Silveri studied first in Capestrano (L'Aquila) then in Milano with Perugini, and later in Rome with
Riccardo Stracciari and the bass Giulio Cirino (father of Silveri's wife Delia), making his debut there as Hans Schwartz, a
bass role, in
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1939. After further studies, he made new debut as a baritone in 1944, as
Germont in Rome. Thereafter, he rapidly sang throughout Italy, notably at the
San Carlo in Naples, and
La Scala in Milan, debut as
de Luna in 1949. Also appeared at the
Royal Opera House in London, in 1946, and at the
Paris Opéra, debut in 1951, as
Renato. There he also sang
Rigoletto and
Posa. He attempted the role of
Otello in Dublin in 1959, thus being one of a few singers to professionally perform both as a bass, baritone and tenor, but quickly reverted to baritone roles. He was especially noted for his interpretations of Verdi operas and some other roles like Scarpia (Tosca), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Guglielmo Tell and Don Giovanni. He can be heard on complete recordings of
Nabucco,
La traviata,
Il trovatore,
Simon Boccanegra,
Don Carlo,
La Gioconda, and
Tosca. Silveri retired from the stage in 1968 after a last performance of Rigoletto in Budapest with his daughter Silvia in the role of Gilda, and taught in Rome, where he died at age 87 in the summer of 2001. ==References==