Ruggero Bondino

Bondino was from Risano, a village south of Udine. (And on a personal note, I was much surprised to find a tenor from tiny Risano – I know the place, they have a wonderful old-fashioned butcher there that I visit every now and then.) He (Bondino, not the butcher) studied voice in Udine and Milano. His debut took place on February 19th, 1957 in Sesto San Giovanni, as Turiddu.

A career at mostly first-rate theaters and festivals ensued: Milano (both at La Scala and the Teatro Lirico), Rome (both at the Teatro dell'Opera and the Terme di Caracalla), Arena di Verona, Naples, Palermo, Vienna Staatsoper, Stuttgart, Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Cologne, Frankfurt, Marseille, Toulouse, Geneva, Basel, Glasgow, Rio de Janeiro...

In 1962, his Alfredo at the Teatro Regio in Parma caused a riot, so displeased was the notoriously demanding Parma audience. To make up for it, he was particularly successful as Rodolfo in Bologna the following year.

Although considered a Verdi specialist, he sang a vast repertory from Pollione to contemporary opera; he participated in the world premieres of Uno sguardo dal ponte by Renzo Rossellini (Rome, 1961) and Clitennestra by Ildebrando Pizzetti (La Scala, 1965). He also appeared in some true rarities, like Nozze istriane and Falena, both by Antonio Smareglia. Bondino retired in 1985.

Reference 1: Messaggero Veneto, 9 June 2019; reference 2; reference 3: Kutsch & Riemens

I would like to thank Thomas Silverbörg for the recording.

I want to thank Georges Cardol for the picture (top).