Traverso's career is completely undocumented, although it was quite good. He sang a lot in France, but contrary
to so many other singers who toured France as "de la Scala, Milan", he had really sung at La Scala, already in the early
1930s, and then at least once more: Nadir in 1941, as proven by a photo (the Scala archives are only available from 1943
onwards, which is both a pity and a shame). He also sang in Genova at the Carlo Felice in 1942, and Rodolfo at the San Carlo
in Naples in February 1940 (with Giuseppe Taddei). He started his career at a young age: his first performance that I've
been able to trace was as Pinkerton at the Politeama Regina Margherita in Cagliari – in December 1925, at 22 years old.
Pinkerton was also what he sang in Amsterdam in December 1929. He further appeared in Antwerp, Liège, Zürich,
Lausanne (Duca, September 1936), Salzburg and Barcelona.
Thanks to the excellent progress of newspaper digitization in French libraries, it's easier to document Traverso's French
career. From 1932 to 1939, he spent most of his time in France. Less than surprisingly, he didn't travel to France during
World War II, but he returned in 1946 and 1947.
He sang frequently in (bad) French, but not in Avignon in 1938, where some members of the audience demanded, during the
performance, that he should. Traverso, obviously short-tempered, showed them his backside.
He sang only a handful of roles, and in a handful of
(important) theaters, to most of which he returned again and again. Obviously, the audiences didn't tire of him; reviews
were unanimously panegyrical, his utmost security, his musicality, his pure timbre, his brilliant Italianate sound and his
acting were always praised. It's a pity that Traverso never recorded. Judging from reviews, his best part must have been
Nadir, followed by Edgardo and Duca.
Traverso in France
Marseille, Opéra Municipal
1932
March: Edgardo (probably his French debut, and an immediate triumph, also for Clara Clairbert as Lucia)
October: Rodolfo
November: Alfredo (which he sang in Italian) and Duca
December: Faust
1933
March: Cavaradossi and Nadir
April: Duca, Faust, Edgardo and Nadir, where he scored a veritable triumph
1934
February: Duca, Edgardo and Nadir
March: Duca and Edgardo
April: Edgardo
October: Duca and Edgardo
December: Edgardo
1935
March: Fernand
1936
January: Nadir and Edgardo
February: Duca, Nadir and Edgardo
March: Edgardo, Fernand and Rodolfo
1937
March: Edgardo
December: Rodolfo at Christmas, a triumph
1938
October: Rodolfo, another triumph
Bordeaux, Grand-Théâtre
1935
January/February: Nadir
1936
February: Nadir
1937
October: Nadir and Werther
November: Faust, Werther, Duca and Fernand
1939
February: Rodolfo and Duca
Toulouse, Théâtre du Capitole
1934
November: Faust and Nadir (another triumph)
December: Nadir and Fernand
1935
January: Rodolfo
February: Edgardo, Faust and Fernand
1936
November: Werther and Fernand
Paris, Opéra
1936
May: Edgardo (multiple performances into fall of the same year)
1947
month unknown (probably September or October): Duca
Paris, Opéra-Comique
1947
October: Cavaradossi
Nice, Opéra
1936
January: Faust (eventually already in late December 1935), Werther, Cavaradossi, Duca and Rodolfo
Alger, Opéra
1933
December: Duca, Cavaradossi, Edgardo and Fernand
Lyon, Opéra
1935
December: Edgardo, Duca and Cavaradossi
1938
December: Faust
Avignon, Théâtre Municipal
1934
October: Nadir (big success)
December: Edgardo
1935
October: Nadir and Werther
1936
January: Fernand and Arturo
1937
December: Fernand
1938
February: Rodolfo and Faust
Rouen, Théâtre des Arts
1935
November: Fernand and Roméo
1936
March 1936: Fernand
1946
May: Cavaradossi (huge success, he repeated both "Recondita armonia" and "E lucevan le stelle")
Rennes, Théâtre
1937
December: Fernand
1938
February: Nadir ("no tenor has ever roused such enthusiasm" in Rennes, wrote L'Ouest-Éclair on 19 February)
March: Fernand
Nantes, Théâtre Graslin
1937
December: Fernand
Metz, Théâtre Municipal
1936
November: Nadir
Lille, Grand-Théâtre
1937
December: Cavaradossi
Brest, Théâtre
1938
April: Faust and Duca
Carcassonne, Théâtre Antique (open air)
1938
July: Roméo
Biarritz, Casino Municipal
1938
late August/early September: Cavaradossi and Rodolfo
If you google Giuseppe Traverso, you'll first (and almost exclusively) get results on a camellia "Giuseppe Traverso". That
camellia was baptized, by the famous Italian plant breeder Piero Hillebrand, in 1978 – the year of the death of
tenor Giuseppe Traverso. That cannot be a mere coincidence, so our tenor has been immortalized in a camellia that is
obviously much more famous than he ever was. Whether Hillebrand was a tenor buff and Traverso's greatest fan, or whether
the two men were personal acquaintances, I have no idea.
References:
- Teatro Lirico di Cagliari
- EcuRed (the Cuban Wikipedia!)
- TheaterEncyclopedie
- Art Lyrique Français
- L'Action Française, 17 September 1936
- L'Avenir Normand, 13 May 1946
- La Bretagne Commerciale, 28 April 1938
- Comoedia, 11/18 February 1934, 5/12 February 1935
- La Croix du Nord, 14 December 1937
- La Dépêche, 17/25 November 1934, 30 January & 4/11 February 1935
- L'Écho d'Alger, 30 November & 9/12 December 1933
- L'Éclaireur Illustré, 1 February 1936
- La France de Bordeaux et du Sud-Ouest, 5 January & 8 November 1936, 19 November 1937
- Gazette de Lausanne, 24 September 1936
- L'Homme Libre, 23 June 1938
- Journal des Débats Politiques et Littéraires, 28 August 1938
- Le Lorrain, 11 November 1936
- Lyon Républicain, 16 & 24 December 1935
- Mémorial de la Loire et de la Haute-Loire, 11 December 1938
- Le Ménestrel, 31 January 1936
- L'Ouest-Éclair, 11/14 December 1937, 16 February & 16 March 1938
- La Petite Gironde, 25 February 1936, 20 Oktober & 24 November 1937, 14 February 1939
- Le Petit Marseillais, 8/11/13 April 1933, 19 March, 7 April & 20 October 1934
- Le Petit Provençal, 24/26 March, 15/19 November & 3 December 1932, 30 March & 15 April 1933, 23 February 1934, 10 March 1935, 30 March 1936
- Le Radical de Marseille, 19/23 February, 15 March, 23 October & 1 December 1934, 15 January, 2 February & 16/24 March 1936, 25 March & 26 December
1937, 23 October 1938
- Le Radical de Vaucluse, 24 October 1934
- Rouen Gazette, 16 November 1935 & 7 March 1936
- Le Salut Public, 19 December 1935
- Les Tablettes d'Avignon et de Provence, 28 October & 16 December 1934, 27 October 1935, 12 December 1937, 6/13 February 1938 & 29 January
1939
