Vainement ma bien aimee

The great Argentine singer sang at Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires in 1974, this beautiful aria of Le Roi d'Ys by Edouard Lalo.
Renato Sassola was born in January 7th 1927, in the city of Rosario, Province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Son of Italian immigrants (Piedmont), he was raised in an Italian environment, studying at Dante Alighieri Elementary School of Rosario. His vocal activity began at the age of 14, when he was invited by a local radio to sing Gardel tango songs live. Later, Renato began to sing opera arias in a self-taught way, listening the recordings of Enrico Caruso. When he was 18, he moved alone to Buenos Aires (200 miles away from his native Rosario) because he wanted to become an opera singer, against the blessing of his father, who wanted for him a more secure profession. The family owned an small hotel in Downtown Rosario. Young Sassola entered the Teatro Colon of Buenos Aires Conservatory and studied singing technique with the great soprano Hina Spani, even though he had a natural voice projection. Sassola began his career in 1948, at the age of 21, singing the part of Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme, at Teatro Colon, with great success. Since then, he was the most important local tenor of Teatro Colon. When he was not engaged with this opera house, he also sang in major opera houses of America (Washington DC Opera House, Teatro de las Bellas Artes of Mexico City, Teatro Municipal of Rio de Janeiro, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Teatro de Porto Alegre, Teatro el Sodre) and also in Europe (Spain and Vienna). His repertoire included the operas Il Barbiero di Siviglia, L'elisir d'amore, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rita, Don Pasquale, Rigoletto, La Traviata, La boheme, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La Rondine, Cavalleria rusticana, Manon, Faust, Werther, etc. having as partners opera stars like Birgit Nilsson (Salome), Antonietta Stella (La Boheme), Anna Moffo (La Traviata), and under the baton of Hector Panizza, Tullio Serafin, Miguel Angel Veltri, Erich Kleiber, and more. He retired at the age of 50, with his voice still intact. During the nineties, he started teaching vocal technique, together his wife, soprano Lidia Perossino, having as students Marcelo Alvarez, Erwin Schrott, Luca Pisaroni, etc. Sassola is a very nice, and generous person, having the admiration and friendship of colleagues including Placido Domingo, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Flaviano Labo, Manuel Ausensi, Dante Ranieri, etc. He is my teacher, my friend, but above all, my hero!!!