In Memoriam: Veriano Luchetti (March 12 1939 - April 23 2012)

It was reported earlier today (April 23) that Italian tenor Veriano Luchetti had passed away in his home in Rome at the age of 73.  A fine lirico-spinto tenor with a robust and vibrant sound, Luchetti made his operatic debut as Alfredo in La traviata at the Wexford Festival in 1965.  He subsequently sang in many of the world's most important opera houses, including Rome, Naples, Florence, Palermo, Verona, Milan, Munich, Chicago, San Francisco, Paris, London, Vienna and New York. Luchetti made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Rodolfo in 1977.  His appearances in Canada were few, the most notable was when he came with La Scala on tour to the Vancouver Expo 86 in Verdi's I Lombardi.  Luchetti was celebrated for his roles in the operas of Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Berlioz, Spontini, Gounod and Meyerbeer. He sang under the baton of many famous conductors including Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Carlos Kleiber, Georg Solti, Seiji Ozawa, and Wolfgang Sawallisch.  Overshadowed by Pavarotti and Domingo throughout his career, Luchetti recorded relatively little, his most important legacy includes two excellent studio recordings of Verdi Requiem, one with Muti on EMI, and one with Solti on RCA. After his retirement, Luchetti was a noted teacher and he was involved in the music festival in Riva del Garda in Italy.  To remember Veriano Luchetti, here is a complete performance of the Verdi Requiem from Amsterdam, dated 1976. Other soloists are soprano Ileana Cotrubas, mezzo Julia Hamari, and bass Ruggero Raimondi, under the baton of Riccardo Muti. 

Joseph K. So