Mario Del Monaco

Mario De Monaco was born to an upper-class family in Florence on July 27, 1915, with links to nobility; his paternal grandmother was the Princess Caterina Vanni di San Vincenzo from Palermo. His grandfather, from his mother's side, was a chemist. Throughout his life Mario was strongly influenced by the musical tradition of his family. His mother, Flora Giachetti, was a well-trained singer; in fact, he called her "my first muse". His father Ettore was a music critic in New York City for a period of time.

Because of Mario's father's occupation. the Del Monaco family moved from Florence first to Cremona, and then to Tripoli, Libya. They finally settled down in Pesaro, a town on the Adriatic sea. There Mario, a student of Maestro Arturo Melocchi, studied and graduated from the Conservatorio Rossini. From the beginning and as a young tenor, Mario experienced difficult times. In 1936 he obtained a scholarship at the Royal Theater of the Rome Opera House, but unfortunately his voice suffered from this experience. As a matter of fact, because of Mario's poor health the teachers advised him to move from the bel canto to lighter music, causing him to almost lose his voice. At this point Mario returned to Pesaro to Maestro Melocchi who helped him rediscover the proper way to develop his voice.In the meantime, Mario became enamored with Rina Filippini, a young soprano and a classmate.

During War World II, from 1938 to 1943, Mario served in the Italian Army in the Transportation Corps, first in Milan, then in Treviso and continued his studies under the direction of Maestro Melocchi; until his debut on December 31, 1940, as Pinkerton at the Puccini Theater in Milan.

On June 21, 1941 the young Mario married Rina who became his faithful companion and an invaluable advisor throughout his life.

An audience is inclined to consider artists as being mythical persons when they are actually regular people but who possess unusual talents and gifts which are capable of expressing refined sensitivities to the rigors of life. In that regard, Mario was an artist of the highest caliber because he was able to transfer to the stage his experience borne from the joys and sorrows of his daily life. In so doing, he provided a new appeal and charm to the characters of opera.Being able to learn from the trials of life, Del Monaco has entered operatic history as a great artist, a gifted tenor who was able to truly communicate suffering and joy - - even though some critics disagreed and judged his interpretations as being "too realistic".In reality Del Monaco was a humane, sensitive and gifted interpreter.

He was able to communicate with distinctiveness, a force which was not found among tenors of his time. As a matter of fact, he created a new approach to the art of bel canto.His emphasized phrasings were unforgettable; his recitations were wonderful and all were based upon a powerful voice having multiple shades of golden colors flowing plentifully, filling the theaters and quenching the thirsts of the enthusiastic audience.