Umberto Di Lelio
Birthplace: Rome, Kingdom of Italy
An Italian bass, as admired in Wagner as in buffo roles, and a mainstay of La Scala between the wars. He studied in Rome with Antonio Cotogni and made his debut at Taranto in 1916 as Kiril in Fedora. He joined La Scala, where he sang until 1941, creating Hever in Pizzetti's Debora e Jaele and Geronte in the final version of Manon Lescaut, both in 1922. His roles ran from Sparafucile, Varlaam and Baron Ochs to Rossini's Don Basilio and the Wanderer in Siegfried. He sang at Salzburg in 1931 and at Covent Garden in 1937.
Creations
- Geronte di Ravoir — Manon Lescaut (Milan, 1922)
Written from
- Forbes, E. (1992) 'Di Lelio, Umberto', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 1, p. 1176.
- Wikipedia (2026) Umberto di Lelio. (Accessed: 22 September 2026).
- Seeger, H. (1986) 'Di Lelio, Umberto', in Opernlexikon. Berlin: Henschelverlag, p. 179. (Accessed: 22 September 2026).
- Forgotten Opera Singers (2016) Umberto di Lelio (Bass) (Roma 1890 † 1946 Milano). (Accessed: 22 September 2026).