Franco Calabrese (22 July 1923 in Palermo – 13 November 1992 in Lucca)[1] was an Italian bass singer.
Calabrese grew up in Lucca, graduating from the Boccherini Institute In 1947. He made his stage debut at the Teatro Comunale in Florence.[2] In 1952, he debuted at La Scala as Angelloti in the famous de Sabata Tosca.[3]
He was particularly renowned for his Mozart and Rossini roles, and notably those of Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte and the Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro.[4] Calabrese appeared in this latter role in the noted 1955 recording, with Sesto Bruscanini, Graziella Sciuti and The Glyndebourne festival orchestra, under the baton of Vittorio Gui.[5]
After retiring from singing, he taught stagecraft at the same Boccherini Institute in Lucca,[2] where his students included, among others, Graziano Polidori, Giancarlo Ceccarini, Francesco Facini and Enrico Facini.