Vittorio Arimondi was an Italian operatic bass across Europe including with the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, London, and Berlin. He also was a member of the Chicago Opera Company. He was well-known for roles such as Mephisto in “Faust” and Marcel in “The Huguenots”. This collection is a record of Arimondi’s career. It includes personal correspondences, invitations, announcements, photographs, drawings, and manuscripts. It also contains a scrapbook kept by Arimondi with press releases, magazine articles, and watercolors by Arimondi.

Vittorio Arimondi, the famed Italian operatic bass, was born in Saluzzo, Turin, Italy in 1861. He sang in most of the great cities of Europe, including five years with the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia, in the late 1800’s, London for five seasons from, 1900-1905, and several seasons in Berlin. In 1910, he became a member of the Chicago Opera Company and remained with them until 1918. After his retirement he and his wife, Aurelia, also an opera singer, taught singing at the Chicago Musical College. He was a contemporary of Enrico Caruso and performed in several operas with him. Some of the roles he was well-known for include Mephisto in “Faust” and Marcel in “The Huguenots”. He kept a scrapbook of his successes beginning with his appearances during the 1898-99 season of the Grand Opera in Russia. Reviews of scores of his performances are represented in several languages, including Italian, Russian, German, English, Romanian, and French. The scrapbook also has many photographs, mostly from newspaper and magazine articles, of Arimondi and other well-known opera singers. In addition to his talent as a singer, Arimondi was an accomplished watercolorist. Many pages of his scrapbook are illuminated by his wonderful paintings. He often portrayed scenes from operasin which he was appearing and also painted the landscapes of the countries he was touring.

2 Boxes. 0.5 linear feet.

Reproduction of these materials can occur only if the copying falls within the provisions of the doctrine of fair use. Copyright varies by item.

Entire Collection is open for research.