Theaters

«He trod the most famous stages in Europe and America, earning the reputation of “voice without borders”. The story of her life is like a novel […]»
(G. Meucci, Titta Ruffo, Pisa, Pacini Editore, 2012, page 6)

One is surprised and amazed in scrolling through the long list of places and theaters Titta Ruffo has reached: from his debut in the Eternal City at the Teatro Costanzi, to the many Italian and European theaters to the land of the Tsars and then landing on overseas stages, from the major theaters in the United States to all of Central and South America, at any altitude and latitude. Of some theaters Titta Ruffo describes to us the atmospheres he experienced: the emotion he felt at the sight of the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires on the occasion of its inauguration in May 1908; in fact, he describes it as a great temple of art, with a stage among the largest in the world and the enchantment produced by the hall’s bright lights that formed a crown of stars, a kind of celestial vault with all its flaming stars. Of others, however, he tells us of the curiosities that occurred before the performances: at the Comunale of Acireale, this was 1899, Titta Ruffo had ten seats reserved in the front row to pay tribute, he claimed, to a large and important local family; in reality the seats were reserved for a large family of fishermen who had never entered the theater and, above all, fed the young and penniless singer with their catch. While the impresario was scandalized, the local newspaper remarked on the exceptional nature of the performance “graced by the original intervention” of fishermen who were a bit rowdy, but certainly full of gaiety and a desire to celebrate. All these chronicles are narrated and collected by the artist in the autobiographical volume My Parabola.

ITALY

Acireale – Bellini (1899)
Aquileia – Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta (1917)
Bergamo – Donizetti (1904)
Bologna – Corso (1914) – Duse (1899) (1900)
Catania – Benedictine Chruch (1899) – Nazionale (1899)
Catanzaro – Comunale (1898) (1899)
Cesi – Church of Sant’Angelo (1917)
Ferrara – Tosi Borghi (1900)
Firenze – La Pergola (1904) – Verdi (1912) (1914)
Genova – Carlo Felice (1900) – Politeama Genovese (1915)
Livorno – Arena Alfieri (1898) – Bagni Pancaldi (1898) – Goldoni (1901)
Milano – Association Famiglia Artistica Milanese (1904) – Carcano (1914) – La Scala (1904) – Lirico (1904) (1905) (1906) (1907)
Napoli – Association Circolo Artistico (1910) – Politeama Giacosa (1911) – San Carlo (1908) (1909) (1910) (1911)
Padova – Garibaldi (1899)
Palermo – Massimo (1901)
Parma – Regio (1900)
Pisa – Politeama Pisano (1898) – Verdi (Regio Teatro Nuovo) (1901) (1925)
Racconigi – Royal Castle (1909)
Roma – Costanzi (1898) (1909) (1910) (1911)
Salerno – Municipale (1899) – Duomo (1899)
Salsomaggiore – Ferrario (1902)
Savona – Wanda (1914)
Siena – Rinnovati (1901)
Siracusa – Massimo (1899)
Trieste – La Fenice (1901) – Verdi (1919)
Venezia – La Fenice (1903) (1912) – Rossini (1903)

EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

AUSTRIA
Vienna – Grosser Konzerthaus (1930) – Hofoper (1906)

BELGIUM
Bruxelles – Centre for Fine Arts (1930)
Ostend – Kursaal (1914) (1927) (1929)

DENMARK
Copenaghen – Odd Fellow Mansion (1930)

EGYPT
Alexandria – Zizinia (1902) (1903)
Cairo – Khedivial (1901) (1902) (1903)

FRANCE
Cannes – Casino Municipal (1931)
Deauville – Casino (1912) (1927)
Marseille – Casino Municipal (1931)
Nice – Casino of the Jetée-Promenade (1931) (1934) – Eldorado (1916) (1934) – Battleship “Patrie” (1909)
Paris – Ambassadors Room at Élysée (1927) – Champs Elysées (1913) (1928) – Countess Chateau Palace (1905) – Opéra (1911) (1912) (1917) (1927) (1928) – Opéra Comique (1917) (1927) – House of Madame Moore (1912) – House of Lady and Lord Michelham (1912) – Salle Gaveau (1929) (1932) – Salle Pleyel (1929) (1930) (1932) – Sarah Bernhardt (1905) – Stern Palace (1909) – Trocadéro Palace (1905) (1911) – ? (1905)
Pau – New Casino Municipal (1931)

GERMANY
Berlin – Staatsoper Unter den Linden (Kőnigliches Opernhaus) (1907) – Philharmonic (1927) – Theatre des Westen (Volksoper) (1925)

GREECE
Athens – Olympia (1930)

HUNGARY
Budapest – Erkel (Népopera and after Városi Szinház) (1912) (1913) (1925) (1928)

MONACO
Monte Carlo – Grand Théatre (1907) (1908) (1909) (1910) (1911) (1912)

NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam – Concertgebouw (1930) (1931)
The Hague – Gebouw voor K. e W. (1930)

POLAND
Warsaw – National Philharmonic (Filharmoji) (1907) (1930) – Wielki (1907)

PORTUGAL
Lisbon – National Theatre of São Carlos (1907) (1908)

ROMANIA
Bucharest – National (1907) – Opera Romana (1930)

RUSSIA
Moscow – Bolshoi (1906) (1907) – Zimin (1906) (1907)
St. Petersburg – Aquarium (1906) (1907) – New Conservatory (1905) (1906) (1907) – New Opera (1906) – Nicholas I Orphanage (1906) – Salon of the 1st Cadet Corps (1906) – School of Technology (1907) – ? (1906)

SPAIN
Barcelona – Liceu (1908) (1913) (1916) (1925) – Palace of Catalan Music (1932)
Madrid – Cines Avenida (1932) – Real (1908) (1909) (1910) (1912) (1913) (1918) (1919) – Royal Palace (1908) (1909) (1910) (1916) – Zarzuela (1916) – ? (1918)
San Sebastián – Gran Teatro Circo (1913)
Valencia – Principal (1908) (1909) (1913) (1916)

SWEDEN
Stockholm – State Theatre (1930)

SWITZERLAND
Geneva – Victoria Hall (1931)
Lucerne – Kursaal (1900)

UNITED KINGDOM
London – Albert Hall (1922) – Covent Garden (1903) – 33 Grosvenor Square (1903) – Palace of Lady Kleinwort (1933) – Queen’s Hall (1922) – ? (1922)

UKRAINE
Kharkiv – Opera National Academic Theatre and Ballet (Municipal) (1906)
Kiev – Opera House (Solozov) (1906)
Odessa – Opera National Academic Theatre and Ballet (Municipal) (1905) (1906)

NORTH AMERICA

CANADA
Toronto – Massey Hall (1914)

CUBA
Havana – Nacional (1915) (1921) (1923) (1924) – Payret (1924)
Camagüey – ? (1924)
Cienfuegos – Terry (1924)
Matanzas – Sauto (1915)
Santiago – Oriente (1924)

MEXICO
Mexico City – Esperanza Iris (1919)

PUERTO RICO
Ponce – Broadway (1924)
San Juan – Tapia (Municipal) (1924)

UNITED STATES
Atlantic City (NJ) – ? (1920)
Baltimore (MD) – Ford’s Grand Opera (1913) – Lyric (1921)
Birmingham (AL) – Municipal Auditorium (1926)
Boston (MA) – Boston Opera (1920) (1926) – Symphony Hall (1914) (1922) – ? (1914)
Buffalo (NY) – Broadway (1914)
Chicago (IL) – Auditorium (1912) (1913) (1920) (1926) – ? (1914) – ? (1923)
Cincinnati (OH) – Music Hall (1914) (1920)
Cleveland (OH) – Masonic Hall (1920) – Keith Palace (1926) – WTAM Studios (1927)
Columbus (OH) – ? (1914)
Dallas (TX) – Coliseum (1914)
Denver (CO) – Auditorium (1914)
Des Moines (IA) – Coliseum (1920)
Detroit (MI) – Armory (1914) – Orchestra Hall (1920)
Evanston (IL) – Northwestern University (1920)
Los Angeles (CA) – Philarmonic Auditorium (1914) (1923)
Kansas City (KS) – Convention Hall (1914) – Shubert (1921)
Memphis (TN) – Auditorium (1926)
Milwaukee (WI) – Auditorium (1913) (1920)
Miami (FL) – Cobb Stadium (Coral Gables Stadium) (1926)
Minneapolis (MN) – Armory (1914)
New York (NYC) – Academy of Music (1922) (1923) (1924) – Carnegie Hall (1912) (1928) – Hippodrome (1912) (1913) (1914) (1920) (1921) (1922) – Hotel Biltmore (1921) – Hotel Commodore (1920) – Lexington (1920) – Manhattan (1915) (1921) – Mecca Temple (1927) – Metropolitan (1912) (1922) (1923) (1924) (1925) (1926) (1927) (1928) (1929) – Radio City Music Hall (1932) – Saint Denis (1914) – Sam H. Harris Cinema (1929) – WEAF Studios (1926) (1928)
Newark (NJ) – ? (1920)
Paterson (NJ) – Regent (1914)
Philadelphia (PA) – Academy of Music (1926) (1927) (1929) – Metropolitan (1912) (1913) (1914) (1920) (1921) (1922) (1926) (1927) (1928)
Pittsburgh (PA) – Syria Mosque (1920) (1921) (1922) (1927)
Portland (OR) – Auditorium (1923) – Orpheum (1914)
St. Louis (MO) – Odeon (1914)
St. Paul (MN) – Auditorium (1914) (1920)
San Francisco (CA) – Exposition Auditorium (1923)
Savannah (GA) – Auditorium (1923)
Seattle (WA) – Arena (1923) – Orpheum (1914)
Sioux City (IA) – ? (1920)
Sioux Falls (SD) – ? (1920)
Springfield (MA) – Auditorium (1920)
Springfield (IL) – State Arsenal (1920)
Syracuse (NY) – ? (1920)
Toledo (OH) – ? (1914)
Washington (DC) – The Vanderbilt House (1914) – ? (1926)

SOUTH AMERICA

ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires – Avenida (1910) – Castellis Palace (1910) – Coliseo (1910) (1916) (1926) – Cólon (1908) (1909) (1910) (1911) (1915) (1916) (1926) (1928) (1931) – Mihanovich Palace (1910) – Odeón (1909) – Opera (1902) – Salón La Argentina (1908)
Córdoba – Rivera Indarte (1916)
La Plata – Argentino (1908)
Rosario (Santa Fe) – Cólon (1911) – Opera (1915)
Tucuman – Odeon (1916)

BRAZIL
Rio de Janeiro – Lyrico Fiuminense (1911) (1926) – Municipal (1915) – Riachuelo (Palacio) (1928)
San Paolo – Municipal (1911) (1915)

CHILE
Concepción – Concepción (1900)
Santiago – Municipal (1900) (1928)
Talca – Municipal (1900)
Valparaiso – Victoria (1900) (1928)

COLOMBIA
Barranquilla – Cisneros (1924)
Bogotà – Cólon (1924)
Cartagena – Municipal (1924) – Governor’s Palace (1924)

URUGUAY
Montevideo – National Auditorium of Sodre (Urquiza) (1909) (1910) (1911) (1915) –Solis (1902) (1908) (1915) (1916) (1928)

VENEZUELA
Caracas – Municipal (1924)