pagliacci

Aroldo Lindi, dramatic tenor of the opera world from 1916 to 1944, will be the subject of this web page. Included will be a biography, chronology, discography, photos, and personal information and anecdotes gathered by the author.

The Final Curtain

"Aroldo Lindi was a great dramatic tenor, with a resounding B flat, and could sing anybody under the table. He was terrific. We were on tour in Canada and he had a heart attack in Winnepeg. The company went on to Portland, where he did a Carmen with me there. That was his first since his heart attack. He sang a beautiful performance. On to San Francisco, he was to do Pagliacci that night. He called me the night before and said ' Coe, could you please go up into the audience and let me know how my voice sounds,' I did and then went backstage as he was beginning the aria. From a chair in the wings, I heard Lindi doing the Ridi Pagliacci, 'in..fronto' ...he was holding that note and I thought he was trying some new business. And the poor man, he wasn't, he was dying. And he was holding that note. In desparation, I ran up on stage. I saw his knees buckle, and I went on stage in my fur cape and gardenias,, and by then, somebody had begun to ring down the curtain. As he sang this aria, the note was being held, until he died, right in my arms. I'll never forget the expression on his face, when his soul left his body. He turned back forty years, a young man of twenty. It was unbelieveable. Very chilling, very chilling. A beautiful death for a singer...singing his favorite aria...holding his favorite note. " Coe Glade, mezzo-soprano, during VRCS interview, Chicago