Ansani, Giovanni

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Ansani, Giovanni

Ansani, Giovanni, remarkable Italian tenor; b. Rome, Feb. 20(?), 1744; d. Florence, July 5, 1826. He began his career with appearances in Bologna and Venice in 1768, and then sang in Udine in 1770. After singing in Copenhagen (1771) and Germany, he appeared in all of the principal Italian opera houses from 1773 until his retirement in 1795. He also sang in London at the King’s Theatre in 1780. In later years, he was active as a singing teacher. His most celebrated pupils were Manuel García and Lablache. Ansani’s outstanding vocal and histrionic gifts in opera seria demonstrated the role a tenor could play in that genre and hastened the demise of the castrato.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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