Alfredo Gandolfi, sometimes given as Alfred Gandolfi, (18 May 1885 – 9 June 1963) was an Italian-born American cinematographer, operatic baritone, and librettist. He should not be confused with the Alfredo Gandolfi who co-founded Ambrosio Film with Arturo Ambrosio in 1906.
A native of Turin, Gandolfi began his career as a cameraman for the Cines film company in Rome in c. 1906. He worked for a variety of film companies in Italy while training as a vocalist with the opera singer Chiarina Fino-Savio. He made his professional opera debut in Turin in 1911, and over the next five years periodically performed in operas in Italy while primarily working as a cinematographer in the United States. He notably portrayed Amfortas in the first staging in Italy of Richard Wagner's Parsifal at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in 1914, a role he repeated at La Scala, the Teatro Regio in Turin, and the Teatro Carlo Felice.
Gandolfi formed a prolific partnership with the film director Oscar Apfel. From 1914 through 1924 he worked as Apfel's cinematographer on 15 feature-length silent films which were made for a variety of film studios including the Fox Film Corporation, Paramount Pictures, and the World Film Company among others. He also made several films with other directors for Selznick Pictures during the early 1920s. After this, his career in film was mainly over as his opera career in the United States became his focus. He worked as a cinematographer on two final films: The Viking (1931) and Amore e morte (1932).
Gandolfi was committed to the Chicago Civic Opera in 1923–1924. From 1924 to 1929 he was a leading baritone of the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company. In 1923 he made his debut at the San Francisco Opera, but was not a regular performer with the company until the 1930s. He notably portrayed Scarpia in Tosca with the company for the grand opening of the newly built War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in 1932. He simultaneously worked as a singer at the Metropolitan Opera from 1929 through 1936, appearing in more than 300 performances on the Met stage. In New York he had supporting roles in the world premieres of Arrigo Pedrollo's La Veglie (1924), Deems Taylor's Peter Ibbetson (1931) and Howard Hanson's Merry Mount (1934). He wrote the libretto to Anthony F. Paganucci's one-act opera Idillio Pastorale (1932). After retiring from the stage he lived in New York City and worked as a voice teacher.
Early career as both singer and cinematographer Alfredo E. Gandolfi was born on 18 May 1885 in Turin, Italy.Kutsch & Riemens, p. 1628 He worked as both a cinematographer and a singer.Vazzana, p. 187 In c. 1906 he began his professional life as a cinematographer for the Cines film company in Rome, and then worked for Itala Film in his native city and for Pathé film until 1910. During this time he studied singing in his native city with mezzo-soprano Chiarina Fino-Savio. In 1911 he made his professional opera debut in Turin at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele as Lord Enrico Ashton in Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. He later returned to that theater in 1913 as Lescaut in Giacomo Puccini's Manon Lescaut.
From 1910 to 1913 Gandolfi worked as a cameraman for Pathé Exchange in the United States. He then went to work for the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company and the Morosco Photoplay Company, working as cameraman for the director Oscar Apfel on a number of pictures, including The Squaw Man (1914).Hoffmann, p. 3 In 1914 he portrayed Amfortas in the first staging in Italy of Richard Wagner's Parsifal at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna with Giuseppe Borgatti in the title role and Elena Rakowska as Kundry. He repeated the role of Amfortas in the same year at the Teatro Regio di Turino, the Teatro Carlo Felice, and La Scala. For Paramount Pictures he was the cinematographer for After Five (1915)Darby, p. 169 which was co-directed by Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille.Goble, p. 665
In 1916 Gandolfi starred in a production of Emilio de' Cavalieri's Rappresentatione di Anima, et di Corpo at the Turin Conservatory, and was thereafter mainly inactive as a singer until appearing at the Cairo Opera House in 1923. He had previously joined the staff of the Fox Film Corporation in July 1915, with his first picture with the company being The Little Gypsy (1915) with Apfel once again as director.Solomon, p. 230 Other films Gandolfi made with Apfel for Fox included A Man of Sorrow (1916),Gevinson, p. 633 The Battle of Hearts (1916),Solomon, p. 234 The Man from Bitter Roots (1916), and The End of the Trail (1916).Solomon, p. 235
Gandolfi and Apfel next went to work for the World Film Company where together they made The Grouch (1918),Parish, p. 72 The Rough Neck (1919),Altomara, p. 117-118 The Crook of Dreams (1919), The Little Intruder (1919),Katchmer, p.417 Bringing Up Betty (1919), The Oakdale Affair (1919), and Me and Captain Kidd (1919). After this Gandolfi worked mainly with other directors. With the director Colin Campbell, he made The Thunderbolt (1919) for First National Pictures.Spehr & Lundquist, p. 222 For Selznick Pictures he worked for varying directors as the cameraman for The Woman God Sent (1920),Altmora, p. 184 The Greatest Love (1920),Gevinson, p. 456 A Divorce of Convenience (1921), and Conceit (1921). He teamed up with Apfel for one final picture, The Trail of the Law (1924).Priestly, p. 258
After 1924 Gandolfi only served as cinematographer for two more pictures: the sound drama The Viking (1931)Turner & Price, p. 68 and Amore e morte (1932).Gevinson, p. 73
Early singing career in the United States Gandolfi continued to study singing in the United States with Cesare Sturani and Estelle Liebling. On January 29, 1922, Gandolfi gave his first public concert in the United States at DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City. In May and June 1922 he toured with the Scotti Grand Opera Company as Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana and Marcello in La bohème. In September 1922 he performed with the De Feo Grand Opera Company (DFGOC) at the Canadian National Exhibition, and later performed with that company in Baltimore as Scarpia in Tosca (1923) Sharpless in Madama Butterfly (1924) Scarpia in Tosca (1924), Escamillo in Carmen (1924), and Figaro in The Barber of Seville (1924). In 1926 he toured with the DFGOC to His Majesty's Theatre, Montreal, for performances of Jules Massenet's Werther and Camille Saint-Saëns's Samson and Delilah.
In November 1922 Gandolfi portrayed Germont in La traviata at the Broad Theatre in Newark, New Jersey. He made an unexpected debut at the Chicago Civic Opera (CCO) on November 17, 1923, replacing an ailing Giacomo Rimini as Lord Ashton in Lucia di Lammermoor with Florence Macbeth in the title role. He was heard with the company again the following December as the Fiddler in Königskinder with Claire Dux as The Goose Girl. Other roles he sang with the CCO included Alessio in La sonnambula (1924), Lord Ashton (1924), and Marchese d'Obigny in La traviata (1924, on tour to the Boston Opera House).
In April 1924 Gandolfi portrayed the title role in Verdi's Rigoletto for performances at the Crescent Temple in Trenton, New Jersey, and the Broad Theater in Newark. In May 1924 he appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra on tour to the 25th Annual Spartanburg Music Festival in South Carolina where he performed the role of the Count di Luna in Verdi's Il trovatore with Frances Peralta as Leonora. In September 1924 he portrayed Scarpia at the Manhattan Opera House with Beatrice Melaragno as Tosca and Giuseppe Radelli as Cavaradossi. He performed the role of the Count di Luna at the 28th season of the Maine Music Festival in October 1924 with Joan Ruth as Inez and Marcella Roeseler as Leonora.
On December 20, 1924, Gandolfi created the role of Mike Dara in the world premiere of Arrigo Pedrollo's one-act opera La Veglie (English: The Wake) which was given at the Hotel Pennsylvania with Giuseppe Bamboschek as the music director.
Philadelphia Civic Opera Company and other work from 1925 to 1929 Gandolfi was a leading baritone with the Philadelphia Civic Opera Company (PCOC) from 1924 through 1929. He performed the role of Marcello for his debut with the PCOC at Philadelphia's Metropolitan Opera House on November 6, 1924. He later appeared with that company as Rafaele in I gioielli della Madonna (1925), Escamillo in Carmen (1925), Manfredo in The Love for Three Oranges (1925), Scarpia (1926), the Count di Luna (1927), Alfio (1927 and 1928), Pierre in Le Chemineau (1929), and the title role in The Marriage of Figaro (1929).
In 1926 he toured the United States and to Cuba with Andrés de Segurola's New York Civic Opera in such operas as Lucia di Lammermoor and Carmen. In May 1926 he portrayed Scarpia in Tosca at the Gran Teatro de La Habana in Cuba with Bianca Saroya in the title role as part of this tour. He later toured with this company again to Florida in 1927.
In September 1926 he starred in a concert version of La Juive given at the Coney Island Stadium as a benefit for the Jewish Sanatorium (now Zucker Hillside Hospital). In June 1927 he appeared at Broadway's Cort Theatre as Silvio in Pagliacci and Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana. In early 1928 he toured Canada with the Cosmopolitan Opera Company.
Metropolitan Opera Gandolfi worked at the Metropolitan Opera ("The Met") from 1929 through 1936 as primarily a comprimario and buffa baritone. He made his debut with the company on October 28, 1929, as the Sergeant in Puccini's Manon Lescaut. His other repertoire at the Met in his first season with the company included Donner in Das Rheingold, The Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly, Ruiz in Il trovatore, and Zuàne in La Gioconda.
By 1936 Gandolfi had performed a total of 38 different roles at the Metropolitan Opera and appeared in more than 300 performances with the company. On February 7, 1931, he portrayed the manservant in the world premiere of Deems Taylor's Peter Ibbetson at the Met.Dietz, p. 101 On February 10, 1934, he created the role of Myles Brodrib in the world premiere of Howard Hanson's Merry Mount at the Met.Dietz, p. 312 He recorded this latter role for a complete recording of the opera released by Naxos Records in 1934.McCants, p. 298 While his roles at the Met tended to be in small- to mid-sized supporting roles, on occasion he would portray bigger parts such as Scarpia in Tosca. Other roles in his repertoire at the Met included Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana, Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Cappadocian in Salome, Filiberto in Il signor Bruschino, Fléville in Andrea Chénier, Fra Melitone in La forza del destino, Monterone in Rigoletto, Paolo Albiani in Simon Boccanegra, Ruggiero in La Juive, Sacristan in Tosca, Ser Amantio di Nicolao in Gianni Schicchi, and Springer (the ringmaster) in The Bartered Bride. His final performance at the Met was as Amantio in Gianni Schicchi on March 20, 1936.
San Francisco Opera Gandolfi was a leading baritone at the San Francisco Opera (SFO) in the 1930s. While he made his debut at the (SFO) in 1923 as Marcello in La bohème with Queena Mario as Mimì he was not seen on the SFO stage again until nine years later. He notably sang Scarpia in Tosca at the inaugural opening of the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco in 1932, a performance which was recorded and whose other stars included Claudia Muzio as Tosca and Dino Borgioli as Mario Cavaradossi. He later reprised the role of Scarpia at the SFO in 1934 with Lilli Lehmann as Tosca.
Other roles Gandolfi performed at the SFO included Alfio (1932), Count Gil in Il segreto di Susanna (1933), Lescaut in Jules Massenet's Manon (1933 and 1934), Melot in Tristan und Isolde (1933), Silvio in Pagliacci (1933), Sharpless (1934), Donner in Das Rheingold (1935), Schaunard in La bohème (1935), and Fra Melitone in La forza del destino (1936).
Other work