OBITUARY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22357, 2 March 1936, Page 10

OBITUARY

SIGNOR ANTONIO SCOTTI OPERATIC BARITONE NAPLES, Feb. 2S The death has occurred of Signor 'Antonio Scotti, world-famous operatic baritone. He was born in Naples 70 years ago. The late Signor Antonio Scotti, famous operatic baritone, began his career as an amateur and later studied with Madame Trifari Paganini in his native city. He made his debut as Amonasro in " Aida " at the Teatro Reale, Malta, ■ n 1889. After an engagement there he sang in a number of Italian opeia- houses and subsequently spent seven seasons in South America, where he was very popular. He also eang in Spain, Russia and Poland. When Signor Scotti made his first appearance at Covent Garden, London, as Don Giovanni in 1891). he was at once engaged for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, and afterwards sang there regularly as the leading baritone in Italian operas. In London the part in which he made his greatest hit was Amonasro. When Puccini's " Madame Butterfly " was produced in 1903, he sang the rolo of Sharpless. Among Signor Scotti's principal roles were the Count in " Figaro,'' Belcor8" in the " Elisir d'Amore," " Rigoletto," Falstaff," lago in Verdi's " Otello," Ashton in " Lucia di Lammermoor," Marcel, in "La Boheme," Escamillo in " Carmen," Germont in " Traviata," the Comte de Nevers in " Les Huguenots," Valentine in " Faust '' and Scarpia in La Tosca," a part which he created at Covent Garden, being specially selected for it by the composer.