Michelangelo Verso
Born in 1920 in Palermo, Verso studied with Salvatore Pollicino
and made his debut in his native city in
1948 (either as Edgardo or as Almaviva; he sang both of them, just about the chronological order, indications differ). For a
few years, he sang opera locally at open-air events, once even at the Teatro Massimo (in Rigoletto, but there's no information
as to which role he sang; I suppose Borsa). At the Massimo, as well, he appeared as a supporting artist in a Beniamino
Gigli concert.
In 1953, he was hired to sing on the Naples – New York liner Andrea Doria; after that, he stayed in New York and
sang on radio and TV, and Almaviva in Pittsburgh. That seems to have been his final operatic appearance; the (long) rest of
his career (into the 1990s) was spent on concerts, radio and TV work.
After just two years in the US, Verso moved to Mexico in 1955, and sang throughout Latin America until returning to Italy in
1962.
He died in Palermo on September 18th, 2006.
Palermo – Arena delle Palme, Lucia di Lammermoor (Edgardo), 13 March 1948 (first time) Palermo – Arena delle Palme , Il barbiere di Siviglia, 17 June 1948 Palermo – Politeama Garibaldi, Lucia di Lammermoor (season 1949) Palermo – Massimo, concert with Beniamino Gigli, 2 December 1949 Palermo – Massimo, Rigoletto, 1950 Bagheria – Odeon, Cavalleria rusticana, 1952 Trapani – Geisha, 1952 München – concerts for the NATO, 17 January to 17 February 1953 Monreale – Imperia, concert with Maria Caniglia, 7 April 1953 on the ship Andrea Doria, several concerts, the first one on 15 July 1954 Pittsburgh – Syria Mosque, Il barbiere di Siviglia, season 1953/54 Mexico City – Bellas Artes, concert, 21 September 1955 Many concerts, theatre, television and radio work in many cities such as: New York (1953–55) Pittsburgh (1953/54) Milwaukee Providence Mexico City (1956/57) Havana (Cuba) (1956) Bogotà, Calì (Colombia) (1958) Lima (Peru) (1959) Santiago de Chile (1959) Guayaquil, Quito (Ecuador) (1959) Mendoza, San Juan, Bahia Blanca, Buenos Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia (Argentina) (1960) Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, São Paulo (Brazil) (1960) Montevideo (Uruguay) (1961) Madrid, Barcelona (1961) Italy (many cities on tour) (1961–63) Yugoslavia (on tour) (1964) Bulgaria (on tour) (1965) Istanbul, Antalya (Turkey) (1965) Czechoslovakia (on tour) (1965–68) Athens, Thessaloniki (Greece) (1965) Nicosia (Cyprus) (1965) Amsterdam and many other cities of the Netherlands (1966–88) Frankfurt (Germany) (1968) Palermo (1988–94) Though Michelangelo Verso was a positively horrible singer, I wholeheartedly recommend, nonetheless, the endearing and interesting website about him that his son has compiled with reverence and great love. That website is also the source for the above picture, the biographical information and the recording. |
