Richard Torigi

Richard Torigi (October 30, 1917 – April 6, 2010) was an American baritone, Broadway performer, and voice teacher whose career in opera, concert, and musical theater spanned from the 1940s through the 1980s. Born Santo Tortorigi in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Italian immigrants. He studied voice in New York under Eleanor McClellan, who also taught soprano Eileen Farrell.

Torigi's Broadway career began in 1942 with an ensemble role in the revival of The Merry Widow, followed later that same year by an appearance in the revival of The New Moon. His Broadway work continued over the following decades, including productions of The Student Prince and The Most Happy Fella, with his Broadway credits spanning from 1942 to 1973. In 1956, he served as an alternate for Robert Weede in the role of Tony in the original Broadway production of Frank Loesser's The Most Happy Fella, and he subsequently took on the lead role of Tony in the show's first National Tour.

His professional opera debut came in 1947 with the Rochester Opera, where he sang the role of Escamillo in Bizet's Carmen. In the late 1940s and into 1950, he toured the United States with the San Carlo Opera Company, performing the role of Marcello in Puccini's La bohème. In the spring of 1951, he sang Figaro in The Barber of Seville in Los Angeles and with both the Cincinnati Zoo Opera and the St. Louis Municipal Opera.

Torigi made his New York City Opera debut in 1951 as Silvio in Pagliacci and performed regularly with the company for the next eighteen years. His NYCO credits included the company premieres of Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul in 1952, in which he sang the role of John Sorel, and Donizetti's Don Pasquale in 1955, in which he sang Malatesta. He also performed the roles of Marcello, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Germont in La traviata with the company. In 1967, Torigi created the role of Silvio de Narni in the world premiere of Alberto Ginastera's Bomarzo at the Washington National Opera, a performance that was recorded that same year. His final appearance with the NYCO came in October 1969, reprising that role. He made his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in 1955 as Schaunard in La bohème.

Following his retirement from performance, Torigi built a second career as a vocal coach and voice teacher, holding positions at the Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, and the Academy of Vocal Arts. Among his students was musician and voice actor Barry Carl. Torigi retired from teaching in 2003 and died in Sebastopol, California in 2010 at the age of 92.