Born in
Rome, some sources claim that Tamberlik might have been of Romanian descent and that his real name was
Nikita Torna. Nonetheless, his vocal training was entirely Italian. He studied first in
Naples with Zirilli and Borgna, then in
Bologna with Guglielmi, and finally in
Milan with De Abella. The budding
tenore robusto made his debut in concert in 1837 and later graced the operatic stage for the first time at the
Teatro Apollo in Rome, as Gennaro in
Lucrezia Borgia and as Arnoldo in
Guglielmo Tell. He subsequently appeared at the Teatro Fondo in
Naples in 1841, under the name
Enrico Danieli, as Tebaldo in
I Capuleti e i Montecchi, and during the 1842–43 season, made his debut at the
Teatro San Carlo, under the name
Enrico Tamberlik (which he used henceforth). He appeared, too, in
Madrid and
Barcelona. In 1850, Tamberlik debuted at the
Royal Opera House in London's
Covent Garden, as Masaniello in
La muette de Portici. He was to appear regularly at Covent Garden until 1870, enjoying star billing each time. Tamberlik sang often at the
Mariinsky Theatre in
St Petersburg from 1850 until 1863, creating the role of Alvaro in
Verdi's
La forza del destino on 10 November 1862. He made his initial guest appearance at the
Théâtre-Italien in Paris in 1858, returning there many times until 1877. Tamberlik portrayed Alfredo in
La traviata to the Violetta of Sofia Vera Lorini for the opening of the original
Teatro Colón opera house in Buenos Aires in 1857. He also appeared in North America, singing at the
Academy of Music in New York City during the 1873–74 season. He last singing engagements in London were at
Her Majesty's Theatre in 1877. In 1878 at the wedding of
Alfonso XII and
Mercedes of Orléans he played the title role of the opera
Roger de Flor, by
Ruperto Chapí, at the
Teatro Real. He toured Spain again in 1881 and retired from the operatic stage shortly afterwards. Tamberlik's death occurred in Paris, three days before his 69th birthday. ==Vocal characteristics and repertoire==