Miguel Fleta

Young Fleta worked as a shepherd and a bricklayer, and was an amateur singer of folk music. In 1917, he enrolled at the conservatory in Barcelona; his voice teacher there, French soprano Luisa Pierrick, became his mentor, manager, lover, and first wife.

Fleta made his debut in 1919 in Trieste as Paolo in Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini. Via Prague and Vienna (Volksoper), he soon arrived at major Italian theaters (Genova, Rome) as well as at the Colón of Buenos Aires, in Rio de Janeiro and in Madrid (Teatro Real). His rise was spectacular, and he all too quickly became one of the greatest operatic stars in the world; he even sang in Japan, and in 1924 arrived at La Scala. His "Ay, ay, ay" recording was the first disc ever that sold more than 1 million times.

In November 1923, Fleta made his Met debut; he had a contract for three seasons, but sang only two of them, while in 1925/26, he preferred to stay in Milano to prepare the world premiere of Turandot at La Scala, where he sang Calaf, a role that did not suit him (he sang only a handful of performances). The Met sued him for breach of contract, and obtained a huge penalty from Fleta. (Fleta did the same thing again in 1932 to the Teatro Calderón in Madrid, and was sued again; this time, both parties had to pay penalties, the theater for expecting Fleta to overfulfill his contract, and the singer for consequently refusing to sing at all.)

Fleta was, as we can see, difficult, spoiled, conceited. He was prone to excesses of all kinds, eating and drinking, above all; his health was affected by an early syphilis infection that had not been expertly cured. All in all, he quickly ruined his voice. His technique had always had its faults (Spanish quiver, detached top register), and his success was fruit of his outstanding, imaginative musicality and individual interpretations, much more than of his technique (except for his truly exceptional breath control, and diminuendo). In the years of his youth and glory, he sang incredibly many performances, and often of a heavier repertory than he should have chosen. And so his voice gave in: early on (from 1922 already!), he developed regular throat problems. In 1927, he divorced Pierrick. From 1928, he was on a decline just as quick as his rise; from 1930, he sang only irregularly, exclusively in Spain, and mostly in zarzuela. His very last performance was in 1937 (Don José in Lisbon).

From 1936, he was officially a member of the Falange (the Spanish Fascists led by Franco). Fleta did not fight the Civil War, but was a very active Falange supporter, distributing leaflets or borrowing his private car to the party. He also recorded the anthem of the Spanish Fascists. His involvement was prominent enough that the royalists condemned him to death. However, soon after, he died of a natural cause (uremia).

Reference 1: Youtube channel "Dead Tenors' Society"; reference 2; reference 3; reference 4; reference 5: Kutsch & Riemens