Rolando Panerai

Who is Rolando Panerai?

Rolando Panerai is an Italian baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. He has enjoyed a long and distinguished career in both comic and dramatic roles.

Panerai was born in Campi Bisenzio, near Florence, Italy. He studied with Frazzi in Florence and Armani and Giulia Tess in Milan. Panerai made his stage debut in 1947 in Naples at the Teatro di San Carlo as the pharaon in Rossini's Mosè in Egitto.

Other important debuts, both in 1951, were as Simon Boccanegra in Simon Boccanegra in Bergamo and as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly at La Scala in Milan. He sang in many rarely performed Verdi operas on radio broadcast for RAI in 1951, such as Giovanna d'Arco, La battaglia di Legnano, and Aroldo.

Later roles included most of the great Verdi baritone roles, particularly the title character in Rigoletto, The Count of Luna in Il trovatore, Giorgio Germont in La traviata, Marquis of Posa in Don Carlos, Amonasro in Aida.