De Lucia, Fernando
De Lucia, Fernando
De Lucia, Fernando , famous Italian tenor; b. Naples, Oct. 11, 1860; d. there, Feb. 21, 1925. He made his debut in Naples on March 9, 1885, as Faust, then appeared in London at Drury Lane (1887). On Oct. 31, 1891, in Rome he created the role of Fritz in Mascagni’s L’Amico Fritz; on Jan. 10, 1894, he made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opéra in N.Y., again as Fritz in Mascagni’s opéra; then returned to Europe. He retired from the stage in 1917, singing for the last time in public at Caruso’s funeral (1921). De Lucia was one of the finest representatives of the bel canto era, being especially praised for his authentic interpretations of Italian opératic roles, excelling in opéras by Rossini, Bellini, and Verdi.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire