Florencio Constantino was born in the Spanish Basque Country on April 9th, 1868. He emigrated to Argentina in 1889. The
violinist Palazuelos heard him sing in 1892 and advised him to study privately. Later, Constantino went to Buenos Aires and
started vocal studies in 1895 with Leopoldo Stiatesi.
Constantino made his debut in Montevideo at the Teatro Solís in La Dolores on 7 February 1896. Shortly after, he
sang the same work in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Odeón. He went to La Plata, where he sang his first Italian opera,
Lucia di Lammermoor on 1 May 1896 at the Teatro Argentino. During his stay in La Plata, Constantino added La Gioconda and
Cavalleria rusticana to his repertory. Later the same year, he went to Italy. He made his Italian debut in Cremona in Manon
on 2 January 1897 at the Teatro Ponchielli. This was followed by appearances in Napoli and Acqui.
Constantino accepted an engagement to sing in several cities in Holland in 1897/98: Dordrecht, The Hague, Haarlem, Breda,
Utrecht, Amsterdam, Leiden and Rotterdam. He returned to Italy in 1898, singing in Livorno in April (Ernani and La favorite at
the Teatro Goldoni). From there, Constantino traveled to Minsk for a concert and then back to Italy, making his reappearance in
Napoli in Lucia di Lammermoor on 12 July 1898 at the Teatro Bellini. He was favorably received and added to his Neapolitan
appearances La traviata (19 July) and La favorite (27 July). He met similar success in Verona (Rigoletto), Casale Monferrato
(Rigoletto), Ferrara (La bohème, Edmea), Florence (La bohème), Figline Valdarno, Reggio Emilia, Cagliari, Monza
and Rimini (Mefistofele).
From Italy, Constantino traveled to Madrid, where made his debut on 14 November 1899 as the Duke in Rigoletto with
Darclée, Blanchart and Campanini conducting. On 19 November, Constantino sang in La Gioconda with Luisa Tetrazzini,
Virginia Guerrini, Blanchart and Campanini. He made in debut in Les huguenots on 2 December with Darclée, Lavín,
Rubio, Blanchart and Campanini. This was followed by Mefistofele (20 December with Tetrazzini, Riera and Campanini), Lohengrin
(6 January 1900, with De Lerma, Guerrini, Blanchart, Rossi and Campanini). Constantino participated in the world premiere of
Raquel on 20 January, with De Lerma, Dahlander, Butti and Bretín conducting. He ended his first season in Madrid with La
bohème on 28 February with Tetrazzini, Rubio, Butti, Riera and Campanini.
From Madrid, Constantino went to Lisboa, where he made his debut on 18 March 1900 in Rigoletto, with Sammarco and Amelia de Roma,
Arnaldo Conti conducting. This was followed by La bohème and another Rigoletto. Constantino went back to Spain, appearing
in Bilbao, where he debuted in Rigoletto (again!) on 15 April 1900 with Huguet and de la Torre. During his Bilbao season,
Constantino also sang in La Gioconda, La bohème, Lucia di Lammermoor and Lohengrin. From Bilbao, Constantino went on to
Warsaw, where he made his debut at the Wielki on 1 October 1900 in Rigoletto, with Luisa Tetrazzini. He also sang La traviata
(with Tetrazzini), Lucia di Lammermoor (with Tetrazzini), Cavalleria rusticana (with Krushelnytska and Battistini), La Gioconda
and Il barbiere di Siviglia (with Battistini, Huguet and Didur).
Constantino moved on to St. Petersburg, making his debut on 30 December 1900 in La Gioconda with Krushelnytska, Battistini,
Fabbri, Arimondi, and Zuccani conducting. Additional works performed were: I puritani (2 January 1901, with Wermez, Battistini,
Arimondi); Lohengrin; La traviata (with Arnoldson and Battistini); Rigoletto; Evgenij Onegin and Demon (on 19 February 1901,
with Battistini, Arimondi). Constantino had a lot of success in St. Petersburg and was invited to Moscow. He made his debut
there again in Rigoletto on 4 March 1901, with Battistini, Arnoldson and Arimondi. In Moscow, Constantino also sang Faust, I
puritani, Evgenij Onegin, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and La traviata. Constantino never returned to Moscow, in spite of returning
twice to St. Petersburg.
After a short reappearance in Bilbao, Constantino made his debut in Berlin, then in Frankfurt. In Berlin, from mid-May to
mid-June, he sang at the Hofoper in La traviata and Il barbiere di Siviglia, and at the Kroll in Rigoletto, L'elisir d'amore and
I puritani. At the end of 1901, Constantino appeared in Torino, singing in Rigoletto on 21 November with Bucalo and Karola. He
departed to Warsaw, after singing a performance on 4 December 1901 of Isaias, an oratorio composed by Mancinelli. After seasons
in Warsaw, St. Petersburg, Odessa and Kyiv, Constantino reappeared in Bilbao in June 1902 (concerts), then in Madrid (Rigoletto,
Lucia di Lammermoor, Lohengrin).
After appearances in January 1903 in Bilbao, Constantino made his debut in Trieste on 11 February, in L'elisir d'amore with Sins,
Federici and Pini-Corsi. Next followed Il barbiere di Siviglia with Barrientos, Bensaude, de Segurola, then appearances in
Lisboa, before he finally made his debut in Buenos Aires. He sang on 25 May at the Teatro de la Ópera in La Gioconda,
with Mei-Figner, Ferraris, Giraldoni, Ercolani and the tyrant Toscanini. The part did not fit his voice well, and he had a
mixed reception. However on 21 June, in Rigoletto with Clasenti, Guerrini, De Luca and Ercolani, he fared better. He was well
receivedas Alain in Grisélidis on 14 July with Farnetti, Ferraris, De Luca and Ercolani. Before returning to Europe, he
stopped in Montevideo singing Alain. In Europe, Constantino made his first records for Pathé in Barcelona. Those records
are very difficult to find.
In 1904, Constantino sang in Ferrara, Bologna, San Sebastián (debut on 15 September, in Lohengrin) before going back to
Madrid, Teatro Real (Faust on 29 November with Darclée and de Segurola). He stayed in Madrid until January 1905. It was
followed by Porto, Teatro São João (5 February, Rigoletto with Kaschmann). He went to St. Petersburg for his last
appearances in that city (Faust, Demon, Evgenij Onegin, La traviata, Zampa, Il barbiere di Siviglia). In April 1905, he recorded
ten sides in Berlin for the Gramophone Company. Those records while not exactly common can be found. On 17 May, Constantino made
his debut in London at Covent Garden in La traviata with Melba, Scotti, Cotreuil and Mancinelli. Constantino also sang in
Rigoletto and Don Giovanni. He appeared also at the Waldorf Theatre in Cavalleria rusticana,
Pagliacci (as Beppe) and La traviata. His partners included Kurz, Olitzka, Seveilhac, Sammarco, Journet, De Bohuss, De Lucia,
Nevada, Destinn and Gilibert. During his London stay, Constantino recorded cylinders for Edison. After a single appearance in
Paris at the Opéra-Comique in a concert on 19 October, Constantino recorded for Excelsior, Favorite, Pathé. All of
those are fairly uncommon. After Paris and for the rest of 1905, Constantino sang in Madrid (Il barbiere di Siviglia, with
Battistini), Roma (Teatro Adriano, Lucia di Lammermoor, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cavalleria rusticana with Mascagni conducting)
and Berlin (Theater des Westens, Rigoletto, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Les huguenots, which he had to transpose down).
At the beginning of 1906, Constantino sang in Nice (at the Opéra: Rigoletto with Seveilhac; La bohème with Wyns;
Tosca with Wyns, Seveilhac; Manon Lescaut; and at the Casino Municipal: Lucia di Lammermoor with Seveilhac; La bohème with
Wyns, Dereyne, Seveilhac; Tosca with Wyns, Seveilhac; Il barbiere di Siviglia with Badini; Manon Lescaut with Wyns; Rigoletto
with Seveilhac, and La traviata with Seveilhac). During those weeks in Nice, Constantino recorded for Eden and Odeon in Paris.
All those records are uncommon.
He made his debut in North America, as a member of the San Carlo Opera Company, on 20 November 1906 in New Orleans in Carmen
with Dereyne and de Segurola. Other performances were Cavalleria rusticana, Rigoletto, La bohème, La traviata, Il
barbiere di Siviglia, Lucia di Lammermoor, Adriana Lecouvreur, La Gioconda, Faust and Les huguenots. His colleagues included
Nielsen, Nordica, Angelini-Fornari.
Through summer 1908, Constantino sang with the San Carlo Opera Company in St. Louis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Kansas City, El Paso,
Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Helena, Butte, Salt Lake City, Denver, Clinton, Toronto, Ottawa,
Montréal, Portland, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, Washington, Duluth, Minneapolis, La Crosse, Milwaukee,
Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Toledo, and Troy. During that period, Constantino recorded again for Edison (cylinders) and
Victor. The Victor records are easy to find.
After a brief appearance in Berlin at the Krolloper in August 1908, Constantino went back to North America. He reappeared in
Philadelphia on 1 December in Rigoletto with Luisa Tetrazzini, Sammarco and Arimondi. It was followed by his debut at the
Manhattan Opera House in New York in Rigoletto with Tetrazzini, Renaud, Arimondi and Campanini. He alternated between
Philadelphia, New York and Baltimore until March 1909. In April 1909, he recorded for Columbia. Those records are quite
common. On 29 March, Constantino was in Boston singing in Lucia di Lammermoor with Luisa Tetrazzini and Polese, and then in La
traviata, La bohème and Rigoletto.
Constantino returned to Argentina in May 1909. He made his debut at the Teatro Colón in La Gioconda on May 23 with
Burzio, Ruffo, and Walter. He sang also in Tosca (with Darclée, Giraldoni), Aida (with Burzio, Petri, De Luca, Walter),
Aurora (with Darclée, Ruffo, Berardi), Eidelberga mia (with Darclée, De Luca), Demon (with Darclée, Ruffo),
La bohème (with Burzio, Pini-Corsi), Cavalleria rusticana (with Burzio). He appeared for one
performance of Aida on 24 August (with Burzio, Petri, De Luca, Walter) in Montevideo. Constantino returned to Boston on 8
November for La Gioconda with Nordica, Homer, Baklanov, Nivette. After finishing the year in Boston, Constantino sang until
April 1910 in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Cincinnati, Springfield, Boston, Providence and New Haven. During that period, Constantino
recorded for Columbia and Edison. The Columbia records are common, while the Edison Diamond Discs all remaimed unpublished. In
May 1910, he was back to Buenos Aires singing at the Colón, and the Coliseo. He also appeared at La Plata and Rosario
before going to Rio de Janeiro. Constantino finished his South American tour singing in Santiago. He returned to Boston in
November 1910. After Boston, Constantino made his Metropolitan Opera debut on 24 November in Rigoletto with Melba, Flahaut,
Renaud and Didur.
Then he sang until March 1911 in Boston, Fitchburg, Chicago, Worcester, Philadelphia, Springfield and Portland. On 25 May, he
appeared in Buenos Aires in Lucia di Lammermoor with Barrientos, Ruffo, De Angelis. Other appearances at the Colón were
in Mefistofele, Rigoletto and Don Carlo. He also sang in Montevideo, Bragado, Córdoba and Bahia Blanca. During his
concert in Bragado (the town where he had lived before becoming a singer), he
conceived the idea of building his own opera house in that city. The theatre was opened a year later.
Constantino returned to the USA singing in Boston (29 November), New York (Metropolitan Opera, 27 December; Hippodrome,
Madison Square Garden), Portland (25 January 1912) and New Haven (1 February). He went to Cuba, making his debut on 27 February
1912 in La Habana in Rigoletto. Besides La Habana, he sang in Cienfuegos, Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba, Manzanillo, Ciego de
Ávila, Cárdenas and Matanzas. After a short season in New Orleans, Constantino recorded his last two cylinders for
Edison. One of the cylinders was the death of Otello, a role he never sang on stage. This recording is distinguished by a
remarkable dying groan. Constantino went back to Bragado singing in his own opera house on 25 November 1912 in La bohème.
He also sang in Rigoletto, Tosca and La Gioconda.
In 1913, Constantino sang in Santiago, and Valparaíso. From May to August 1914, Constantino undertook a last tour of the
USA, singing in Boston, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Long Beach, Santa Ana.
In 1919, Constantino was engaged in Ciudad de México for a series of concerts. During his debut on 19 April, he lost his
voice. He recovered and sang again on 3, 4, 6, 15, 18, 30 May. He suffered an attack of hypertension and for some times lost his
consciousness. After intensive medical treatment, he recovered his powers. But another attack happened and he died on November
19th, 1919.
The last years of Constantino are somewhat shrouded in mystery. In some way,
Constantino acted as an impresario for a while; the Spanish Wikipedia says he was an associate in an Argentine itinerant opera
company, other sources (such as the knowledgeable "Dead Tenors' Society" Youtube channel) locate the Constantino Grand Opera
Company in the USA, others again say he didn't found his own company, but managed the California Grand Opera Company in Los
Angeles for one season. Datations for that activity vary from 1912 to 1916. In any case, it was no success, and he lost a lot of
money.
Another rather mysterious event in Constantino's life is a stage accident in a Barbiere performance: overdoing the fight
with Don Bartolo (Giovanni Gravina) in the second act, he injured him so severely with his sword that Gravina lost one eye. It
happened in New Orleans in June 1912 (although you'll find accounts, in Kutsch/Riemens for instance, that give Havana as the
location). Some say that was the end of Constantino's own company, but it's in fact not clear which company it really was.
Kutsch and Riemens say that Gravina died four weeks later, as a result of the accident; but actually, Gravina sued Constantino
in 1914 for indemnity, and obtained 50'000 Dollars.
A third unceremonious story about Constantino's later career regards the world premiere of Homer Moore's opera Louis XIV
on 16 February 1917 in St. Louis. That opera in and of itself must have been bad enough, but it was Constantino who turned the
premiere into a disaster. He had not learned his part, and instead of pronouncing the text sang just "la, la, la", and in very
poor vocal condition to boot. Some said he was drunk, some said he was ill (and got the brandy involved from his colleagues so
as to prevent him from collapsing). In any case, it was a big scandal.