Giovanni Battista de Negri by Fotographia Bolognese

Don Alvaro in "La forza del destino" by Verdi

Giovanni Battista de Negri
(30 July 1851 – 3 April 1924)
Italian tenor

Studied with Carlo Guasco and in Milan with Luigia Abbadia. He made his debut on 26 December 1876 at the Teatro Sociale in Bergamo in Filippo Sangiorgi's opera" Diana di Chaverny".In 1878 he was contracted by the Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb . in 1882 he returned to Italy,and appeared leading opera houses appearing in leading tenor roles at the Teatro San Carlo in La traviata and Lucrezia Borgia; at La Fenice in Le prophète, La Gioconda; at the Teatro Regio di Torino in Il duca d'Alba and La Juive; and at La Scala in Simon Boccanegra. He returned to the Teatro Regio in the 1887–88 season where he scored a considerable triumph in Verdi's Otello. It was to become one of his signature roles At La Scala in the 1891–92 season and also made his role debut in Tannhäuser during the same season there. In 1895, he returned to La Scala to sing the title role of Mascagni's Guglielmo Ratcliff in its world premiere.He retired in 1898 ,his final performances were in the title roles of Tannhäuser and Samson et Dalila at the Teatro Verdi in Trieste after which he taught singing in Turin