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With nothing like Tito Gobbi's incisive voice and cunning histrionic ability, Giuseppe Taddei's sumptuous sound and witty personality, or Ettore Bastianini's bronzed vocal instrument, Aldo Protti nonetheless managed a significant career in the Italy of the 1950s and 1960s. Essentially a house baritone for London/Decca Records before the company acquired Bastianini, Protti performed leading roles in Aida, Rigoletto, La Traviata, I Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Otello. While lacking a glamorous presence and sound, Protti was reliable, often more than that.

At the end of WWII, Protti entered the Conservatorio Musicale di Parma and, in 1948, won first prize in Bologna's Concorso Nazionale di Canto. His debut took place on October 9, 1948, at the Teatro Pergolesi di Jesi as Rossini's Figaro. Less than two years later, Protti was at La Scala singing Amonasro in Aida. From that point forward, Protti sang in many of Italy's leading theaters as well as making guest appearances in Vienna. Beginning in 1955, Protti participated in broadcasts on Televisione Italiana, also becoming a frequent guest in productions broadcast on Italian radio. For the latter, he reached beyond Verdi to include such rarities as La Morte di Danton (Danton's Tod) and Genoveva. He also appeared in a broadcast of Lorenzo Perosi's La passione di Cristo. In 1957, Protti appeared with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Barnaba and Marcello, but, with Gobbi, MacNeil, and Bastianini already on the roster, the company had no further need of his services.

When Herbert von Karajan recorded Otello in 1961, Bastianini was the Iago of choice. When it became clear that Bastianini had failed to learn the part, however, Karajan insisted on Protti (by then, Vienna's resident Iago) for the role. While Decca officials had serious reservations, Protti rose to create a performance leagues ahead of his 1954 recording for the company.

Much decorated, Protti was the recipient of such honors as the Viotti d'Oro in 1961, the Gazzotti d'Oro in 1963, and, in 1969, a nomination as a Cavaliere della Repubblica Italiana. Among his roles, Rigoletto was the one he performed most often, a remarkable 425 times in all; Scarpia, di Luna, Don Carlo, and Iago each figured more than 100 times on Protti's performance roster.

Retiring in March 2003 from more than three decades with the Australian Opera, Carlo Felice Cillario stood among the most singer-friendly of conductors. A presence on many recorded opera recitals, Cillario was a frequent visitor to the studio, as well as a reassuring conductor of opera performances in many parts of Europe, North and South America, and Australia. Moving with his Italian-born parents to Bologna, Italy, in 1923, Cillario brought with him the results of his violin training in Buenos Aires. He studied at the Conservatorium in Bologna, intending to become a soloist. A broken wrist suffered in a soccer game, however, presaged Cillario's entry into conducting. In 1942, he was engaged as a conductor at the opera in Odessa and later led orchestral concerts in Italy and Buenos Aires. Not long into his conducting career, he elected to reserve a major portion of his time for the opera house and was heard in such major venues as Turin, Milan, Florence, Rome, Athens, Berlin, Oslo, and Paris. Cillario was first heard in England at the 1961 Glyndebourne Festival (L'elisir d'amore), returning in 1962 for the same production. His North American opera debut took place with the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1961 when he directed La forza del destino with Farrell, Bergonzi, and Christoff. Later that season, he conducted Rossini's Barber. Cillario retuned in 1962 for La bohème, Tosca, and L'elisir d'amore. In 1963, he led Rossini's Barber again, together with Don Pasquale. In 1964, Cillario conducted a sumptuous production of Donizetti's La Favorita with Cossotto and Kraus and led La cenerentola with Teresa Berganza. Specifically requested by Maria Callas, Cillario made his Covent Garden debut in the well-remembered 1964 Tosca that reunited the soprano with baritone Tito Gobbi. In a season-opening Tosca, Cillario made his San Francisco Opera debut in 1970, returning there for three subsequent years. Leading La Sonnambula, Cillario made his first Metropolitan Opera appearance in October 1972, also conducting Tosca and Il Trovatore that season. Beginning in 1970, Cillario primarily devoted his time to Australia, first as music director for the Elizabethan Opera Trust, and later, as adviser and principal guest conductor with Opera Australia.