About Vertechi's life, no information is available, no dates and places of birth and death,
not where he studied voice, nothing. (His name, though, was Vertechi, not Vertecchi as by Kutsch & Riemens.) His career is
documented from 1948 to 1973, and it was a first-rate career in Italy, with few excursions abroad.
His main stage was the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome, where he was constantly employed for the entire 1948 to 1973 period.
(Which makes it probable that he made his debut somewhat earlier than 1948, since he would typically have had to
stand the test elsewhere before being hired by an the Rome Opera. But that's just a guess.)
His debut in Rome was as Manrico
on 25 January 1948, with Carlo Tagliabue, Franca Sacchi, Gianna Pederzini, Alfredo Colella, Anna Marcangeli, Nino Mazziotti,
Filiberto Picozzi and Paolo Caroli.
His last performance in Rome was on 28 April 1973 as Drouet in Maria Antonietta
by Terenzio Gargiulo, with Antonietta Stella, Gianni Santuccio, Luigi Infantino, Alfredo Colella (just like 25 years earlier!),
conductor: Pier Luigi Urbini. The role that he sang most often in Rome (both at the Teatro dell'Opera and at the Terme di
Caracalla) was Radames by far.
Other Rome roles were Turiddu, Canio, Calaf, Enzo, José, Aménophis (Moïse
et Pharaon), Herault de Sechelles (Dantons Tod by Gottfried von Einem), Il capo dei poliziotti/Fratello Juana (L'organo di
bambù by Ennio Porrino) and Cappone (Rappresentazione e festa della Carnasciale e della Quaresima by Gian Francesco
Malipiero).
Other documented appearances by Vertechi:
1948: Piacenza (Manrico), Teatro S. Carlo in Naples (Manrico), Catania (Turiddu)
1949: Teatro Regio in Parma (Turiddu, Canio and Alvaro)
1950: Piacenza (Enzo, Calaf, Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona (Otello, Calaf)
1951: Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona (Manrico), Florence (Radames), Prato (Manrico)
1952: La Scala in Milano (Turiddu)
1953: New York City Opera (Radames, Canio), Politeama in Genova (Radames), Cagliari (Calaf)
1954: Teatro S. Carlo in Naples (Manrico)
1955: Teatro S. Carlo in Naples (Turiddu), Bilbao (Pollione and Ismaele)
1956: Teatro Massimo in Palermo (Alvaro), Torino (Radames)
1957: Covent Garden London (Pollione)
1958: Teatro S. Carlo in Naples (José), Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro Massimo in Palermo (Radames, Canio)
1960: Lucca (Riccardo)
Reference 1: Kutsch & Riemens; reference
2; reference 3
