Andrea Nozzari

Who was Andrea Nozzari?

Andrea Nozzari was an Italian tenor.

Nozzari was born in Vertova and studied in Bergamo and Rome. He is notable for the principal roles written for him by Gioachino Rossini and mostly premiered in Domenico Barbaia's theatres in Naples. These were:

Leicester in Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra

Otello in Otello

Rinaldo in Armida

Osiride in Mosè in Egitto

Agorante in Ricciardo e Zoraide

Pirro in Ermione

Rodrigo in La donna del lago

Paolo Erisso in Maometto II

Antenore in Zelmira

He also premièred the title roles in Giovanni Pacini's Alessandro nelle Indie and Donizetti's Alfredo il grande, and roles in operas by Michele Carafa, Manuel García, Johann Simon Mayr, Saverio Mercadante, Nicola Antonio Manfroce and Stefano Pavesi.

Nozzari's voice had a baritonal quality, and his intense acting was much valued by composers and the public. Stendhal thought him one of the finest singers in Europe. Among his pupils were Antonio Poggi and Giovanni Battista Rubini.

He died in Naples.