Geremia Bettini

His father was a poor worker. He is said to have made his debut in Madrid, but no date is known. Early in his career (Paris, Théâtre de l'Académie Royal de Musique, December 1846; London, 1847), critics chided him for shouting. In 1848, he was in New York for the first time (with the Havana Company), and upon return, he won his first major success when singing Gaston in Jérusalem in Lyon (1849). In 1850, he was in Marseille and again in New York (Edgardo at the Astor Place Opera House), where he stayed for more than a year. In July 1851, he appeared successfully at Castle Garden opera house in Ernani, La favorite, Norma, and again in Lucia di Lammermoor, then he sang with the short-lived Artist's Union Italian Opera Company.

In fall 1852, he was back to Paris (Luisa Miller and Rossini's Otello). On September 15th, 1853 he scored a triumph at La Scala as Manrico in the local premiere of Il trovatore. That was his definitive breakthrough: Teatro Regio in Torino, Paris (1854, 1855, 1858), Edinburgh (1854), Vienna (1854/55, with particular success), Moscow (1856), St. Petersburg (1856/57), Madrid (1859).

He came back to Italy only in 1860 to sing at the Teatro Apollo in Rome: Vittore Pisani (by Peri), Un ballo in maschera, La favorite, and Gianni di Nisida, written expressely for him by Giovanni Pacini. In January 1861, he was back at La Scala for Lucrezia Borgia, and on Good Friday of the same year, he was in Paris at the Théâtre Italien for a concert with excerpts from the two Stabat mater versions by Rossini and Pergolesi. That was his last documented performance; probably, he had overstressed his voice by his intense activity.

He was a fervent Italian patriot, and contributed financially to the Risorgimento, by singing charity concerts as well as by donating; for instance, he contributed generously to the arming of Garibaldi's Expedition of the Thousand.

He should not be (although he often was and is) mixed up with his contemporary, the Roman tenor Alessandro Bettini.

Reference: Dizionario biografico degli italiani, vol. 9, Rome 1967

I lombardi all prima crociata (Oronte) – Venezia, Fenice, 28 December 1843
La fidanzata corsa – Venezia, Fenice, 9 January 1844
Gemma di Vergy – Venezia, Fenice, 3 February 1844
Giovanna di Napoli (composer: Coppola) – Piacenza, Municipale, spring 1844
Norma – Piacenza, Municipale, spring 1844
Ernani – Vicenza, 13 July 1844
Giovanna di Napoli – Vicenza, 6 August 1844
Maria di Rohan – Vicenza, 17 August 1844
Les martyrs – Madrid, Circo, 20 February 1845
Corrado d'Altamura – Madrid, Circo, 24 May 1845
Nabucco – Madrid, Circo, 21 June 1845
Lucia di Lammermoor – Paris, Opéra, August 1846
Robert Bruce – Paris, Opéra, 30 December 1846
Otello (Otello) – Paris, Opéra, 16 April 1847
La donna del lago (Rodrigo) – London, Covent Garden 12 August 1847
La muette de Portici (Masaniello) – Paris, Opéra, 1847/48
Robert le diable (Robert) – Paris, Opéra, 4 November 1847
Jerusalem (Gaston) – Lyon, 1849
I puritani – Havana, Tacon, spring 1851
Don Giovanni – New York, June 1851
La favorita – New York, Castle Garden, 3 July 1851
Roberto Devereux – New York, Castle Garden, 17 August 1851
Lucrezia Borgia – New York, Castle Garden, 29 August 1851
La sonnambula – New York, Astor Place Theatre, 3 December 1851
Luisa Miller – Paris, Italien, 7 December 1852
Il bravo – Paris, Italien, 12 May 1853
Il trovatore – Milano, Scala, 15 September 1853
L'assedio di Corinto – Milano, Scala, 17 November 1853
Emma d'Antiocchia – Verona, Filarmonico, 21 January 1854
L'assedio di Malta – Verona, Filarmonico, 16? February 1854
Allan Cameron – Verona, Filarmonico, 14 March 1854
Il viaggio a Reims – Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, 26 April 1854
Il giuramento – Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, 24 May 1854
Beatrice di Tenda – Paris, Italien, 18 November 1854
Les huguenots – Torino, Regio, 25 December 1854
Marco Visconti – Torino, Regio, 3 February 1855
Cristina di Svezia – Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, 3 June 1855
L'ebreo – Genova, Carlo Felice, 17 November 1855
La traviata – Genova, Carlo Felice, 12 January 1856
I fidanzati – Genova, Carlo Felice, 7 February 1856
Macbeth – Genova, Carlo Felice, March 1856
Guido e Ginevra – Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, 20 June 1856
Rigoletto – St. Petersburg, Imperial, 22 October 1856
Estella di San Germano – Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, 29 May 1857
Martha – Santander, 1857
Clarissa Harlow – Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, 10 June 1858
Vittore Pisani – Bologna, Comunale, 8 October 1859
Un ballo in maschera – Roma, Apollo, 27 January 1860
Gianni di Nisida (composer: Pacini) – Roma, Apollo, 29 October 1860
Stefania – Roma, Apollo, 24 November 1860
Giuditta (composer: Peri) – Reggio Emilia, Municipale, 28 April 1860
Zampa – Genova, Carlo Felice, 26 February 1861

Giancarlo Landini: Geremia Bettini, grande tenore trecatede dell'ottocento. Atti del convegno ideato da Giorgio Gualerzi. Chronology by Giorgio Appolonia. Città di Trecate, 2002; with some additions by Tom Kaufman.