Giovanni Borracelli
4 October 1892 Roccastrada – 1991 Grosseto
Roberto Marcocci's fantastic chronologies focus on Italy and end in the 1930s, since that was the scope of his interest,
and of his newspaper & playbill collection. Performances later than 1930 or outside Italy are just random finds, no completeness
intended. That goes also for his below Borracelli chronology: it's certainly much exhaustive for the tenor's Italian appearances
before 1930, but it's no complete account of his career.
Borracelli lived into a very old age, which he spent at a retirement home in Grosseto, near to the place where he had been born.
In Grosseto, there was an opera lovers' club, the Amici della Lirica "Ettore Bastianini", founded in the late 1980s, and
they got to know Borracelli, and made him their honorary president. He obviously didn't remember a great deal of his earlier
life, but what he told them was that he had sung a lot, other than in Italy of course, in France and the USA, which is fully
compatible with his discography (see below); that he had sung into the 1950s; and that his best roles had been Turiddu, des
Grieux and Duca.
For his activity in the US, I found also a newspaper clip (The Orlando Sentinel, 31 December 1928): his US debut took place
late in 1928, and obviously as Radames in Boston.
Borracelli's 98th birthday, featured in the local weekly GR7, 13 October 1990
In 1988, 1989 and 1990, the Amici della Lirica would organize a birthday celebration for Borracelli at his retirement
home; the one in 1990, his 98th birthday, was his last. For his 99th, the Amici were already preparing another birthday
party, when Borracelli died.
Many thanks to Umberto Conforti for his valuable help with the biography.
Many thanks to Anton Bieber for the recordings and label scans (Addio mia bella Napoli, Die lustige Witwe).
In RA format
Borracelli transposed this not very arduous song a half-note down.
| 1919 |
|
|
|
| 12 |
Milano |
Teatro Carcano |
PAMPEROS di A. Ottolenghi |
| |
|
|
|
| 1920 |
|
|
|
| 07 |
Milano |
Teatro Verdi |
RIGOLETTO (Duca) |
| 09 |
Roma |
Teatro Costanzi |
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1921 |
|
|
|
| 12 |
Alessandria d'Egitto |
Teatro Alhambra |
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) |
| |
Civitavecchia |
Teatro Traiano |
BALLO IN MASCHERA (Riccardo) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1922 |
|
|
|
| 01 |
Cairo |
Kursaal Dalbagni |
ANDREA CHÉNIER (Chenier) |
| 06 |
Bitonto |
Politeama Traetta |
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) / FAVORITA (Fernando) / FORZA DEL DESTINO
(Alvaro) / LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) / PAGLIACCI (Canio) |
| 07 |
Trani |
Teatro Excelsior |
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) |
| 09 |
Todi |
Teatro Comunale |
FORZA DEL DESTINO (Alvaro) |
| 10 |
Bologna |
Teatro Duse |
GIOCONDA (Enzo) |
| 12 |
Milano |
Teatro Carcano |
PAGLIACCI (Canio) |
| |
Castellammare di Stabia |
Teatro Savoia |
STAGIONE |
| |
|
|
|
| 1923 |
|
|
|
| 01 |
Milano |
Teatro Fossati |
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) |
| 04 |
Voghera |
Teatro Sociale |
TRAVIATA (Alfredo) |
| 08 |
Milano |
Teatro Verdi |
RIGOLETTO (Duca) |
| 11 |
Asti |
Teatro Alfieri |
TOSCA (Cavaradossi) |
| |
Firenze |
Teatro Verdi |
IL MISTERO di D. Monleone |
| |
Lonigo |
Teatro Comunale |
MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Pinkerton) / TOSCA (Cavaradossi) |
| |
Torino |
Teatro Scribe |
ANDREA CHÉNIER (Chenier) / LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1924 |
|
|
|
| 05 |
Lugo |
Teatro Rossini |
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) |
| 08 |
Livorno |
Politeama |
BOHÈME (Rodolfo) / CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) / PAGLIACCI (Canio) |
| 11 |
Bologna |
Teatro Verdi |
ERNANI (Ernani) |
| 11 |
Vigevano |
Teatro Cagnoni |
PAGLIACCI (Canio) |
| 12 |
Livorno |
Teatro Goldoni |
TOSCA (Cavaradossi) |
| |
Udine |
Teatro Sociale |
MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Pinkerton) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1925 |
|
|
|
| 10/11 |
Palermo |
Politeama Garibaldi |
FORZA DEL DESTINO (Alvaro) / GIOCONDA (Enzo) / MADAMA BUTTERFLY
(Pinkerton) / RIGOLETTO (Duca) / WALLY (Hagenbach) / ANDREA CHÉNIER
(Chenier) / CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) / ERNANI (Ernani) / LUCIA DI
LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) |
| |
La Spezia |
Politeama Duca di Genova |
MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Pinkerton) |
| |
Napoli |
Teatro Bellini |
FORZA DEL DESTINO (Alvaro) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1926 |
|
|
|
| 01 |
Trapani |
Teatro Garibaldi |
GIOCONDA (Enzo) / LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) |
| 10/12 |
Buenos Aires |
Teatro Marconi |
FORZA DEL DESTINO (Alvaro) / LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) / BOHÈME
(Rodolfo) / ERNANI (Ernani) / RIGOLETTO (Duca) / BALLO IN MASCHERA
(Riccardo) / CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) / GIOCONDA (Enzo) /
MEFISTOFELE (Faust) / PAGLIACCI (Canio) / TOSCA (Cavaradossi) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1927 |
|
|
|
| 02/04 |
Buenos Aires |
Teatro Coliseo |
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA (Turiddu) / BOHÈME (Rodolfo) / CARMEN (Don José) /
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) / PAGLIACCI (Canio) / TRAVIATA (Alfredo) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1928 |
|
|
|
| 03 |
Guadalajara |
Teatro Degollado |
TRAVIATA (Alfredo) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1932 |
|
|
|
| 08 |
Catania |
Anfiteatro Ganci |
RIGOLETTO (Duca) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1934 |
|
|
|
| 12 |
Palermo |
Politeama Garibaldi |
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR (Edgardo) / MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Pinkerton) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1935 |
|
|
|
| 01 |
Palermo |
Teatro Biondo |
NORMA (Pollione) / PAGLIACCI (Canio) |
| 03 |
Messina |
Arena Peloro |
BALLO IN MASCHERA (Riccardo) / FORZA DEL DESTINO (Alvaro) / NORMA (Pollione)
/ PAGLIACCI (Canio) |
| |
|
|
|
| 1937 |
|
|
|
| 01 |
Rovigo |
Teatro Sociale |
BALLO IN MASCHERA (Riccardo) / FORZA DEL DESTINO (Alvaro) |
| 05 |
Sarzana |
Teatro Impavidi |
TROVATORE (Manrico) |
Discography
Fonografia Nazionale, Milano
4251 LES MILLIONS D'ARLEQUIN: Serenata A4251
4552 Lasciati amar (Leoncavallo) A4252
Odeon, Milano, 28 September 1925
xPh5667 ANDREA CHÉNIER: Improvviso X55642
xPh5667-2 ANDREA CHÉNIER: Improvviso UNPUBLISHED
xPh5671 PAGLIACCI: Vesti la giubba X55641
Odeon, Milano, 1 October 1925
Pho5681 ERNANI: Come rugiada al cespite A84047
Pho5679 FORZA DEL DESTINO: O tu che in seno A84046
Pho5680 CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: Addio alla madre A84048
Gennett Record
'O sole mio (Di Capua) 40171 a
Canta pe' me (De Curtis) 40171 b
Addio a Napoli (Cottrau) 40172 a
Die lustige Witwe: Come di rose un cespo 40172 b
FEDORA: Amor ti vieta 40178 a
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: Brindisi 40178 b
GIOCONDA: Cielo e mar 40180 a
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR: Fra poco a me ricovero 40180 b
Disque Idéal, Paris, about 1930
ID1741 Princesita (Arista) 9277
ID1742 Quiéreme mucho (Roig) 9278
ID1759 EMIGRANTES: Adiós Granada, Granada mia 9295
ID1760 Quisiera (Camprubí) 9296
Source for the chronology the extraordinary website of Roberto Marcocci.
Additions to the discography from Gesellschaft für historische Tonträger, Wien.
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