Giuseppe Borgatti - E lucevan le stelle

Giuseppe Borgatti (1871-1950) was the greatest Italian-born Wagnerian tenor of his generation. Born into a humble family in Cento in the northern Italian province of Ferrara, Borgatti began his working life as a bricklayer. It was during his mandatory military service that his fine singing voice was discovered by the Marquis Plattis, who sent the young tenor to Bologna to study with Alessandro Busi in September of 1890. Shortly after his arrival, Borgatti was introduced to Biago Oppi, a local patron of the arts, and grocer Francesco Ballanti. The young man signed a contract with the two gentlemen…a contract that required him to relinquish 50 percent of his earnings during the first four years of his career, in return for a stipend, clothing, food and lodging at Ballanti’s home. The two men turned out to be con artists, for Borgatti never saw a penny of his stipend, the clothing provided for him was threadbare and embarrassingly out of fashion and the food was practically inedible. As if this weren’t enough, Borgatti was put to work, hauling supplies back and forth for Ballanti’s grocery business! A decade later, when Oppi and Ballanti attempted to collect half of the now famous Borgatti’s income, numerous witnesses came forth to testify to the dreadful treatment the young man was subjected to and the case was decided in Borgatti’s favor. Despite these early deprivations and indignities, Borgatti finished his studies and was contracted to perform Gounod’s Faust with...