Robleto Merolla

Merolla's parents were common people, but his Neapolitan father was an opera buff, and took him to the Teatro San Carlo early on. While he was still a child, his parents moved to Rimini, where his mother came from. At the conservatory there, he studied piano, composition – and voice with Arturo Melocchi, whom he adored and promoted for all his life.

After winning the famous singing competition in Spoleto, Merolla made his debut there as Gabriele Adorno, and embarked on a very good 20-year international career: La Scala (Laca, 1974), Teatro Real in Madrid, Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Royal Festival Hall London, San Francisco, Brescia, Rome, Venice, Florence (both Teatro Comunale and Maggio Musicale), Teatro San Carlo, Palermo, Genova, Parma, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Lisbon, Toulouse, Budapest, Valencia, İstanbul, Geneva. His voice was extraordinarily powerful, but by no means inflexible, and he was also able singing softly: with him, Melocchi's method really worked. His most important roles were Pollione, Laca, Luigi, Florestan and Licinius (La vestale).

At age 45, he withdrew from the stage – by his own testimony not because of any vocal problems, but because he hated to be always traveling. "The five minutes applause are rewarding", he said, "but life is so much more: friends, dining, hobbies." He wasn't fond of cities, of receptions, of luxury; he craved living in the backcountry, playing cards with his friends at the local coffee bar, having a meal at some simple rural eatery. And so he became a voice teacher, first in Matera, then in Pesaro, where he took over the post that his maestro Melocchi had once held. He had a beautiful collection of gramophones and phonographs that is now at the Library of the Province of Matera.

Reference 1 and picture source: Merolla's (still existing) website; reference 2; reference 3; reference 4

I wish to thank Thomas Silverbörg for the recordings (Jolanta, Pagliacci, Norma 2, Giulietta e Romeo, Il tabarro, Il figliuol prodigo).