Tancredi Pasero

Tancredi Pasero (11 January 1893 in Turin – 17 February 1983 in Milan) was an Italian bass who enjoyed a long and distinguished singing career in his native country and abroad.

After studying with the baritone Arturo Pessina in Turin, Pasero made his debut there, during 1917, as Ramphis in Verdi's Aida—although he always considered his official operatic debut to have taken place in Vicenza, on 15 December 1918, as Rodolfo in Vincenzo Bellini's La sonnambula.

According to The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera, Pasero went on to make guest appearances in London, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Brussels, Buenos Aires and New York City.

La Scala, Milan, where he made his debut in 1926, would become his main artistic home, but American audiences did get to hear him from 1929 until 1933, when he sang at the Metropolitan Opera. His roles at the Met included Oroveso, Raimondo, Ferrando, Fiesco, Padre Guardiano and Alvise. A performance of Don Giovanni with Pasero singing Leporello and Ezio Pinza singing the Don was broadcast in 1932. Unfortunately, no recording exists of this performance.

Pasero notably sang the role The Miller in the world premiere of Umberto Giordano's Il re on 12 January 1929 at La Scala. He also enjoyed considerable success in such Wagner roles (sung in Italian) as Heinrich, Marke, Pogner, Hagen, Gurnemanz. Pasero appeared, too, in the title part in Modest Mussorgsky's Boris and participated in the first performances of several other operas, notably, Mascagni's Nerone, in Milan, and Pizzetti's Orseolo, inFlorence.