Mario Sammarco

An Italian baritone who created Gérard in Giordano's Andrea Chénier and made his name in verismo. He made his debut at Palermo in 1888 as Valentin, and the following year created Guglielmo Wulf in the final version of Le villi at the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan. Gérard followed at La Scala in 1896, and he created further parts in Leoncavallo's Zazà and Franchetti's Germania. He sang at Covent Garden from 1904, first as Scarpia, and in New York with the Manhattan Opera company, and after leaving the stage in 1919 he taught.