Antonio Rocca

He is said to have been born in Torino 1876; in any case, he made his debut in Paris (at the Gaîté-Lyrique) in 1908, and was later (when?) at the Opéra-Comique. Also some performances in Italy could be traced. He also sang (and recorded) in the USA – I don't know from when on, but definitely in 1921, when he was in Washington D.C.
So Rocca remains very much of a mystery tenor so far; what can be said for sure is that he was a striking example (perhaps the most striking of all) of a singer who sang a foreign language way better than his own: Rocca was a clearly below-average tenor in Italian, but one of the truly great when singing French; an absolutely amazing French, by the way. (This reminds me of Natalie Dessay, who was only a shadow of her German-singing self when tackling a role in her native French.)
Antonio Rocca sings Faust: Mais ce Dieu ... À moi les plaisirs, with Pierre d'Assy
In RA format

Antonio Rocca sings Faust: Laisse-moi contempler, with Lucette Korsoff

Anton Bieber has provided the recording and the label scans: thank you!

Antonio Rocca sings L'Africaine: Ô paradis
In RA format

Antonio Rocca sings Il trovatore: Di quella pira (Critona label)
In RA format

I wish to thank Richard J Venezia for the recording.

Antonio Rocca sings Rigoletto: La donna è mobile

Anton Bieber has provided the recording and the label scan: thank you!

Discography
(most probably complete for the French, most probably incomplete for the American recordings)
Gramophone, Paris, March 1908 5582h Africaine (Meyerbeer): Pays merveilleux 3-32798 5583h unknown title unpubl 5584h unknown title unpubl 5585h unknown title unpubl 5586h unknown title unpubl 5633h Lakmé (Delibes): Ah viens dans cette paix profonde 3-32799 5634h Rigoletto (Verdi): Comme la plume au vent 3-32800 5635h Favorite (Donizetti): Ange si pur 3-32801 Gramophone, Paris, April 1908 5753h Lakmé (Delibes): Dans la forêt près de nous (w. Vallandri) 34207, P281 5754h unknown title (w. Vallandri) unpubl 597i Lakmé (Delibes): C'est le dieu de la jeunesse (w. Vallandri) 034020, W228 Gramophone, Paris, May 1908 5930h Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni): Vive le vin unpubl 5930½h d:o 3-32837 5931h Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni): O Lola 3-32847 5973h Manon (Massenet): Ah fuyez, douce image unpubl 5973½h d:o 3-32829, Vic 5775 5974h Tosca (Puccini): O de beautés égales 3-32830 5975h Werther (Massenet): Fantaisie aux divins mensonges 3-32831, Vic 5771, 16573 Gramophone, Paris, June 1908 6014h Faust (Gounod): Laisse-moi contempler (w. Korsoff) 34201, P280 6015h Faust (Gounod): Ô nuit d'amour (w. Korsoff) unpubl 6015½h d:o 34202, P280 612i Faust (Gounod): Oui, c'est toi je t'aime (w. Korsoff) 034022 Gramophone, Paris, about August 1908 6255h Favorite (Donizetti): Un ange, une femme inconnue 3-32862 6256h Tosca (Puccini): Le ciel luisait d'etoiles 3-32854 6257h Carmen (Bizet): Dragon de l'Alcala 3-32855 832i Faust (Gounod): Mais ce Dieu (w. d'Assy) 034024, W229 833i Faust (Gounod): À moi les plaisirs (w. d'Assy) 034025, W229 836i Faust (Gounod): Salut, demeure 032083 837i Joseph (Méhul): Champs paternels 032084 Gramophone, Paris, October 1908 6497h Faust (Gounod): Anges purs (w. Auguez de Montalant & d'Assy) 34208 6497½h d:o 34208x, P363 6498h Lakmé (Delibes): D'où viens-tu (w. Korsoff) 34209 6506h Rigoletto (Verdi): Qu'une belle 3-32878 860i Faust (Gounod): Divine pureté (w. Korsoff & d'Assy) 034027 861i unknown title unpubl 862i Carmen (Bizet): La fleur 032090 Gramophone, Paris, 14 April 1909 14568u Mireille (Gounod): Anges du paradis unpubl Gramophone, Paris, 3 June 1909 01050v Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Asile héréditaire unpubl 01050½v Guillaume Tell (Rossini): Asile héréditaire unpubl 01051v Mireille (Gounod): Anges du paradis (w. chorus) 032163 Gramophone, Paris, 7 June 1909 01065v Roméo et Juliette (Gounod): Dieu qui fit l'homme à son image 034075, W333 (w. Bakkers & Journet) Gramophone, Paris, 9 June 1909 01074v Faust (Gounod): Choeur des soldats (w Bakkers) unpubl 01075v d:o unpubl 01076v Mireille (Gounod): Le val d'enfer (w Bakkers) unpubl 01077v La Favorite (Donizetti): Vois mes pleurs (w Auguez de Montalant)unpubl 14928u Faust (Gounod): Trio final (w Auguez de Montalant & d'Assy) unpubl Edison cylinders, Paris, 1912 or 1913 44660 test recording: Arpeggios unpubl 44911 Martha (Flotow): M'apparì 44911 44920 La Gioconda (Ponchielli): Cielo e mar 44920 Gramophone, Paris, 20 May 1914 18800u Tosca (Puccini): O de beautés égales unpubl 18801u Tosca (Puccini): Le ciel luisait d'étoiles unpubl Bell, USA about 1921 Pagliacci (Leoncavallo): Vesti la giubba S-107-A Fanciulla del West (Puccini): Ch'ella mi creda S-107-B Critona, New York about 1921 Fanciulla del West (Puccini): Ch'ella mi creda 1027 Trovatore (Verdi): Di quella pira Arto, USA 1922 Rigoletto (Verdi): La donna è mobile 3083 Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni): Brindisi 3086

I wish to thank Christian Torrent for the discography and the picture.
Additions to the discography from Gesellschaft für historische Tonträger, Wien

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