Gaetano Fraschini

Repertory
Lucia di Lammermoor (Arturo) – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, April 1837
Anna Bolena (Hervey) – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, 6 May 1837
Otello (Iago) – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, April 1838
L'esule di Roma – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, May 1838
Torquato Tasso – Bergamo, Teatro della Societa, January 1839
Otello (Rodrigo) – Bergamo, Teatro della Societa, January? 1839
Gemma di Vergy – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, April 1839
Gabriella di Vergy – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, April? 1839
Fausta – Pavia, Teatro dei Condomini, 4 June 1839
Elena de Feltre – Vicenza, Eretenio, Summer 1839
Roberto Devereux – Vicenza, Eretenio, Summer 1839
Norma – Vicenza, Eretenio, 11 September 1839
Lucia di Lammermoor – Piacenza, Comunale, 26 December 1849
La sonnambula – Piacenza, Comunale. 25 January 1840
Caterina di Guisa (Coccia, composer) – Piacenza, Comunale, 19 February 1840
Marino Faliero – Milano, Scala, 28 March 1840
Gli avventurieri (Cordella, composer) – Milano, Scala, 28 April 1840
Le due Figaro (Speranza, composer) – Torino, Teatro d'Angennes, 13 June 1840
Il giuramento – Napoli, San Carlo, 26 September 1840
Il bravo (Pisani) – Napoli, San Carlo, 17 October 1840
Saffo – Napoli, San Carlo, 20 November 1840
L'osteria d'Andujar – Napoli, San Carlo, 10 February 1841
Beatrice di Tenda – Napoli, San Carlo, Spring 1841
Luigi Rolla (Sarmiento, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, Spring 1841
Oberto – Napoli, San Carlo, 2 June 1841
Belisario – Napoli, San Carlo, 12 June 1841
La vestale – Napoli, San Carlo, 27 June 1841
Parisina d'Este – Napoli, San Carlo, 17 July 1841
Ulrico d'Oxford (Torrigiani, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 26 August 1841
Luigi Rolla (Mabellini, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 26 September 1841
Gonzalvo (Bajetti, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 25 November 1841
Il proscritto (Mercadante, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 4 January 1842
I quindici (Bordese, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 10 March 1842
La festa della rosa (Coppola, composer) – Napoli, Teatro del Fondo, 16 April 1842
Adolfo di Warbel (Pacini, compoer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 4 November 1842
La fidanzata corsa (Pacini, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 10 December 1842
Linda di Chamounix – Napoli, San Carlo, 5 January 1843
Anna la Prie (Battista, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 26 March 1843
Antonio Foscarini (Coen, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 3 August 1843
Il pirata – Bologna, Comunale, 25 November 1843
Caterina Cornaro – Napoli, San Carlo, 12 January 1844
Margherita d'Aragona – Napoli, San Carlo, 12 February 1844
Ernani – Venezia, Teatro San Benedetto, 15 May 1844
Gli ugonotti – Padua, Nuovo, 12 June 1844
Il bravo – Padua, Nuovo, 29 June 1844
Maria di Rohan – Padua, Nuovo, 7 August 1844
Luisa Strozzi (Ronzi, composer) – Venezia, Teatro San Benedetto, 3 September 1844
Alfonso d'Aragona (Sarmiento, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 4 October 1844
Francesca Donato (Mercadante, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 5 January 1845
I due Foscari – Napoli, San Carlo, 9 February 1845
Il vascello di Gama (Mercadante, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 6 March 1845
Adelia – Napoli, San Carlo, 17 April 1845
Alzira – Napoli, San Carlo, 12 August 1845
Mortedo – Napoli, San Carlo, 3 September 1845
La figlia del reggimento – Napoli, Teatro del Fondo, November 1845
Stella di Napoli (Pacini, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 11 December 1845
La sirena di Normandia (Torrigiani, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 10 January 1846
Emo (Battista, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 14 February 1846
Don Pasquale – Wien, Kärntnertortheater, May 1846
La regina di Cipro (Pacini, composer) – Sinigaglia, Comunale, 2 August 1846
Orazi e Curiazi – Napoli, San Carlo, 10 November 1846
Leonora Dori (Battista, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 4 February 1847
Roberto il diavolo – London, Her Majesty's, 4 May 1847
Merope (Pacini, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 25 November 1847
Lucrezia Borgia – Napoli, San Carlo, 23 February 1848
Lorenzino di Medici (Pacini, composer) – Trieste, Grande, Autumn 1848
Il corsaro – Trieste, Grande, 25 October 1848
La battaglia di Legnano – Roma, Argentina, 27 January 1849
Corrado d'Altamura – Firenze, Della Pergola, Spring 1849
Il corsaro (Cortesi, composer) – Firenze, Della Pergola, 12 June 1849
Poliuto – Trieste, Grande, 2 October 1849
I masnadieri – Torino, Regio, 3 January 1850
Estella di Murcia (F. Ricci, composer) – Venezia, San Benedetto, 9 May 1850
Attila – Padova, Nuovo, 12 June 1850
Cristina di Svezia (Foroni, composer) – Trieste, Grande, 28 September 1850
Luisa Miller – Trieste, Grande, 5 October 1850
Stiffelio – Trieste, Grande, 16 November 1850
Gerusalemme – Torino, Regio, 8 January 1851
Masaniello – Torino, Regio, February 1851
La vestale (Mercadante, composer) – Bologna, Comunale, 22 November 1851
Maria Padilla – Roma, Apollo, 10 January 1852
Alfredo (Terziani, composer) – Roma, Apollo, 21 February 1852
Il marito e l'amante (F. Ricci, composer) – Wien, Käntnertortheater, 9 June 1852
Rigoletto – Trieste, Grande, 21 September 1852
Maria di Brabante (Graffigna, composer) – Trieste, Grande, 16 October 1852
Folco d'Aries (De Giosa, composer) – Trieste, Grande, 24 November 1852
Il paniere d'amore (F. Ricci, composer) – Wien, Käntnertortheater, 25 May 1853
Il trovatore – Bergamo, Teatro Ricciardi, 6 August 1853
I lombardi – Napoli, San Carlo, 22 October 1853
Romilda di Provenza (Pacini, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 8 December 1853
Marco Visconti (Petrella, composer) – Napoli, San Carlo, 9 February 1854
La traviata – Firenze, Della Pergola, 20 September 1854
Gastone di Chanley (Capecelatro, composer) – Firenze, Della Pergola, 2 November 1854
L'ebreo (Apolloni, composer) – Vicenza, Eretenio, 28 July 1855
I vespri siciliani – Torino, Regio, 5 January 1856
La vergine di Kent (Villanis, composer) – Torino, Regio, 1 March 1856
Maria di Biscaglia (Fenzi, composer) – Roma, Argentina, 2 June 1856
Simone Boccanegra – Napoli, San Carlo, 28 November 1858
Un ballo in maschera – Roma, Apollo, 17 February 1859
La favorita – Lisboa, S. Carlos, 23 December 1859
Martha – Lisboa, S. Carlos, 29 January 1862
La forza del destino – Madrid, Real, 20 February 1863
Pietro de' Medici (Poniatowski, composer) – Madrid, Real, 5 April 1863
La duchessa di San Germano (Graffigna, composer) – Paris, des Italiens, 22 March 1865
Leonora (Marcadente, composer) – Paris, des Italiens, 8 January 1866
La contesina (Poniatowsky, composer) – Paris, des Italiens, 18 October 1868

I wish to thank Tom Kaufman for his unpublished Fraschini chronology.

Le ténor Fraschini A true revelation happened at the Théâtre-Italien in the person of the tenor Fraschini, whose name, for obscure reasons, did not reach us yet, at least surrounded by the necessary praises that his immense talent requires. (...) and this name is one of an artist of the first order, of a tenor that we did not hear of the same caliber since Rubini. (...) Nothing could describe the enthusiasm that each of phrase generated. Mr. Fraschini possesses a voice, whose timber is at the same time friendly and vibrant, full of charms and energy, with a round sound and exquisite velvet. All the three registers are perfectly blended. And thanks God, the chest notes are produced without any effort, without strain up to the highest notes; so that, even in half voice, Mr. Fraschini can substitute his mixed voice to the head voice, whose abuse has become monotonous and sometimes a display of bad taste. Add to that a perfect singing method, inspired experience, warmth when required, a very pure style, a phrase broadly defined, a simple expression, a sure pitch; at last a voice well placed with an art almost unknown today. So is Mr. Fraschini. Let's now go into the details of his role as Edgardo, and let say immediately, that after the first duo with Lucia, the success of the new tenor was guaranteed. During the second act, the scene of the malediction showed him in another light. Dramatic qualities do not elude him and he was successful at portraying this terrible and moving ordeal. At the third act, he has found in the tomb scene accents of the most pathetic tenderness and most deep hopelessness. All the audience was in frenzy. He was called back four times. Four times in Paris is like forty times in Florence. Mr. Fraschini should understand that and understand that admiration. undated Le Menestrel clip

Il tenore Fraschini On the 23rd of the month, one of the famous Italian tenor, Gaetano Fraschini died in Naples. He was born in Pavia in 1815, a city where the main theatre was named after him. His family wanted him to study medicine; but his vocation for the theatre was stronger. He studied first with maestro Moretti; he affronted his first audience in a chapel in Pavia. His real theatrical debut was in Bergamo (not quite true). The confirmation of his greatness was in Naples (?). He had successes in Italy and in foreign countries; he sang twice at la Scala, in 1840 in Marino Faliero and Avventurieri by Cordella, but the works did not please, he did not want to go back. Mercadante, Pacini, Donizetti, Ricci, Petrella, Verdi wrote operas for him. Fraschini is one of those tenors that we do not have anymore nowadays. Suffice it to say that he sang in La sonnambula, Lucia di Lammermoor, Roberto Devereux, Norma, Il barbiere di Siviglia (?), and Un ballo in maschera. Although, during his time, tenors were not paid 4 and 5,000 lire an evening, he leaves a nice inheritance. The last time he sang at Vicenza, it was in a benefit concert with Stolz and Fricci. Il trovatore, 27 May 1887