and
Maria Callas during the recording of
Vincenzo Bellini's opera
Norma, Teatro alla Scala, Milan. 1962. Born in
Piraeus, Zaccaria studied at the
Athens Conservatory where he enjoyed his debut in 1949, aged 26. He sang at
La Scala in 1953 and his position as a mainstay of the bass operatic repertoire was assured thereafter. He was La Scala's principal bass for almost 15 years. He sang with some of the most famous singers of his generation, such as
Maria Callas,
Leontyne Price,
Franco Corelli, and
Marilyn Horne, who was Zaccaria's companion in later life. Despite intimidating competition, he developed an impressive international career and recorded more than 30 operas for major recording companies. With Callas he recorded nine complete operas: •
Aida (1955, as Il re d’Egitto) •
Rigoletto (1955, as Sparafucile) •
Il trovatore (1956, as Ferrando) •
La Boheme (1956, as Colline) •
Un ballo in maschera (1956, as Tom) •
Il barbiere di Siviglia (1957, as Don Basilio) •
La sonnambula (1957, as Il conte Rodolfo) •
Turandot (1957, as Timur) •
Norma (1960, as Oroveso) According to
John Ardoin in his book
The Callas Legacy, Zaccaria also recorded under the pseudonym
Giulio Mauri in the complete recordings of
Il trovatore and
Turandot in which he appeared with the
soprano. Nicola Zaccaria died in
Athens on July 24, 2007 from
Alzheimer's disease at age 84. ==References==