Renato Zanelli - Esultate!

Renato Zanelli (1892-1935) was a Chilean tenor who made his mark on the international opera scene during his all too brief career. Born Renato Zanelli Morales in Valparaiso to an Italian father and Chilean mother, he received his education in Europe after his family relocated to Italy in 1894. After returning to his birthplace at the age of 19, Zanelli began studying voice with tenor Angelo Querzé, with whom he worked for the next three years. His debut occurred in Santiago in 1916 as Valentin in Gounod’s Faust. It was as a baritone that Zanelli would build his resume for the next several years. After a successful season in Montevideo, Zanelli moved to New York and auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera. General Manager Giulio Gatti-Casazza offered the young singer a contract and Zanelli made his Met debut in 1919 as Amonasro in Aïda. Sadly, he made little impression (most of the reviews didn’t even bother to mention him) and was soon disenchanted with what the company had to offer him. Zanelli sang seventeen performances of five roles…Amonasro in Aïda, Don Carlo in La Forza del Destino, di Luna in Il Trovatore, Tonio in Pagliacci, Valentin in Faust and Dodon in Le Coq d’Or…as well as fourteen Sunday Night Concerts. After four seasons…bookended by Amonasros…Zanelli decided to call it quits at the Met. Before leaving New York, however, he sang one final baritone role. In a performance of excerpts from Otello in Central Park during the spring of 1923, Zanelli sang Iago to the Moor of Antonio Paoli. He then journeyed to Italy for further vocal study.
Following a year and a half of intensive work with famed vocal coach Dante Lari (teacher of Giovanni Brevario and Gino Vanelli, among others) and conductor Fernando Tanara, Zanelli reemerged as a tenor. His first role in this new fach was Alfredo in La Traviata at the Politeama Giacosa in Naples in October of 1924. The following month, he took on a much more formidable task, Raoul in Gli Ugonotti at the Teatro San Carlo. In a very short time, Zanelli established himself as a dramatic tenor of the first rate with appearances in the major theaters of Venice, Milan, Florence, Bari, Naples, Turin, Parma, Bologna, Fiume, Lisbon, London, Cairo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. His repertoire included the leads in La Fanciulla del West, Tosca, Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Aïda, Andrea Chénier, Mefistofele, L’Africana, Carmen, Norma, Nerone, Pagliacci, Tristan und Isolde, Die Walküre, Lohengrin and his greatest achievement, Verdi’s Otello. In 1930, he created the title role in the world premiere of Pizzetti’s Lo Straniero at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome and sang Otello to the Iago of his brother, Carlo Morelli (1897-1970) at the Teatro dal Verme that same year. In 1933, Zanelli returned to South America for a series of performances in Santiago and Buenos Aires. The tenor’s career was in full swing and he was at the peak of his vocal powers. Heralded as one of the greatest singing actors of his day, Zanelli seemed destined for a lengthy career. Sadly, things did not turn out that way…
During much of 1933, Zanelli admitted to feeling poorly, but ignored his symptoms and pushed himself forward to meet the demands of his busy schedule. In October, he managed two performances of Otello in Santiago and a concert in Osorno. These would prove to be the tenor’s final public appearances. In the early part of 1934, Zanelli was back in the U.S. for a string of opera and concert appearances but was forced to cancel when he realized that he was simply too ill to perform. He had lost a tremendous amount of weight and was in such great pain that he finally sought the advice of doctors. Their diagnosis was grim; advanced cancer of the kidney. The tenor fought valiantly against the disease for much of the following year, but lost the battle in the end. Zanelli returned to Chile and died in Santiago on March 25, 1935, just a week shy of his 43rd birthday.
Renato Zanelli made a lasting impression on the operatic world during his tragically brief life. In a career as a tenor that lasted only nine years, he established himself as a preeminent dramatic tenor and one of the leading Italianate Wagnerians of his generation. Unfortunately, his recorded legacy is pitifully lacking. Only a handful of recordings, made for Victor (as a baritone) and H.M.V. (as a tenor), exist to preserve the artistry of this great singing actor. These discs reveal a burly, masculine tenor, with an obvious baritonal foundation and rather muscular top notes. Zanelli uses his voice to great effect and his very theatrical interpretations give us some idea of his work on the opera stage. In this recording, Zanelli sings "Esultate!" from the beginning of Verdi's Otello. Also heard in thie performance are tenor Nello Palai as Cassio (and Roderigo), bass Guglielmo Masini as Montano, and baritone Enrico Roggio as Iago. This was recorded in Milan for H.M.V. on June 24, 1929.

[@operalover3966]

He is the greatest dramatic tenor for me...

[@RowboCaup]

The most authentic sounding Otello ever, unrivaled.

[@bodiloto]

magnifico !
povero microfono ...

[@berdiddyberdisberbaboint2763]

What a beautiful sound for such a big voice.

[@radames5855]

Ottima performance!!!

[@darklord220]

Omg I've been looking for his esultate for a long time

[@petergraham8681]

Unique about Zanelli was that he made splendid recordings as both a baritone & as a tenor. I have never encountered a better example of this than his. He made the switch, I believe, in the mid 1920s so his tenor recordings have a bit more presence due to the electrical process having replaced the acoustical process about this time. Zanelli, had not much time to establish himself since he developed a terminal kidney condition that ended his life in 1935. This excerpt here from OTELLO is new to me & the ESULTATE is one of the cleanest & most powerful I have ever heard. Had he lived Zanelli might have become the greatest OTELLO of his time. Martinelli, fine artist that he was, had, by this time in his career, not the vocal instrument that Zanelli had, IMO.

[@JefRoberts]

Zanelli is such a thrilling artist! I only wish there was more of him on record

[@umaratabilgi161]

Amazing voice

[@chocolatesouljah]

That voice! Astonishing!

[@cimbassovr]

Eccellentissimo tenore che canta l Esultate così come scritto e voluto da G.Verdi!!! "dopo l armi lovinseluragano" tutto un fiato!
Grazie 👍❤

[@operalover3966]

Sublime!

[@folco9882]

Thank you for uploading this. What a magnificent tenor. Truly one of the most beautiful tenor voices to be recorded.

[@franzbernasek4058]

the best Otello

[@francodegrandis7531]

Quando del monaco senti' Otello da Zanelli ,compro' 13 copie del disco!!

[@berdiddyberdisberbaboint2763]

Fabulous.thanks for uploading.

[@robertevans8010]

He sang with both Caruso and Martinelli at the Met, Caruso admired his voice , he sang with them both in Aida and Forza, later is Brother Carlo Morelli would sing with Martinelli in the late Thirties having sung with Morelli in London in 1937 in Aida and Tosca, later many times at the Met. Zanelli was much like Vinay, his baritone range was up to B Sharp, both were capable of singing Tenor and Baritone. Very Great Singer indeed.

[@alessio5927]

But Vinay couldn't sing like this, resulting throaty and with a broken line of singing. Zanelli way better as a tenor than him.

[@marcelomanoel6829]

congratulation for the channel! greates tenor and songs rare. (perdoe meu inglês fraco ;) )

[@alfredbernasek6761]

GROSSARTIG