Vasco Campagnano

12 February 1909 Alexandria – 16 January 1976 Milano

Born into an Italian family in Egypt, he studied first (incredibly young) in Alexandria, where he already made his debut in concert. In 1926, he went to Milano for further studies with Mario Sammarco and Elvino Ventura. In 1929, he made his stage debut in Borgotaro as a baritone (as Marcello). Throughout the 1930s, he sang, without particular success, at small Italian theaters (Padova, Bari, Asti, Montecatini Terme, among others). Being Jewish, he was facing problems when Italy allied with Nazi Germany in World War II, and when the Nazis occupied Italy in 1943, he came into a concentration camp.

When liberated in 1945, he had to overcome serious health problems, then he restudied with Luigi Bolis and was back on stage in 1946 in Pavia – as a tenor, this time (Pinkerton). In 1948, he had great success as Calaf at La Scala, and now he made a considerable career, also internationally (Zürich, Barcelona, Lisbon, Orange, Tunis, Nice, Arena di Verona). He also sang a lot on the Italian radio RAI. One of his last appearances was in 1959 in Tel Aviv (as Radames and Don José).

Reference: Kutsch & Riemens

I would like to thank Paolo Cavassini for the recording.