Giacomo Vaghi

Giacomo Vaghi (21 November 1901 - 29 April 1978) was an Italian opera singer who had an active international career from 1925-1956. Along with Tancredi Pasero and Ezio Pinza, he was one of the leading operatic basses of his generation. He possessed a rich voice with a dark timbre that drew him particular acclaim in the operas of Giuseppe Verdi. He appears on several complete opera recordings made with EMI Classics and Cetra Records.

Born in Como, Vaghi studied singing in Milan before making his debut in Jules Massenet's Manon at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1925. He appeared in several roles at that house the following year, including the role of Sintram in the Naples premiere of Riccardo Zandonai's I cavalieri di Ekebù. On 29 October 1927 he made his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Timur in the house premiere of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot. He sang several other roles in Bologna in successive months, including Pimen in Boris Godunov, Alvise in La Gioconda, and Garcia/Sereno in Conchita.

In 1928 Vaghi joined the roster of singers at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, serving as that house's leading bass through 1939. He sang a broad repertoire at that house, including appearances in the world premieres Ildebrando Pizzetti's Lo straniero (1930, King Hanóch), Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's La vedova scaltra (1931, Innkeeper), Licinio Refice's Cecilia (1934, Bishop Urbano), and Franco Alfano's Cyrano de Bergerac (1936, Carbon). He also worked as a guest artist at numerous opera houses and opera festivals while based in Rome. He made appearances at La Scala (1929–1931), the Teatro Comunale Florence (1929–1930), Arena di Verona Festival (1931), the Teatro Communale di Bologna (1931), and La Fenice (1938) among others.