Giovanni David

Who was Giovanni David?

Giovanni David was an Italian tenor particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas.

David was the son of the tenor Giacomo David, with whom he studied. He made his operatic début in Siena in 1808 in Adelaide de Guesclino by Johann Simon Mayr. He is notable for the principal roles written for him by Gioachino Rossini, mostly for Domenico Barbaia's theatres in Naples:

Narciso in Il turco in Italia

Rodrigo in Otello

Ricciardo in Ricciardo e Zoraide

Oreste in Ermione

Uberto in La donna del lago

Ilo in Zelmira

He also created the roles of Fernando in the revised version of Bellini's Bianca e Fernando and Leicester in Donizetti's Il castello di Kenilworth.

David was noted for his vocal range of almost 3 octaves in performance. However, according to Italian sources, David was certainly able to reach up only to F₅, but not higher, and for his ability to sing extremely florid music, although compared with his contemporary, Andrea Nozzari, his acting ability was limited.

He retired from the stage in 1839, and subsequently managed an opera company in Saint Petersburg.