Radio Digest (June 1932-Mar 1933)

ToUNG ^ENTLEMAN of VERONA By Anne Cooley 21 NOTHING like this has happened to us for a long, long time. Like most good things, it happened suddenly, and Nino Martini was signed by Columbia. The moment his voice came flooding into our living rooms, he was welcome. Even addicts to popular music forgave his operatic intrusion upon the airwaves, for his voice held such a treasure of beauty and warmth that it quite made up for the usual diet of syncopation. And those of us who had complained bitterly we hadn't enough of Good Music, and treasured carefully the heavenly moments spent with Toscanini, the Philadelphia orchestra, Damrosch, Ernest Hutcheson and Howard Barlow, as oases in a drab desert, were entranced. We sat rigidly in our living rooms and planned to be rude to anybody who spoke while it went on. We were further delighted to hear from Julius Seebach at Columbia that he would sing for us twice a week, each Tuesday and Thursday at 11:30 p. m., arias from an extensive repertoire of Italian, French, Spanish and English compositions. And Julius Seebach added, "Beyond a doubt Nino Martini has one of the most beautiful voices it has ever been my privilege to hear. Like the great Caruso, he does more than vocalize ; he dominates the arias he sings." Nino Martini was born in Verona, Italy, and his father was custodian of the legendary tomb of Shakespeare's immortal Romeo and Juliet. Nino Martini has "made fair advantage of his days — his years but young, but his experience old." The brilliant young Italian tenor, only twenty-eight years old, already counts outstanding successes in operatic and concert appearances in this country and abroad, numerous movie shorts, full length pictures, and radio performances, among | the triumphs of his budding career. The beautiful Campo Fiera, which I houses the tomb of Romeo and Juliet, was his playground. As a small boy, sports were his love, and he excelled in them, star of the Verona rugby team, and one of the town's best hprsemen — by far the most headlong and reckless — for everything Nino did, he did fast. He discovered that he had a voice himself, though it was not in Nino's carefree plans to embark upon a musical career. But when it became noticed, it was no longer his own voice, to raise high and full when he felt like it — it was everybody's voice, and he was urged to cultivate it for everybody. To study music was somewhat of a sacrifice to the lackadaisical Nino, for the life of a music student is one of culture and discipline. That rigorous discipline and self-denial still prevails today, for Nino is obliged to give up tobacco, wines — even ice cream and iced drinks, because he has found them slightlv detrimental. Th .HE studious days began quite unexpectedly and firmly after he had received an audition from his compatriots, Giovanni Zenatello and Maria Gay, the teacher's wife. A native of Verona, Zenatello was a member of the La Scala Opera Company at the same time as Caruso. This same couple, beloved artists of the days when Hammerstein directed the Manhattan Opera, also were discoverers of Lily Pons and other Metropolitan stars. The Zenatellos were immediately impressed with Nino's possibilities, and practically adopted him into their home as a son and an apprentice. He applied himself constantly from six in the morning, until his bedtime at 8 p. m. No more larks and harum-scarum days, but quiet, small happinesses belonged to Nino now. At the end of one year, he was allowed to sing at charity concerts in Verona, but it was only after three years that the Zenatellos pronounced him ready for an operatic debut. He was introduced through the opera "Rigoletto," and his success may be judged by the fact that an eminent impressario was so affected upon hearing him sing, that he thrust into his hands the score of "I Puritani", and pleaded with young Martini to set to work immediately to learn that brilliant opera of Bellini, which the composer had dedicated to the immortal tenor Rubini. Nino Martini The impressario had a plan — a veritable "coup de theatre". Not since the great Rubini's death had "I Puritani" been sung in Italy in its original key. as there had been no tenors since his day capable of properly executing the stunning aria which attains D natural three successive times. Martini's success in it was overwhelming and led to a series of performances. The run was interrupted solely for the reason that Martini had by a previous contract that called him to the Kursaal at Ostende, the famous watering place of Belgum, where only artists of the first rank are permitted to concertize. His first song there was answered by a thunder of applause, which continued half an hour. The audience insisted on an encore, by drum-taps of walking sticks and frantic cries of "Bis ! Bis! Bravo! Bravo!" Martini scored at Ostende one of the greatest triumphs in years. He returned to Italy, and sang for Toscanini at La Scala ; but again recital contracts prevented him permanently joining the company. At a Paris recital he was heard by Jesse Lasky who signed him for performances in talking pictures. In 1929, Martini was starred in five short pictures, filmed in the form of concert recitals. With his close friend. Maurice Chevalier, he was featured in "Paramount on Parade." In August of 1930, Martini returned to Italy with his mentors, the Zenatellos, to prepare an extensive operatic rep( Continued o:i page -IS)