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The Mapleson Cylinders - Program Notes
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Giuseppe Campanari
(1855-1927), Italian baritone from Venice,
played in the orchestra of La Scala, made a disastrous false start as a singer,
and then played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where his brother was
employed. In 1893 he joined Gustav Hinrich's Opera Company and was Tonio in the
first American performance of Pagliacci. He made his
Metropolitan Opera debut the following year as Count di Luna in
Trovatore, November 30, 1894, opposite Tamagno as
Manrico. The same season, he was Ford in the first American Falstaff, with Victor Maurel re-creating the title role. During
1902-03, when Mapleson recorded him in Aida,
Cavalleria, and Faust, Campanari also sang in
Barbiere, Traviata, Bohème (he had been the
first Met Marcello in 1900), The Magic Flute (he was
the first Met Papageno, singing in Italian), and Trovatore.
For a five-month season of thirty-eight performances of opera and four
Sunday-night concerts, he was paid $7,143. Because of his late start,
Campanari did not have a long career. In 1913 he appeared in vaudeville, but
broke down from the strain of two-a-day performance. AIDA (Amonasro): Side 5/Band 10
CAVALLERIA (Alfio): Side 6/Bands 2, 3
FAUST (Valentin): Side 1/Band 7
