Angelo Marenzi

Marenzi worked in public transport before undertaking late voice studies in Milano, Palermo and New York. He made his debut in 1972 in Israel as Cavaradossi; he also sang his first Otello there, as one of his first roles. In 1975, Tito Gobbi heard him – and became his mentor and voice teacher.

Marenzi's breakthrough came in 1981, when he was chosen by Richard Bonynge to come to Sydney and sing Otello to Joan Sutherland's first Desdemona. Marenzi then was Otello in Munich, as well, he sang both at the Rome opera and the Terme di Caracalla, he returned several times to Australia, he appeared in the Netherlands, in Mexico City, Santiago de Chile, Portland, Paris (open air opera), Kassel, Bonn, Bilbao, he toured the UK with a Trovatore production and sang at the festival in Wexford as well as in Leeds and Glasgow. Colleagues described him as a very secure singer who was, however, somewhat hysterically worried about his throat and his general health.

After his active career, he taught voice at the National Institute for the Arts in Taipei for twelve years. He retired to the hinterlands of his native Rome, together with his wife, the soprano (and former Miss New Zealand) Lorraine Nawa Jones.

Reference 1; reference 2; reference 3; reference 4: Comune di Castelnuovo di Porto, ordinanza sindacale no. 4/2014

I wish to thank Jim Hanrahan for the recordings and the pictures.