Silvio maionica biography for kids

Basso buffo Fernando Corena, heralded as the true successor to comic bass Salvatore Baccaloni, began his career singing non-comic roles just as did the imposing Baccaloni. A gift for buffoonery, however, cleared the way for his concentration on comic roles and there it was that he achieved his reputation. Although sturdy and of considerable volume, his voice was less flexible than Baccaloni's, less able to bend itself around the complexities of such arias as Bartolo's A un dottor or any of the other patter songs that populated his repertory. Still, his involvement with each of his impersonations was so complete that technical shortcomings could be set aside. Initially, Corena seemed headed for the priesthood, preparing himself at Fribourg University for holy orders. After winning a singing contest, however, he turned to the pursuit of a career in music. He trained first in his native city beginning in 1937 and later, encouraged by Italian conductor Vittorio Gui, traveled to Milan to study with Enrico Romani. After an unofficial debut there, he returned to Switzerland for the duration of WWII, performing on radio broadcasts and appearing in opera at Zurich's Stadttheater. Corena's official debut took place in Trieste in 1947, when he sang Varlaam in Boris Godunov. Soon, he had

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