GIULIO NERI (1909 - 1958)

Born in Torrita di Siena the 21st of May 1909. From his youth he was called “il Bronza” or “bronzone” (may be loosely translated as The Brass or Big Brass) for his height and his deep, resonant voice, which he had occasion to exhibit when he sang solos as a member of the parish choir.
Among the guests at a wedding at which Neri sang was an expert who subsequently arranged for him to audition at the “Accademia di Santa Cecilia” (Academy of St. Cecilia) in Rome.
In 1935 Neri had his first successes performing in concerts with the likes of Caniglia, Pederzini, Stracciari and Benvenuto Franci.

Giulio Neri began singing Wagner in 1938 with Rhinegold, The Ride of the Valkyries, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods. He received great critical acclaim for these performances and was thereafter consecrated the essential interpreter of Wagner in Italian.
He went to perform almost the entire Wagner repertoire.
Debuts in other countries followed, with tours in Egypt, Spain, Portugal, England and France.
He ended his career in his theatre par excellence – the “Opera di Roma”.
He sang in ‘Norma’ on the 4th of January 1958 with Maria Callas, in a performance that was attended by the President of Italy, Giovanni Gronchi.
But the evening was made famous by Callas’s walking out after the first act.
Recordings of his singing do exist, however, they cannot do justice to the superb quality and majesty of his voice.

Giulio Neri died on April 21, 1958.

It was a dark, basso profundo of great depth and power – calling to mind organ pipes – that Neri was able, nevertheless, to modulate when interpreting lighter roles. He didn’t rely solely on the opulence of his voice when performing but studied in depth the personage to be portrayed, even attending to the physical aspect through careful makeup.
Giulio Neri also demonstrated his great artistry when interpreting what are considered to be secondary roles – in his hands they became protagonists.