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Cesare Formichi

Cesare Formichi (15 April 1883 in Rome – 21 July 1949 in Rome) was a prominent Italian operatic baritone, particularly associated with the Italian repertory.

Formichi studied in Rome with Pio Di Pietro and in Firenze with Vincenzo Lombardi, and made his debut in December 1907 at the Teatro Olimpia in Bologna as Lescaut in Manon. He went on to appear in Italy's leading opera houses, including La Scala in Milan. Soon, he was accepting a string of engagements to sing outside Italy, notably in Saint Petersburg (in 1912), Buenos Aires (in 1914), Paris (in 1922), Monte-Carlo, Vienna, and London (in 1924).

He sang as first baritone at the Chicago Opera from 1922 until 1932. He sang in Berlin in October 1933 with the Italian opera conducted by Ettore Panizza. He went with a troupe of singers from La Scala on a tour of France in 1935, and later organized opera seasons in London.

Notable roles of his included Ashton, Rigoletto, di Luna, Amonasro, Iago, and some Wagner parts sung in Italian (Klingsor, for example). Formichi possessed a big, rich-toned, important sounding voice which can be heard on the numerous acoustic and electrical recordings which he made during the peak of his career. Many of these recordings have been re-released on CD.

Birth and Death Data: Born Rome (capital and largest city of Italy), Died July 21, 1949 (Rome (capital and largest city of Italy) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1913 - 1927

Roles Represented in DAHR: baritone vocal

Notes: Listed on some Columbia disc labels as Secare Formichi or S. Formichi.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-75 of 98 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 41856 10-in. approximately 1913 Canto notturno Cesare Formichi Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 42382 10-in. approximately 1914 Con voi ber Cesare Formichi Opera vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 42383 10-in. approximately 1914 Ecco alfin Cesare Formichi Opera vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 42385 10-in. approximately 1914 Se tu m'ami Fanny Anitúa ; Cesare Formichi Opera vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 42389 10-in. approximately 1914 Ola! José Fanny Anitúa ; Luigi Baldassare ; Cesare Formichi Opera vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 42392 10-in. approximately 1914 Ma non m'inganno Luigi Bolis ; Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi Opera vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 42397 10-in. approximately 1914 Per amante ell' avveva Luigi Bolis ; Cesare Formichi Opera vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 70536 10-in. between 1920 and 1923 Agnus Dei Cesare Formichi Baritone vocal solo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 70552 10-in. between 1920 and 1923 Pro peccatis Cesare Formichi Baritone vocal solo vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 70572 10-in. before 1923 Suoni la tromba, parte II Cesare Formichi ; Luigi Manfrini Bass vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74769 12-in. 1916 Pari siamo Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74771 12-in. 1916 Cortigiani vol razza dannata Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74772 12-in. 1916 Figlia i...mio padre i... Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74773 12-in. 1916 Deh non parlare al misero Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74779 12-in. 1916 Gia da tre lune G. Caiani ; Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Giuseppe Taccani ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal quartet, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74780 12-in. 1916 Chi è mai Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74781 12-in. 1916 Bella figlia dell'amore G. Caiani ; Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Giuseppe Taccani ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal quartet, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74782 12-in. 1916 E' l'ami? La donna e mobile Vincenzo Bettoni ; Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Giuseppe Taccani ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal quartet, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74783 12-in. 1916 Quel vecchio maledivami Vincenzo Bettoni ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal duet (tenor and baritone), with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74784 12-in. 1916 Un di, se ben rammentami G. Caiani ; Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Giuseppe Taccani ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal quartet, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74785 12-in. 1916 Tutte le feste Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74786 12-in. 1916 Della vendetta alfim Vincenzo Bettoni ; Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal trio, with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74787 12-in. 1916 Solo per me l'infamia Ines Maria Ferraris ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and baritone), with orchestra vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74788 12-in. 1916 Ch'io gli parli Luigi Baldassare ; Vincenzo Bettoni ; Carlo Bonfanti ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Giuseppe Taccani ; Teatro alla Scala Coro ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal quintet, with orchestra and chorus vocalist, baritone vocal  
Columbia 74789 12-in. 1916 Gran nuova! Gran nuova! Luigi Baldassare ; Cesare Formichi ; Lorenzo Molajoli ; Giuseppe Taccani ; Teatro alla Scala Coro ; Teatro alla Scala Orchestra Vocal trio, with orchestra and chorus vocalist, baritone vocal  
(Results 51-75 of 98 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Formichi, Cesare," accessed January 8, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104309.

Formichi, Cesare. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 8, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104309.

"Formichi, Cesare." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 8 January 2026.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/104309

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