Nicola Fusati (1876-1956) was born Nicola Fusacchia in Rieti. The future tenor earned his medical degree at the University of Rome in 1901 and was appointed chief surgeon at Norcia Hospital in 1904. Always fond of singing, the young man began vocal studies with retired soprano Zaira Falchi during the early years of his medical practice. Impressed by the aspiring tenor’s voice, Zaira encouraged her pupil to pursue a career on the stage. After a few concerts and recitals, Dr. Fusacchia…now calling himself Nicola Fusati…made his stage debut as Radames in Aïda at the prestigious Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari in April of 1908. Among the glowing reviews was a notice from the Bari Independent, stating that Fusati showed, "…forceful high notes, extraordinary strength, a clear voice…” He was also praised for his intense acting. So, at the relatively late age of thirty-two, Fusati began building a second career as a dramatic tenor. Over the course of the next several years, he took Italy by storm, with appearances at the principal theaters of Bologna, Palermo, Genoa, Parma, Piacenza, Padua, Naples and Venice. In 1913, he made his North American debut as part of a tour with Antonio Quaranta’s "Italian Artists’ Company". This tour of the U.S. and Canada included performances of Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana and La Gioconda. By 1914, Fusati was back in Europe, singing the same three operas with Quaranta’s company in Budapest. The year 1915 saw only two performances before Fusati’s career was interrupted by the First World War. Conscripted into the Italian 3rd Army, Fusati served as a medic and rose to the rank of Captain. He was wounded in 1916 and returned to Rome to recuperate. During his convalescence, Fusati took the opportunity to make his La Scala debut in the title role of Verdi’s Ernani. According to a contemporary review, Fusati, “…has a voice of beautiful dramatic quality, but spoiled it rather by forcing”. The review also makes reference to the tenor’s military service, noting, “When his term of convalescence expires, he must return. In the meantime, he is singing at La Scala”. Fusati apparently returned to military service, for more than a year passed before he set foot on the opera stage again. Interestingly, Fusati left the operatic stage again…this time of his own volition. Following a performance of Aïda in Genoa in January of 1920, the tenor Fusati again became Dr. Fusacchia and returned to his medical practice. The good doctor must have grown restless, for after five years of practicing surgery in Rome, Fusati returned to the stage. In all, Fusati collected a repertoire of less than twenty roles from such operas as Tosca, La Fanciulla del West, Loreley, La Wally, Andrea Chenier, Carmen, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, Nerone, La Gioconda, L’Africana, Il Trovatore, I Lombardi and Simon Boccanegra. He essayed his final operatic role, Verdi’s Otello, at Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice in January, 1929 when he was already fifty-two years of age. It was in this role that Fusati brought down the curtain on his career at the Teatro Municipale in Modena in January of 1932. He returned to his medical practice in Rome, retiring in the early 1950s. Nicola Fusati passed away in Rome on January 21, 1956 in his eightieth year. In some ways, it is amazing that Nicola Fusati is remembered at all. He was something of a “part time” operatic tenor who seemed unable to choose between singing and surgery. He was able to accomplish the almost impossible by successfully returning to an interrupted stage career…more than once. When added up over the course of his entire career, his performances on the operatic stage number less than a hundred. During the final years of his career…the period of a singer’s artistic life that most people tend to recall…the reviews were not always kind. His recordings are as scarce as hen’s teeth and the most recent retrospective of his recorded art has been out of print for nearly thirty years. In spite of these seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Nicola Fusati IS remembered. Nicola Fusati left a relatively small but impressive recorded legacy that spanned the entire length of his career, including titles made for Fonotipia, Edison and Columbia. Fusati's final studio project was HMV's epic recording of Verdi's Otello in February of 1932. Although the tenor was in his mid-50s at the time of this recording, he is still in fine form and delivers a dramatic performance. Here, Fusati sings Otello's opening solo, "Esultate!". Also heard are Enrico Spada as Montano, Piero Girardi as Cassio, Nello Palai as Roderigo and Apollo Granforte as Jago. Carlo Sabajno conducts the La Scala Opera Orchestra.

• published: 26 Feb 2016
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