Ruggero Leoncavallo

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Lore & Background

Giorgio Gatti's career was marked by a wide range of performances, from absolute premieres to early music ensembles. In 1972 he won the international television review «New Rossini Voices» organized by the Italian Radio Television. He participated in absolute premieres including Jaufré Rudel and Trilby by Adolfo Gandino, The bear by Silvano Sardi, Four Odes of Horace by Bruno Nicolai, Question and answers by Virgilio Mortari, Perch'io by Roberto Gianotti, A night of joy by Arturo Annecchino, and Glory by Franco Ferroni. He was part of the "Piccolo Teatro Musicale della città di Roma" complex with "I Virtuosi di Roma" directed by Maestro Renato Fasano (1970–1977) and "Gruppo Recitar Cantando" (1980–1990) directed by Maestro Fausto Razzi, specializing in sixteenth and seventeenth century music. Since 1972 he performed chamber music concerts in duo with his wife Maria Teresa Conti, pianist and harpsichordist.

Reader's Guide

Gatti took part in two landmark television productions broadcast worldwide. Tosca in the places and hours of Tosca (1992) was a live Rai 1 film broadcast in 107 countries on 5 continents, winning 3 Emmy Awards, Classical Music Awards "Event of the Year", and "Best World TV Program" of the Bafta. The show, directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, featured Catherine Malfitano (Tosca), Ruggero Raimondi (Scarpia), Giacomo Prestia (Angelotti), Plácido Domingo (Cavaradossi) and the RAI Symphony Orchestra of Rome conducted by Zubin Mehta. La Traviata in Paris (2000) was a live film broadcast in 125 countries on 5 continents, winning 4 Emmy Awards for "Best Music Program of the Year in USA", Prix italia as "Best Program in the World for Performing Arts", and "Special Jury Prize" at the Nombre d'Or in Amsterdam. In later years, he expanded his repertoire into Italian comic opera of the '700 and ventured into the musical Caruso the Story of a Myth by Gianluca Terranova (2002) and the musical comedy Victor Victoria by Blake Edwards (2003). On 10 August 1997 he was awarded the title of honorary citizen of the Abruzzo town of Sante Marie. He died on 1 April 2021, of COVID-19 after being hospitalized for days in a hospital in Rome.

Did You Know?

• Giorgio Gatti won the 'Adriano Belli' experimental opera competition in Spoleto in 1971.
• He debuted at the Teatro Nuovo in three roles: Taddeo in Rossini's Italian in Algeri, Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Sigismondo in Donizetti's Fat Thursday.
• He participated in absolute premieres of works by Adolfo Gandino, Silvano Sardi, Bruno Nicolai, Virgilio Mortari, Roberto Gianotti, Arturo Annecchino, and Franco Ferroni.
• Gatti performed chamber music in duo with his wife Maria Teresa Conti, pianist and harpsichordist, since 1972.
• He died on 1 April 2021 of COVID-19 after being hospitalized in Rome.

Training and Early Breakthroughs

Giorgio Gatti's vocal education unfolded across several Italian cities and under a constellation of mentors. He first trained in Florence under the tenor Vincenzo Guerrieri before moving to Rome, where he studied at the Santa Cecilia Conservatory with Maria Teresa Pediconi. His formative years also included lessons with maestro Renato Federighi in Rome, as well as work with soprano Maria Luisa Zeri and maestro Luciano Bettarini in Prato. This broad, multi-teacher approach gave him a versatile foundation that would serve him throughout a long career. His professional debut came in 1971, the same year he claimed victory at the "Adriano Belli" experimental opera competition in Spoleto. At the Teatro Nuovo he took on three demanding roles: Taddeo in Rossini's Italian in Algeri, Silvio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Sigismondo in Donizetti's Fat Thursday. The following year, his talent earned him the international television review "New Rossini Voices," organized by Italian Radio Television, cementing his reputation as a rising baritone voice in the Italian operatic world.

Premieres and a Life in Chamber Music

Beyond the standard operatic repertoire, Gatti distinguished himself as a champion of new and early music. He lent his voice to a remarkable string of absolute premieres, including Jaufré Rudel and Trilby by Adolfo Gandino, The Bear by Silvano Sardi, Four Odes of Horace by Bruno Nicolai, Question and Answers by Virgilio Mortari, Perch'io by Roberto Gianotti, A Night of Joy by Arturo Annecchino, and Glory by Franco Ferroni. This willingness to tackle untested works speaks to a singer unafraid of the unknown. Equally important was his deep commitment to historical performance. From 1970 to 1977 he belonged to the "Piccolo Teatro Musicale della città di Roma" alongside "I Virtuosi di Roma," under the direction of maestro Renato Fasano. He then joined "Gruppo Recitar Cantando" from 1980 to 1990, led by maestro Fausto Razzi, a collective devoted to interpreting sixteenth- and seventeenth-century music. Adding a deeply personal dimension to his artistic life, Gatti performed chamber music in duo with his wife Maria Teresa Conti, a pianist and harpsichordist, a partnership that has endured since 1972.

Global Television Milestones

Two landmark live television productions catapulted Gatti's artistry to a worldwide audience. In 1992, Rai 1 broadcast Tosca in the places and hours of Tosca, a production directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi that reached viewers in 107 countries across five continents. The cast included Catherine Malfitano as Tosca, Ruggero Raimondi as Scarpia, Giacomo Prestia as Angelotti, and Plácido Domingo as Cavaradossi, with the RAI Symphony Orchestra of Rome under Zubin Mehta's baton. The program collected three Emmy Awards, the Classical Music Award for "Event of the Year," and the Bafta designation of "Best World TV Program." Eight years later, La Traviata in Paris (2000) was transmitted live to 125 countries on five continents. It earned four Emmy Awards for "Best Music Program of the Year in USA," the Prix Italia title of "Best Program in the World for Performing Arts," and a Special Jury Prize at the Nombre d'Or in Amsterdam. These broadcasts remain among the most celebrated moments in televised opera history.

Later Horizons and Final Chapter

In the latter part of his career, Gatti broadened his artistic horizons well beyond the traditional Italian opera house. He expanded his repertoire into the rich world of eighteenth-century Italian comic opera and ventured onto the musical theatre stage, performing in Caruso: The Story of a Myth, composed by Gianluca Terranova in 2002, and in Blake Edwards's musical comedy Victor Victoria in 2003. These choices revealed a singer who remained curious and open to new forms of musical storytelling even as his career matured. His connection to his Italian roots was formally recognized on 10 August 1997, when he was granted the title of honorary citizen of Sante Marie, a town in the Abruzzo region. Giorgio Gatti's life came to an end on 1 April 2021, when he succumbed to COVID-19 after several days of hospitalization in Rome. His passing marked the loss of a baritone whose career spanned more than five decades of Italian and international musical life.