Richard Bonelli

Richard Bonelli (born George Richard Bunn; 6 February 1889 – 7 June 1980) was an American operatic baritone active from 1915 to the late 1970s. Although he sang predominantly on stage in both light and grand operas, he also performed at various times on radio, in concerts and films, as well as on television.

Early life and training Bonelli was the child of Ida (née Homel) and Martin Bunn of Port Byron, New York. His family later moved to Syracuse and soon George preferred to be called Richard. Prior to deciding on a career in music, Bonelli was a friend of race car driver and later mayor of Salt Lake City, Ab Jenkins. Bonelli attended Syracuse University, initially studying engineering, but the quality of his singing voice altered those early academic pursuits. He also studied singing with Sidney Dietch.

Of his many roles, Bonelli was known best for his Verdi repertory as Giorgio Germont, Di Luna, Renato, Rigoletto and Amonasro, and also for his portrayals of Valentin in Gounod's Faust, Wolfram in Wanger's Tannhäuser, Tonio in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Rossini's Figaro, Enrico Ashton in Donizetti's Lucia and Sharpless in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In Italy, he performed under the name Riccardo Bonelli. He appears in at least three surviving films: as the "Eminent Baritone" in a 1928 short, one of Fox Studio's earliest sound films, in which he performs "Largo Al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville; in the 1935 feature Enter Madame; and in a cameo appearance in the 1941 feature The Hard-Boiled Canary. Later that year, in October, Bonelli married Mona Chapman Wood, and the couple remained together until Richard's death.

On 7 June 1980, shortly after Bonelli's wife Mona donated his recorded performances to Stanford University's Archive of Recorded Sound, he died at age 91 in Los Angeles, California. His body was cremated, and the ashes were placed in Niche 32072 in the Columbarium of Victory at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.