Gerardo Rosvaenge escribió:
Francesco Marconi (1853 - 1916)
was the first great Italian lyric tenor to record a reasonable sampling of his art. Born into a humble Roman family he learned his trade of carpentry under his father - Marconi was proud of his beginnings, and was not afraid of mentioning them. "I was a simple man working as a carpenter, and I went to being seated at Tsar Alexander III's right hand at dinner, and being received at Court in Madrid as though it were my own house." It was not until his twenties that Marconi left his artisan's bench and began his singing career. With advice from the legendary tenor Tamberlick, Marconi debuted in 1876 in Boito's Mefistofele - a brand new opera in those days! Vive Dios que lo de precarusiano iba en serio.

Pues sí, señor. Marconi fue uno de los cuatro fantásticos, junto a Masini, Battistini y Cotogni, que imperaron en la ópera de Moscú a finales del XIX y que determinaron la aparición de una excelente escuela de canto (que se lo pregunten a El Idiota

). Se decía de él que poseía el registro agudo más timbrado y squillante de su tiempo, superando en esto a Masini, además de una emisión mixta de belleza seráfica... aunque con frecuencia prestaba tanta atención al sentimiento y a la música que descuidaba la voz: llegó a ser conocido como "el tenor de los gallos" (mala leche la ha habido siempre

).
Su turno, Gerardo.
