Giuseppe Oxilia

José Nicolás Oxilia was born in Montevideo (Uruguay) on 3 June 1861 from Italian parents. In 1881, he went to Italy to study singing with Felice Pozzo. In 1884, he was engaged as "tenore comprimario" by the opera company of Marino Mancinelli at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and made his debut on 21 November as Laërte in Hamlet by Thomas, with Giuseppe Kaschmann and Victor Maurel alternating in the main role. On 11 December, he sang Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Sembrich and Gayarre and then the role of Rambaud in Robert le diable by Meyerbeer. When Gayarre fell ill, Oxilia sang Fernand in La favorite at the Liceu, in January 1885.

Back to Italy, he made his debut at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, again as Fernand and then as the Duke in Rigoletto, in July and August 1886. From October 1886 to March 1887, he sang at the Teatro Real in Madrid: Enzo in La Gioconda, Radames in Aida, Faust in Mefistofele, and Rodolfo in Luisa Miller. Back in Italy, he sang in Padova Les huguenots and Don Carlo, Mefistofele in Naples and Faust in Turin. In August 1887, he sang for the first time the main part in Otello at the Teatro Grande in Brescia, with Adalgisa Gabbi and Paul Lherie, conducted by Franco Faccio. With the same cast, he sang Otello at the Teatro Regio in Parma. In 1888 in Bologna, he took part in the local premiere of Asrael by Franchetti and in Otello with Victor Maurel.

He made his debut at La Scala in December 1888 with Asrael (17 performances) and in February next year, Otello (13 performances) again with Maurel. In 1889, he sang Lohengrin at the Carlo Felice in Genova, and in May 1890 returned to Montevideo, making his debut at the Teatro Solís with La favorite. Later he sang there Mefistofele, Lucrezia Borgia and Otello. The same year, in August, he sang again in Montevideo but at the Teatro Nuevo Politeama: Lucia di Lammermoor, La favorite, Lucrezia Borgia, La Gioconda, La traviata, Les huguenots, Faust and Carmen. In November, he sang Otello in the inauguration performance of the Teatro Argentino in La Plata.

Back to Italy, in January and February 1891, Oxilia sang five performances of Cavalleria rusticana at La Fenice in Venice.

In 1891, at not quite 30 years old, his voice showed signs of deterioration, and the rest of the year he could not sing in Italy. In Rio de Janeiro, his Otello was a total failure. He started singing opera and zarzuela in minor theaters in Argentina and Uruguay. He returned to Italy, singing in Lucrezia Borgia at the Teatro Coccia in Novara, in 1897, Mefistofele at the Teatro Piccinni in Bari, in 1898; and Lucia, Traviata and La forza del destino at the Teatro Carcano in Milano, in 1903. But his days of glory were over.

He retired around 1904 in total poverty. He opened a school of singing in Milano. Among his pupils were the tenors Italo Cristalli and Walter Kirchhoff. He married in 1910 and had five children. In 1916, suffering from diabetes and because of a wounded finger not properly cared for, degenerating into gangrene, he lost his left arm. Bitterness and poverty during the years of the First World War forced the tenor to sell his most precious belongings, gold medals and crowns that he had received durings his days of glory.

Early in July 1918, Oxilia and his family left Milano forever. Thirty days later, they arrived to Montevideo. This is the worst period in the life of the tenor. He intended to commit suicide throwing himself into a well, but he was miracously saved. Some time later, and because of his diabetes, he suffered also the amputation of his left leg, and his life was now unbearable.

In the most terrible misery and almost totally forgotten, Giuseppe Oxilia died in Montevideo on 18 May 1919, few days before his 58th birthday.
Juan Dzazópulos

Pathé, Milano, 7 November 1899
456	Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni): Mamma, quel vino	AICC 456

Edison cylinders, Milano, 1901
802	Marina (Arrieta): Alma mía				12602
802B	Marina (Arrieta): Alma mía				12602
802C	Marina (Arrieta): Alma mía				12602
875	Marina (Arrieta): Costa la de Levante			12599
875B	Marina (Arrieta): Costa la de Levante			12599
959	Marina (Arrieta): No es verdad				12604
959B	Marina (Arrieta): No es verdad				12604
960	Marina (Arrieta): A beber, a beber			12605
960B	Marina (Arrieta): A beber, a beber			12605
12720	Marina (Arrieta): No sabes tú que yo tenía		12720

Gramophone, Milano, July 1901
392G	Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti): Fra poco a me ricovero	52321X
393G	La Gioconda (Ponchielli): Cielo e mar			52324
395G	Il Guarany (Gomes): Sento una forza indomita		52309
403G	Aida (Verdi): Morir, sì pura e bella			52317
404G	Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti): Fra poco a me ricovero	52321
3357G	Un ballo in maschera (Verdi): È scherzo od è follia	52255 (7")
3369G	Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Un grande spettacolo		52246, 52248 (7")

Gramophone, Milano, March 1902
1628G	Otello (Verdi): Niun mi tema				52330, Zonophone X-92096
1629G	Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Vesti la giubba		52331
1630G	Rigoletto (Verdi): La donna è mobile			52332, Zonophone X-92105
1631G	Rigoletto (Verdi): Questa o quella			52333
1632G	La favorite (Donizetti): Una vergine			52334, Zonophone X-92083
1633G	L'Africaine (Meyerbeer): O paradiso			52361
1634G	La traviata (Verdi): Dei miei bollenti spiriti		52360
1635G	Andrea Chénier (Giordano): Un di all'azzurro spazio	52335

Gramophone, Milano, 11 April 1902
1771G	Luisa Miller (Verdi): Quando le sere			52356
1773G	La traviata (Verdi): Dei miei bollenti spiriti		52360
1774G	Mefistofele (Boito): Dai campi				52357
1779G	Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti): Fra poco a me ricovero	52358
4396G	La traviata (Verdi): Libiamo, libiamo			52274 (7")
4397G	La traviata (Verdi): Parigi, o cara			52275 (7")

Gramophone, Milano, November 1902
2832R	Luisa Miller (Verdi): Quando le sere			52356X
2834R	La traviata (Verdi): Dei miei bollenti spiriti		52360X
2833R	Mefistofele (Boito): Giunto sul passo			52445

Pathé, Milano, 1902 or 1903
80209	Faust (Gounod): Interrogo invan				80209
	L'Africaine (Meyerbeer): O paradiso			
	This cylinder was on an auction list around 1991, was purchased by a 
	collector who left it in Bermuda. A few years, later it was full of 
	mildew according to the collector who could not locate it anymore.

Gramophone, Milano, October 1903
35d	Faust (Gounod): Interrogo invan				52283

Fono-Oxilia, Milano
	Otello (Verdi): Ora e per sempre addio			13

I wish to thank Richard J Venezia for the recording (Africaine).