Raffaele Mirate

Raffaele Mirate (3 September 1815 – November 1895) was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor who had an active career from the 1830s through the 1860s. Known for his intelligent phrasing and bright and powerful vocal timbre, he was regarded as an outstanding interpreter of the tenor roles in the early and middle period operas of Giuseppe Verdi. He notably created the role of the Duke of Mantua in the world premiere of Verdi's Rigoletto in 1851. He was also a highly regarded interpreter of bel canto roles, excelling in the operas of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Gioachino Rossini.

Biography Born in Naples, Mirate was a pupil of Alessandro Busti and the famous castrato Girolamo Crescentini at the Regio Collegio di Musica. His first opera performance was in a school production in 1834. His official opera début came three years later at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples as the title hero in Donizetti's Torquato Tasso. From 1836 through 1839 he worked primarily in Naples, although he did appear as a guest performer at the Teatro San Cassiano in Venice as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

From 1854 to 1855, Mirate performed with great success at La Scala, notably singing Manrico in Verdi's Il trovatore to the approval of the composer. He sang in Boston and New York in 1856 and then at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires during that house's first season in 1857. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1860, also making appearances in Montevideo and Rio de Janeiro while he was in South America. He retired in 1861, but came out of retirement two year later to sing at the Teatro di San Carlo from 1863 to 1866. While there he sang in two world premieres, portraying Rodrigo in Errico Petrella's Celinda and Icilio in Mercadante's Virginia. He died in Sorrento in 1895 at the age of 80.