A LIFE - GIGLI

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Gigli: A Life in Words and Music (more info)
Composed by: Ale Moller
Graeme Kay, narrator


1.   'I was born with a voice and very little else...' / Ponchielli: 'Cielo e mar' from La Gioconda - 1918 - 5:22
2.   Family background - 5:20
3.   Gigli's stage debut and poverty-stricken start - 6:36
4.   Puccini: 'O soave fanciulla' from La Boheme - 1919 - 3:36
5.   Service in the household of Countess Spannocchi - 3:19
6.   Donizetti: 'Spirto gentil' from La favorita - 1918 - 4:03
7.   Colonel Delfino, and Giovanni Zerri's legal agreement - 5:01
8.   Cannio: O surdato 'nnammurato - 1918 - 2:26
9.   A hospital visit and a scholarship - 2:18
10.   Mascagni: 'Ah! ritrovarla nella sua capanna' from Lodoletta - 1918 - 3:42
11.   Gigli graduates and makes his debut; he goes for the high B flat - 6:31
12.   Puccini: 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca - 1918 - 2:56
13.   Marriage, Rome and a tour to Spain - 4:13
14.   Mascagni: 'Apri la tua finestra!' from Iris - 1918 - 2:35
15.   A letter from Fred Gaisberg of HMV - 4:15
16.   Mascagni: 'Mamma, quel vino e generoso' from Cavalleria rusticana - 1919 - 4:18
17.   Gigli conquers South America, and receives an offer from the Met - 3:35
18.   Metropolitan Opera debut in Mefistofele - 4:42
19.   Boito: 'Giunto sul passo estremo' from Mefistofele - 1921 - 3:27

Gigli: A Life in Words and Music (more info)
Composed by: Ale Moller
Graeme Kay, narrator


1.   The critics' verdict, and more performances - 4:41
2.   Donizetti: 'Tombe degl'avi miei' from Lucia di Lammermoor - 1927 - 4:40
3.   Gigli's fate becomes entwined with Caruso's - 7:30
4.   Giordano: 'Un di all'azzurro spazio' from Andrea Chenier - 1922 - 4:26
5.   Who will be Caruso's successor? - 5:49
6.   Verdi: 'De'miei bollenti spiriti' from La traviata - 1928 - 4:22
7.   Life forms a regular pattern, and Gigli learns to sing in foreign languages - 2:06
8.   Lalo: 'Vainement, ma bien aimee' from Le Roi d'Ys - 1922 - 3:26
9.   Manon at the Met - 0:57
10.   Massenet: 'O dolce incanto' from Manon - 1931 - 3:36
11.   Catalani's Loreley - 0:50
12.   Catalani: 'Nel verde maggio' from Loreley - 1923 - 2:28
13.   Summer in Italy, then back to New York and some physical training - 4:33
14.   Gounod: 'Ah! ne fuis pas encore!' from Romeo et Juliette - 1923 - 2:14
15.   Honorary Captain of the NYPD - 2:22
16.   Meyerbeer: 'O paradiso' from L'Africaine - 1928 - 3:57
17.   Flourishing finances and professional rivalries - 4:49
18.   Crushing remarks; the attraction of radio - 3:40
19.   Sullivan: The Lost Chord - 1931 - 4:29
20.   A new decade, and the honour of playing Nemorino at the Met - 1:31
21.   Donizetti: 'Quanto e bella' from L'elisir d'amore - 1925 - 2:52

Gigli: A Life in Words and Music (more info)
Composed by: Ale Moller
Graeme Kay, narrator


1.   Debuts in Paris and London, and London's critical reception - 4:43
2.   Flotow: 'M'appari' [Ach! So fromm] from Mata [Martha] - 1929 - 3:39
3.   Crisis: the death of Gigli's mother, and tension at the Met - 3:44
4.   Departure from the Met - 4:28
5.   America's loss is Europe's gain - 6:40
6.   Speech: Gigli in an interview at the Savoy Hotel, London - 1946 - 0:43
7.   Cherished London reviews - 1:41
8.   Leoncavallo: 'No, Pagliacci non son!' from Pagliacci - 1934 - 3:14
9.   Recording reflects the drama - 1:08
10.   Leoncavallo: 'Suvvia, cosi terribile' from Pagliacci - 1934 - 2:57
11.   Touring, Gigli's working relationships, and a new turn of events - 5:59
12.   De Curtis: Non ti scorder di me - 1935 - 3:17
13.   Film popularity, Hitler and Goebbels, and the Caracalla tradition - 4:44
14.   Puccini: 'Che gelida manina' from La Boheme - 1938 - 4:25
15.   Voice expert John Steane's recommendation - 0:28
16.   Puccini: ' O soave fanciulla' from La Boheme - 1938 - 3:34
17.   A new recording of Tosca - 2:41
18.   Puccini: 'Recondita armonia' from Tosca - 1938 - 2:49
19.   Patience and hard work produce 'a perfrect set of master recordings' - 2:36
20.   Puccini: 'E lucevan le stelle' from Tosca - 1938 - 2:41
21.   A return to America and the Met - 4:34
22.   Verdi: 'Ingemisco' from the Requiem - 1939 - 3:39
23.   The recording of Madama Butterfly - 0:37
24.   Puccini: Closing moments of Act I, Madama Butterfly - 1939 - 4:18

Gigli: A Life in Words and Music (more info)
Composed by: Ale Moller
Graeme Kay, narrator


1.   War keeps Gigli in Italy - 2:56
2.   Introductory speech to Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni - 1940 - 0:50
3.   Translation of the speech - 0:58
4.   Mascagni: 'Mamma, quel vino e generoso' from Cavalleria rusticana - 1940 - 4:45
5.   More role debuts, Gigli's wartime films, and Andrea Chenier - 6:41
6.   Giordano: 'Un di all'azzurro spazio' from Andrea Chenier - 1941 - 5:09
7.   John Steane's verdict - 0:28
8.   Giordano: 'Come un bel di di maggio' from Andrea Chenier - 1941 - 3:04
9.   Rome Opera House rallies wartime spirits - 1:06
10.   Verdi: 'Teco io sto - Gran Dio' from Un ballo in maschera - 1943 - 1:21
11.   Verdi: 'Non sai tu che se l'anima mia' from Un ballo in maschera - 1943 - 3:33
12.   Verdi: 'Oh, qual soave brivido' from Un ballo in maschera - 1943 - 3:24
13.   Gigli's political affiliations - 6:32
14.   Verdi: 'Celeste Aida' from Aida - 1946 - 4:36
15.   Postwar Italy: an HMV manager's report - 1:00
16.   Verdi: 'Pui ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida' from Aida - 1946 - 3:15
17.   Covent Garden with Rina, then a tour of Britian and Ireland - 6:18
18.   Speech given by Gigli after a concert at the Royal Albert Hall - 1952 - 0:42
19.   The final phase - and no thoughts of retirement - 2:47
20.   Di Veroli: Ritorna amore - 1952 - 3:34
21.   A last visit to the USA - 1:14
22.   Cottrau: Santa Lucia - 1949 - 3:06
23.   Gigli's death, his obituaries, and his place in the tenor lineage - 9:04
24.   Meyerbeer: 'O paradiso' from L'Africaine (ending) - 1928 - 2:28

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