. In 1902 he made his London Covent Garden debut as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's "Rigoletto" with Nellie Melba as Gilda. Also in 1902 he sang at Monte Carlo and again with Melba. In 1903 in Rio de Janeiro, during a performance of Rigoletto, he was cheered in such a way he had to repeat the aria "La donna è mobile" five times. In 1904 he appeared for the first time in Germany and in 1908 and 1910 in Paris at the Grand Opéra. In 1903 he was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera New York where he remained until his death, although every year he made guest appearances at the major opera houses in the world. He sang at various world premières: 1897 Federico in Cilea's "L'Arlesiana" at the Teatro Lirico Milan 1898 Loris Ipanov in Giordano's "Fedora" at the the Teatro Lirico Milan 1902 Federico Loewe in Franchetti's "Germania" at La Scala Milan 1902 Maurizio in Cilea's "Adriana Lecouvreur" at the Teatro Lirico Milan 1910 Dick Johnson in Puccini's "La fanciulla del West" at the Metropolitan New York Caruso died in Naples on 2 August 1921 at the age of 48. The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, opened the Royal Basilica of the Church of San Francesco di Paola for Caruso's funeral, which was attended by thousands of people. His embalmed body was preserved in a glass sarcophagus at Del Pianto Cemetery in Naples for mourners to view. In 1929 his wife Dorothy Caruso had his remains sealed permanently in an ornate stone tomb. On the photo he is seen as Don José in Bizet's "Carmen".

Fernando de Lucia (1860-1925); Italian tenor. He studied at the Naples Music Conservatory with Vincenzo Lombardi and Beniamino Carelli. He made his debut in 1885 at the Teatro San Carlo Naples in the title-role of Gounod's "Faust". After engagements in Bologna and Florence he sang at Madid during the season 1887/88 and the next season in South-America (Buenos Aires and Montevideo). It was followed by brilliant guest performances at the leading European opera theaters; Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Brussels, Lisbon and London. In 1893 he had a great success at the Teatro San Carlo as Canio in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci". The same year he performed the role in London and New York (Metropolitan Opera). He became famous then as a performer of Verismo roles. So he participated in world premières of a number of these Verismo operas; as Fritz Kobus in Mascagni's "L'amico Fritz" (1891), as Giorgio in Mascagni's "I Rantzau" (1892), the title-role in Mascagni's "Silvano" (1895), as Osaka in Mascagni's "Iris" (1898), as Yann Gaos in Mugnone's "Vita Bretonna" (1905), as Giorgio in Giordano's "Marcella" (1907). In 1910 he received a professorship at the Conservatory of San Pietro a Majella in Naples. His last stage appearance was in 1917 in Naples in "L'amico Fritz" but he continued singing in the concert hall. In 1921 at the funeral service for Enrico Caruso he sang Scarlatti's "Pietà, Signore ". His final years he worked as vocal teacher in Naples; his most well known students were Maria Nemeth, Gianna Pederzini, Melchiorre Luise, Georges Thill and Enzo de Muro Lomanto.

Nikolai Figner (1857-1918); Russian tenor. He studied singing in St. Petersburg with Ippolit Pryanishnikov and Camillo Everardi and in Naples with De Roxas. Here in Naples in 1882 he made his debut at the Teatro Sannazaro in Gounod's opera "Philémon et Baucis". In the following years he sang at the opera houses of Parma and Bologna and made international guest appearances at London, Madrid, Bukarest and St. Petersburg.. At the opera of Parma he performed in Aida and La Gioconda together with his future wife Medea Mei (they got married in 1889). In 1887-1904 and in 1907 he was engaged at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. In 1887 he sang the title role in the Russian premiere of Verdi 's "Otello" and since 1889 he celebrated here many triumphs together with his wife. The singer couple had a large influence on Russian musical life of their epoch. The with them befriended composer Tchaikovsky completed on their country estate in the vicinity of Tula his opera "Pique Dame", which he dedicated to the two artists. In the premiere in St. Petersburg (1890) Nikolai Figner sang the the role of Hermann and Medea Mei-Figner the role of Liza. In 1892 they performed in another Tchaikovsky première; Mei-Figner created the title role of Iolanta and Figner the role of Count Vaudémont. In 1903 the singer couple divorced. In the years 1907/10 he sang at various private opera companies in Russia. During the period 1910/15 he was director of the Narodny Dom Theatre at St. Petersburg. In the turmoil of the Russian revolution of 1917 the once idolized artist completely impoverished. On the photo he is seen as Roméo in Gounod's "Roméo et Juliette".

Theodor Reichmann (1849-1903); German baritone who in 1882 created the role of Amfortas in Wagner's opera "Parsifal". He studied singing with Elssler in Berlin, Johann Ress in Prague and Francesco Lamperti in Milan.In 1869 he made his debut at the Stadttheater von Magdeburg as Ottokar in Von Weber's "Der Freischütz". He then had engagements in Berlin (1869/70), Rotterdam (1870), Köln (1871), Strassburg (1872), Hamburg (1873/75) and Munich (1875/82). In 1881 he had his debut at the Wiener Hofoper, where he was engaged from 1883-1889 and 1893-1903. From 1889-1891 he sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and at the Berliner Kroll-Oper. From 1882-1902 he had regular appearances at the Bayreuth Festival. At the premiere of Parsifal in 1882 he created the role of Amfortas. In 1888 he received the honorary title of "Kammersänger". On the photo he is seen as The Dutchman in Wagner's "Der fliegende Holländer".

Theodor Reichmann (1849-1903); German baritone. Dedication written and signed by Theodor Reichmann. The dedication reads as follows: Herrn Dr. Teuber dem wahren Freunde der Kunst und der Künstler. Zur Erinnerung an den dankbar ergebenen Th. Reichmann Wien Febr. 89

Emilio Naudin (1823-1890); Italian tenor. In 1843 he made his debut at Cremona in Pacini’s opera “Saffo”. In the following years he performed successfully at the leading Italian opera houses, especially at Genua and Rome. He also made a successful international career and sang at Vienna, St. Petersburg, London, Paris, Berlin, Lisbon and Cairo. In 1865 he created the rôle of Vasco da Gama in Meyerbeer's "L'Africaine". At Covent Garden he performed in 1867 the role of Don Carlos in the English première of Verdi’s eponymous opera. Also at Covent Garden he sang at the première of Poniatowski’s “Gelmina” (1872), an opera that was dedicated to Adelina Patti who sang the lead role. On the photo he is seen as Danilowitz in Meyerbeer's "L'Ëtoile du Nord".

Giovanni Mario, born Giovanni Matteo De Candia (1810-1883); Italian tenor who created the role of Ernesto in Donizetti’s "Don Pasquale" at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris (1843). Because he possessed an exceptionally fine natural voice, Mario was encouraged by the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer to become a singer. He studied singing with Louis-Antoine Ponchard and Marco Bordogni. Mario made his debut in 1838 at the Paris Opéra in the title role of Meyerbeer's "Robert le diable". After meeting the famous soprano Giulia Grisi (London 1839) they often performed together and they lived together (because Grisi could not get an official divorce). From 1840 Mario sang in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien and London and Paris were the main places of his activity. Here he became the most celebrated tenor of his era. He sang at Covent Garden from 1847 until 1867 and again during the 1871 season. He sang in the London premieres of Don Pasquale (1843), Le Prophète (1849), Rigoletto (1853) and Roméo et Juliette (1867). In Paris he sang in the world premieres of Don Pasquale (1843) and Rossini's Stabat Mater (1847). He also sang the Paris premières of I due Foscari (1846), La traviata (1856), Rigoletto (1857), Martha (1858) and Un ballo in maschera (1861). He also appeared in St. Petersburg (1849/53, 1866/70), Madrid (1859, 1864) and New York (1854). His most famous roles were Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, Fernando in La favorite, Lionel in Martha, Raoul in Les Huguenots, the Duke in Rigoletto and Manrico in Il trovatore. His voice was considered one of the finest tenor voices of his time; one praised the elegance and intelligence of his declamation, his musical taste and his eminent sense of style. Complemented by a brilliant stage presence and a special interpretive talent. In 1871 he gave his farewell performance at Covent Garden. In 1872/73 he undertook a tour through the United States along with Carlotta Patti. Soon after ending his career he was in grinding poverty. In 1880 a benefit concert was organized for him in London. On the photo he is seen as Raoul in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots".

Giovanni Mario, born Giovanni Matteo De Candia (1810-1883); Italian tenor who created the role of Ernesto in Donizetti’s "Don Pasquale" at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris (1843). Because he possessed an exceptionally fine natural voice, Mario was encouraged by the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer to become a singer. He studied singing with Louis-Antoine Ponchard and Marco Bordogni. Mario made his debut in 1838 at the Paris Opéra in the title role of Meyerbeer's "Robert le diable". After meeting the famous soprano Giulia Grisi (London 1839) they often performed together and they lived together (because Grisi could not get an official divorce). From 1840 Mario sang in Paris at the Théâtre-Italien and London and Paris were the main places of his activity. Here he became the most celebrated tenor of his era. He sang at Covent Garden from 1847 until 1867 and again during the 1871 season. He sang in the London premieres of Don Pasquale (1843), Le Prophète (1849), Rigoletto (1853) and Roméo et Juliette (1867). In Paris he sang in the world premieres of Don Pasquale (1843) and Rossini's Stabat Mater (1847). He also sang the Paris premières of I due Foscari (1846), La traviata (1856), Rigoletto (1857), Martha (1858) and Un ballo in maschera (1861). He also appeared in St. Petersburg (1849/53, 1866/70), Madrid (1859, 1864) and New York (1854). His most famous roles were Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia, Fernando in La favorite, Lionel in Martha, Raoul in Les Huguenots, the Duke in Rigoletto and Manrico in Il trovatore. His voice was considered one of the finest tenor voices of his time; one praised the elegance and intelligence of his declamation, his musical taste and his eminent sense of style. Complemented by a brilliant stage presence and a special interpretive talent. In 1871 he gave his farewell performance at Covent Garden. In 1872/73 he undertook a tour through the United States along with Carlotta Patti. Soon after ending his career he was in grinding poverty. In 1880 a benefit concert was organized for him in London. On the photo he is seen as Raoul in Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots".