Piero Pauli

10 July 1898 Barcelona – 19 April 1967 San Piero a Grado

Born Pere Paulí, he worked in a bank and sang in an excellent choir, where his voice was trained by the well-known teacher J&uuacute;lia Cerdà. In 1929, Paulí had his first solo concerts in small venues. He got the possibility to sing for both Maria Barrientos and Francisco Viñas, and it was Viñas who advised him to go and study in Milano, and wrote him a commendatory letter. Paulí left the bank, and took lessons in Milano with Alberto Caffo – just from April to October 1929, then he was ready for his debut at the Politeama Rossetti in Trieste as Faust in Mefistofele. Surprisingly, His Master's Voice hired him already before his debut, in September 1929, to sing Cavaradossi in a complete Tosca with Carmen Melis and Apollo Granforte, and the orchestra of La Scala. From the very beginning, Paulí italianized his name and became Piero Pauli.
Pauli's next stage role was Rodolfo; he sang it in December 1929 in Pavia, on 1 January 1930 already at La Scala, and in February in Monte Carlo, where he stayed for a few weeks and also sang Boito's Faust again, as well as Pinkerton and Duca, 22 performances total. In April, he was Faust in Palermo, in September Pinkerton at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo.
In January 1931, he sang his first Cavaradossi on stage (Teatro Duse, Bologna, and thereafter Teatro Filarmonico, Verona), as well as Pinkerton in Nice and at the Regio in Torino, where he also sang Cavaradossi again. In April, he recorded another complete opera that he had not sung on stage before, nor would he ever sing it: Carmen with Gabriella Besanzoni. In September, he made his debut at La Fenice in Venice, as Pinkerton.
1932 started in Cannes, where he sang Rinuccio; he spent the rest of January at the Teatro Regio in Parma, singing Boito's Faust (with Nazzareno De Angelis and Pia Tassinari), and in Como, where he added Luigi to Rinuccio, two roles that he also sang in Lucca in May, along with Cavaradossi. Tosca in Pavia and Torino (Teatro Regio), Mefistofele in Modena and Bari (Teatro Petruzzelli), and Madama Butterfly in Pisa was his schedule for the rest of the year.
In January 1933, he was back to La Scala, as Rinuccio this time. In September, he sang a new role in Monte Carlo: Alfredo; as well as Rodolfo in Montecatini. In October, he was Cavaradossi in Thiene.
In 1934, he was Rodolfo in Torino in January, and premiered Baldo by Giovanni Cicogna at the Filarmonico in Verona on March 15th. Contemporary opera would also become his specialty at the EIAR, the national Italian radio that hired him that year, for many seasons to come. His first radio operas were Ghismonda by Renzo Bianchi for EIAR Roma in August, and Prodaná nevěsta (where he sang Jeník) for EIAR Torino in November.
In January 1935 in Como, Pauli debuted the "other" Faust, the one by Gounod, and sang Rinuccio at La Scala once more. The rest of the year was devoted to radio work: Primavera fiorentina by Arrigo Pedrollo, La ghibellina by Bianchi, Goyescas by Enrique Granados, and Il tabarro.
In 1936, Pauli sang exclusively modern works, and only one of them on stage: the world premiere of Sulamita by Amilcare Zanella in May in Ancona. On the radio, he sang La fiamma by Respighi, Il diavolo nel campanile by Adriano Lualdi, L'ospite inatteso by Riccardo Pick Mangiagalli, Oceana by Antonio Smareglia and Turandot by Ferruccio Busoni.
1937 was the year of Pauli's debut at the Rome opera theater, in Lucrezia by Respighi, with Maria Caniglia and Mario Basiola, in January. Once again, that was his only stage role that year. On the radio, he sang Primavera fiorentina once more, Louise, Consuelo by Alfonso Rendano, and Notturno romantico by Pick Mangiagalli. In December, he sang Verdi's Requiem at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste (repeated in March 1938).
He sang more opera on stage in 1938: Khovanshchina at the Carlo Felice in Genova in January and at the San Carlo in Naples in February, Miranda by Pietro Canonica in Rome in April (with Tito Gobbi and Giuseppe Taddei), Madama Butterfly in Livorno in December. In between, it was radio time: La morte di Frine by Lodovico Rocca, another Lucrezia, Suton by Serbian composer Stevan Hristić (in Italian, of course, as Crepuscolo), Il tabarro and Gianni Schicchi, La favola d'Orfeo by Alfredo Casella, L'amante in trappola by Pedrollo.
In 1939, he was Pinkerton at the Teatro Coccia in Novara in January, and Rinuccio as well as Sconosciuto (in La morte di Frine) at the Massimo in Palermo in April. Later on, he appeared in Trieste in Musorgskij's Sorochinskaja jarmarka, an opera that he had already sung for EIAR that year, alongside Humperdinck's Königskinder, de Falla's La vida breve, Lualdi's Le nozze di Haura and Canonica's Miranda.
In 1940, Pauli sang exclusively on the radio: Il volto della Vergine by Ezio Camussi, La veglia by Pedrollo, and another Notturno romantico.
1941 was Pauli's last year at EIAR; he sang Filomena e l'infatuato by Rocca for them in Rome, and Monte Ivnor by the same composer in Torino. On stage, he was Laca in Její pastorkyňa (Jenůfa) at La Fenice in March, and Sconosciuto in Reggio Emilia in October.
Although the termination of his radio work would now have left him more time for staged opera, the frequency of his performances did not increase. In 1942, he appeared in La bohème in Catania in January, and in Dallapiccola's Volo di notte in Rome in November. In 1943, he sang in the theater but not on stage: Beethoven's Ninth and Lorenzo Perosi's oratorio La risurrezione di Cristo, both at the Comunale in Bologna in April. In 1944 and 1945, his only role was Boito's Faust, which he sang in Venice and Trieste. And in 1946, he sang Cavaradossi and Alfredo at the Teatro Grattacielo in Genova in February. There, he noticed the first symptoms of an heart ailment that forced him to entirely retire. He moved to the village of San Piero a Grado near Pisa, where his daughter worked as a physician.
Reference 1 and source for the top picture: the fantastic website Interprets Catalans Historics; reference 2: the website of Roberto Marcocci

Piero Pauli sings

Die Walküre: Cede il verno

In RA format

Piero Pauli sings

L'arlesiana: È la solita storia

In RA format

I wish to thank Vladimir Efimenko for the recording (Arlesiana).

Discography

Gramophone, Milano, 7 November 1929
CM1213-II	Tosca (Puccini): Non la sospiri (w. Melis)			S 10143, AN 684, AF 338, C 1903, EH 537

Gramophone, Milano, 11 November 1929
CM1219-I	Tosca (Puccini): Senti, l'ora è vicina (w. Melis)		S 10154, AN 695, AF 349, C 1914, EH 548

Gramophone, Milano, 12 November 1929
CM1222-II	Tosca (Puccini): Recondita armonia (w. Gelli)			S 10142, AN 683, AF 337, C 1902, EH 536

Gramophone, Milano, 14 November 1929
CM1224-III	Tosca (Puccini): E lucevan le stelle (w. Weinberg)		S 10153, AN 694, AF 348, C 1913, EH 547
CM1227-I	Tosca (Puccini): Ah! Franchigia a Floria Tosca (w. Melis)	S 10154, AN 695, AF 349, C 1914, EH 548

Gramophone, Milano, 15 November 1929
CM1229-II	Tosca (Puccini): Eccellenza, vado (w. Gelli, Azzimonti & Melis)	S 10143, AN 684, AF 338, C 1903, EH 537
CM1230-II	Tosca (Puccini): Il cannon del castello				S 10145, AN 686, AF 340, C 1905, EH 539
		(w. Azzimonti, Gelli, Granforte & Palai)

Gramophone, Milano, 18 November 1929
CM1232-II	Tosca (Puccini): Va! Quanto m'affretti (w. Melis & Azzimonti)	S 10144, AN 685, AF 339, C 1904, EH 538

Gramophone, Milano, 20 November 1929
CM1240-I	Tosca (Puccini): Ed or fra noi parliam				S 10149, AN 690, AF 344, C 1909, EH 543
		(w. Melis, Granforte & Azzimonti)
CM1241-II	Tosca (Puccini): Or su, Tosca, parlate				S 10149, AN 690, AF 344, C 1909, EH 543
		(w. Granforte, Melis, Azzimonti & Palai)
CM1242-II	Tosca (Puccini): Vittoria! (w. Melis, Granforte & Azzimonti)	S 10150, AN 691, AF 345, C 1910, EH 544

Gramophone, Milano, 21 November 1929
CM1244-II	Tosca (Puccini): Ah! finalmente (w. Azzimonti & Gelli)		S 10142, AN 683, AF 337, C 1902, EH 536

Gramophone, Milano, 22 November 1929
CM1249-I	Tosca (Puccini): Egli è là (w. Granforte, Palai & Melis)	S 10148, AN 689, AF 343, C 1908, EH 542
		
Gramophone, Milano, 14 January 1930
CM1216-III	Tosca (Puccini): Qual occhio al mondo (w. Melis)		S 10144, AN 685, AF 339, C 1904, EH 538
CM1221-IV	Tosca (Puccini): E non giungono (w. Melis)			S 10155, AN 696, AF 350, C 1915, EH 549

Gramophone, Milano, 16 April 1930
BM1581-I	Bohème (Puccini): Quest'è Mimì (w. Palai, Gu. Masini & Basi)	DA 1204

Gramophone, Milano, 24 April 1930
CM1590-II	Mefistofele (Boito): Forma ideal purissima			DB 1440
		(w. Fanelli & Gu. Masini)
CM1591-I	Mefistofele (Boito): Amore, mistero (w. Fanelli)		DB 1440

Gramophone, Milano, 7 May 1930
CM1592-II	Falstaff (Verdi): Dal labbro il canto				DB 1648

Gramophone, Milano, 21 January 1931
0F29-II		Mefistofele (Boito): Giunto sul passo estremo			DA 1202
0F30-II		Mefistofele (Boito): Dai campi, dai prati			DA 1202

Gramophone, Milano, 23 January 1931
OF34-II		Gianni Schicchi (Puccini): Firenze è come un albero fiorito	DA 1204
OF35-II		Bohème (Leoncavallo): Testa adorata				DA 1204

Gramophone, Milano, 23 April 1931
2F269-II	Carmen (Bizet): La tua madre con me (w. Carbone)		S 10304, C 2314, EH 745
2F270-II	Carmen (Bizet): Con la guardia quando monta (w. Bordonali)	S 10301, C 2311, EH 742
2F271-II	Carmen (Bizet): Resta qui, mio tesor (w. Carbone)		S 10304, C 2314, EH 745
2F273-III	Carmen (Bizet): Ma non m'inganno (w. G. Besanzoni & Carbone)	S 10315, C 2325, EH 756

Gramophone, Milano, 27 April 1931
2F293-I		Carmen (Bizet): Ebben, là che servan (w. Spada)			S 10302, C 2312, EH 743
2F294-II	Carmen (Bizet): Carmen, tutti quì (w. Carbone)			S 10303, C 2313, EH 744

Gramophone, Milano, 7 May 1931
2F320-II	Carmen (Bizet): Olà! Olà! José!					S 10315, C 2325, EH 756
		(w. G. Besanzoni, Carbone, E. Besanzoni, Venturini & Palai)
2F321-II	Carmen (Bizet): Va via						S 10316, C 2326, EH 757
		(w. G. Besanzoni, Carbone, Ferrari, Beltacchi, E. Besanzoni, Venturini & Palai)

Gramophone, Milano, 11 May 1931
2F338-II	Carmen (Bizet): Ascolta, camerata				S 10312, C 2322, EH 753
		(w. G. Besanzoni, Ferrari, Beltacchi, Venturini & Palai)

Gramophone, Milano, 14 May 1931
2F359-II	Carmen (Bizet): Olà, Carmen! Olà				S 10311, C 2321, EH 752
		(w. G. Besanzoni, Ferrari, Beltacchi, Spada, Venturini & Palai)

Gramophone, Milano, 15 May 1931
2F360-IV	Carmen (Bizet): Sei tu? Son io!, pt. 2 (w. G. Besanzoni)	S 10318, C 2328, EH 759
2F368-II	Carmen (Bizet): Sei tu? Son io!, pt. 1 (w. G. Besanzoni)	S 10318, C 2328, EH 759

Gramophone, Milano, 18 May 1931
2F375-II	Carmen (Bizet): Mio capitan (w. Spada & G. Besanzoni)		S 10305, C 2315, EH 746
2F377-I		Carmen (Bizet): Ci riposiam (w. G. Besanzoni & Palai)		S 10312, C 2322, EH 753
2F378-II	Carmen (Bizet): E chi puoi tu aspettar?				S 10309, C 2319, EH 750
		(w. G. Besanzoni, Venturini & Palai)

Gramophone, Milano, 21 May 1931
2F379-IV	Carmen (Bizet): Voglio danzar (w. G. Besanzoni)			S 10309, C 2319, EH 750
2F382-II	Carmen (Bizet): No, tu non m'ami (w. G. Besanzoni)		S 10310, C 2320, EH 751

Gramophone, Milano, 22 May 1931
2F380-IV	Carmen (Bizet): Presso il bastion di Siviglia (w. G. Besanzoni)	S 10305, C 2315, EH 746

Gramophone, Milano, 6 July 1931
2F260-VI	Carmen (Bizet): Il fior che avevi a me tu dato			S 10310, C 2320, C 7176, EH 751

Gramophone, Milano, December 1931
2M208-II	Faust (Gounod): Io voglio il piacer, pt. 1 (w. Zambelli)	DB 1637, Victor 11408
2M209-II	Faust (Gounod): Io voglio il piacer, pt. 2 (w. Zambelli)	DB 1637, Victor 11408
2M211-I		Manon (Massenet): A Parigi n'andrem (w. Saraceni)		DB 1648
2M214		L'arlesiana (Cilea): È la solita storia				DB 2013

Gramophone, Milano, 21 March 1933
2M1208-II	Bohème (Puccini): O soave fanciulla (w. Tassinari)		DB 1932

Gramophone, Milano, 8 April 1933
0M1253-II	Faust (Gounod): Tardi si fa (w. Tassinari)			DA 1322
0M1254-II	Faust (Gounod): Sempre amar (w. Tassinari)			DA 1322

Gramophone, Milano, 20 April 1933
0M1297-II	Occhi di fata (Denza)						DA 1321
0M1298-II	Aprile (Tosti)							DA 1321

Gramophone, Milano, 25 April 1933
2M1301-II	Ninna nanna (= Wiegenlied op. 41/1) (R. Strauss)		DB 2012

Gramophone, Milano, 3 June 1933
0M1341-II	Walküre (Wagner): Cede il verno					DA 1331
0M1342-I	Germania (Franchetti): Studenti, udite				DA 1332

Gramophone, Milano, 4 June 1933
0M1343-II	Fedora (Giordano): Mia madre (w. Oltrabella)			DA 1340
0M1345-II	Germania (Franchetti): No, non chiuder gli occhi vaghi		DA 1332

Gramophone, Milano, 18 June 1933
2M1411-II	Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea): No, la mia fronte (w. Saraceni)	DB 2012
2M1412-I	Manon (Massenet): La tua non è la mano (w. Saraceni)		DB 2013

Gramophone, Milano, December 1934
0BA308-II	Disco belliniano, pt. 1 (w. Allulli Olivieri & Costa)		HN 736
		(Pauli sings Norma: Meco all'altar/Qual cor tradisti)

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