Opera Singer
Paul was born in Valletta, the son of Michael Asciak and Spiridiona née Casha. He was educated at St Paul’s School in Valletta and at the Archbishop’s seminary. His talent showed early and he spent years singing with the well-known St James choir, Valletta.
His talent showed early and he spent years singing with the well-known St James choir, Valletta. His apprenticeship went back to tenor Nicolò Baldacchino who was also an excellent pedgogist. Paul's voice bore witness to such early training.
Asciak’s Malta operatic debut was as Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana at the Radio City Opera House, Ħamrun in 1946. His Italian debut took place in 1950 when he sang the supporting role Manrico alongside world-class celebrated Italian tenor Tito Schipa in Verdi’s Il Trovatore at Catanzaro’s Politeama Italia.
He was encouraged in his studies by the same world-famous Tito Schipa and Maria Caniglia following participation in concerts with them. He sang with Tito Schipa at the Orpheum Theatre in Gzira on 25 March 1950. His supporting role at the concert with his sheer sie of his voice, his enthusiaasm and youthful panche of singing compensated for the disappointment which the visiting celebrity provied during the performance. Asciak's tremendous potential was obvious on the occasion even though his voice was not one of melodious beauty, certainly as yet not fully trained, the phrasing untidy and the quality rough. He sang with Caniglia later that same year when he was once more to appear as part of a supporting cast with the Italian soprano in the same Maltese theatre.
In March 1950, he went to Rome and was entrusted to renowned teacher Alberto Paoletti of Rome’s Teatro dell’Opera on the initiative of the same Maria Caniglia. In 1951 Asciak won the Concorso per Giovani Cantanti Lirici di Spoleto for new voices together with, among others, Franco Corelli, Anita Cerquetti, and Gabriella Tucci. He was encouraged by Guido Sampaoli, Artistic Director of the same theatre to take part in the competition for young singers and he was one of the winners. He was granted a bursary for voice and histrionic training under the guidance of Giuseppe Bertelli, Luigi Ricci, Dino Borgioli and Riccardo Picozzi at the same Teatro dell’Opera, Rome. Asciak sang the part of Radames with Anita Cerchetti in the Compania del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma at the Teatro Nuova of Spoleto production of Aїda in 1951. Paul never looked back and success came quickly. He toured the South of Italy singing many principal roles in Italy such as Chenier in Giordano's Andrea Chenier, Don Josè in Bizet's Carmen, Cavalleria Rusticana, Canio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci, Cavaradpsso in Puccini's Tosca, Manrico in Verdi's Il Trovatore, and Pollione in Bellini's Norma. His popularity and reputation grew with his many successive appearances beside many distinguished singers like Joan Hammond Amy Shcuard Peter Glossop Sir Geraint Evans and Malt's own baritone Joseph Satariano*, and under well known conductors like Clemens Kraus Rudolph Kempe, Erich Kleiber, Sir John Barbirolli Vittorio Gui and Sir Charles Groves. He gave a recital which was broadcast on the Italian RAI radio in January 1952.
Paul Asciak joined the Royal Opera House Covent Garden Company at its request in the same 1952 as tenor soloist also as guest artist and up to 1958 he had appeared over fifty times in various roles as Melot in Tristan und Isolde, the Tenor Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Flavio in Norma, Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and Radames in Aїda. He was once again a leading tenor and pioneer with the Welsh National Opera Company. He was also the main tenor with the Dublin Grand Opera, Carl Rosa, the Touring Opera 1958 Company and other companies until 1961. He toured the UK singing in concert form and was principal tenor in Eire. His leading roles in the UK included parts in Flotow’s Martha, Rigoletto, Arvino in I Lombardi, Il Trovatore, Cavalleria Rusticana, I Pagliacci, La Fanciulla del West, Carmen, and Balfe’s Bohemian Girl. He performed several times on BBC sound and vision, Welsh TV as well as on ITV (1952-1959). He performed with Elaine Malbin in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West for the BBC film and broadcast on television in 1954. His performance contained his most stirring and refined documented singing.
Paul Asciak gave numerous concerts and recitals, also including Verdi’s Requiem, mainly in Wales and his guest appearances in Malta at the Radio City Opera House, Ħamrun, the Orpheum, Gżira, and the Argotti Gardens, Floriana. The summer productions were eagerly awaited and received much critical and popular acclaim for the strength of voice, interpretative technique and the control of his vocal mechanism. He sung leading roles in Malta with visiting Italian companies in Ernani, Il Trovatore, and Otello; Carmen, and I Pagliacci. He sang leading roles with Impresa Cantoni at the Radio City Opera House (Ħamrun) but his culmination was Verdi's Othello which entailed the climax of all aspiring tenors. He sang the role of the Moor in the opera of rare intensity and depth at the Argotti Gardens in Floriana in the summer of 1960.
His recordings included Flavio in Norma with Maria Callas (1952) and live performances (1953-1959). His productions also featured Joan Sutherland Ebe Stignani, Giulietta Simionato as well as Giulio Neri.
Paul Asciak's most memorale local appearance was his elegant and lyrical interpretation of Manrico in Il Trovatore which was staged at the Radio City Opera House at Ħamrun on 19, 22 and 25 (extra performation by general demand) November 1959. Paul sang, thus, in the last production which was perfomred in the Ħamrun venue. His 'deserto sulla terra' was clarion-toned which he followed by clear dominant and heroic ringing in the ending terzetto of the First Act and went on to provide brilliant and vigorous phrasing in the duets with Azucena in the Second Act. He, then, displayed remarkable musicianship in his rendering of the amour 'Ah, si ben mio' in the Third Act which was so enthusiastically received by the audience that he had to provde an encore, yet he manifested his refined mezzavoce, clear distinction and an admirable sense of singing on the breath. He span the phrases of reconciliation Riposa o madre in long and broad tonalities with a voice anguished and pathos-filled but with a singing that never broke the line. Asciak's technical capabilities, interpretative resources and complete dynamic range of the voice from trumpet-toned in the Miserere to the drawn out arched phrasis of his duets were admirable. His qualitative performance lingered on in the memory of whoever attended. Paul Asciak had a relatively short career and retired from the stage in 1961. However, he joined the Education Department and finally called it a day in 1984 when he was Head of Department of Music.
Asciak also featured in two CDs in 1997. He divided the surprise packet in to records (KTA 111 and KTA 112). He focused his voice in its prime in the first volume, revealing himself in all his veratility in the many moods o the arious arias and song as part of a standard repertoire at the time. His second volume conseved for posterilty his most incredible Othello excerpts interpreted in Bydgoszcs, Poland, in 1989 and when he put on record at the age of 74 a series of vocal items in a collection. His voice had obviously darkened and his delivery laboured but its timbre was still uniquely identifiable. In addition, Paul commemorated his 85th birthday by releasing a new CD consisting of a collection of live recordings from the 1950s until the late 1960s - a testimony of Paul's large and Mediterranean voice. He rendered beautifully Cesar Franck's Ave Maria but evidenced his quality musicianship regardless of the fact that his breath control and the support of the voice were no longer the assets of a young man.
Asciak was Director of Music at St Edward’s College (1967-1973), Honorary Representative in Malta of Trinity College of Music, London (1965-1989), and General Manager of the Manoel Theatre (1988-1992). He also served as Secretary and Treasurer on the Council of the Scoiety of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce for many years. He was ale to continue his studies in Italy through a grant by the SAMC when he went to continue his studies in Italy. His success vindicated SAMC's investment which bore very high musical dividends. In 1989, he was invited to Poland in his capacity of opera compaany to bring a tenor to sing Othello on the island for the summer season. He ended up singing the title role after twenty years when he was 66 years old. Asciak never sought to make a speciality of the role of Othello in opera. He would have become one of the finest interpreters of the century for he had developed a superb way of rendering it apart from his dramatic interpretation of the masterpiece with its demands on the main character's madness and rage dreams and pathos. Paul's technique had become sophisticated ans secure to ing one of the most difficult male roles in opera.
Asciak held the LRSM (teaching and performing); the LTCM, the FLCM, and the FTCM. He was Honorary member, TCM, and was awarded the Midalja għall-Qadi tar-Repubblika – M.Q.R. in 1994, and the Malta Music Award in 1996. Asciak was awarded by Marquis Godwin Drago the prestigious gold medal of the Malta Society of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce at Palazzo de la Salle, Valletta, on 12 November 1999 in recognition of his outstanding talents, merits and achievemets as a distinguished and leading Maltese operatic tenor appreciated both in Malta and abroad. His excellent performance of La Fanciulla del West for the BBC production of 1954 was screened at the SAMC award ceremony after it was obtained thourgh the efforts of Dr Abraham Borg*
Paul's voice with a rare combination of resonance and squillo, in its prime echoed such brazen qualities. However, his voice retained a teel-lie lamprine timbres despite its prodigious size, always couped with an aptitude for both flexibility of colour and a teste for honeyed tone whenever he called for it. Paul was teacher in vocal training and coached voices of promise. His correct methodology of singing which he riveted on his vocal longevity was invariably 'Always sing with your interest, never with your capital'. Paul as a pedagogue sought to pass it on to his few hand-picked students. Paul Asciak's lifelong recreation was Fine Arts.
Asciak married to the late Carmelina known as Rina Ricci on 13 March 1945. They had three sons while their only daughter predeceased them in 1986. He remarried Beatrix Zammit. They lived at Santa Lucia.
Asciak was praised in local newspapers by some of his closest friends and reviewers who included Malta's foremost cognoscenti and collectors of opera records such as Professor Richard England*. Indeed, Paul did not leave, except for some test discs any examples of his voice on record notwithstanding the fact tht he sang with successs in Italy and UK. His recordings now available on the two-CD album were remastered from old original reel-to-reel 'off the air' tapes which the tenor had stored away for many years hin his house. His voice was resurrected thanks to ardent tenor collector like Professor England. Paul's voice continued to ring with exuberance on the tapes which still emerged as primitive after they were submitted to months of careful surgery. He could best be described as a tenor with a strong lirico spinto that verged on the drammatico but his greatest triumphs came in the verismo parts by way of phrases of elegance coupled with assurance of focused pitch and tone. His timbre was characterised by its specific Mediterranean sound and aural hint of a southern temperament and origin which was closer to the Spanish school while it contrasted strongly with the Nordic brilliance but also differed from the purer Italian velvety voices. He lyrically and methodologically revealed well-defined line of legato, warm and communicative emission always supported by correct breath control that allowed him a versatility unencountered in tones of his size.
‘Asciak’s name will be remembered for his connection with Joseph Calleja* for he had been the younger star’s only voice coach and mentor. Many times we met abroad when Calleja sang, whether in Wexton, London or Vienna’, esclaimed Albert Storace in his appreciation after Asciak’s demise. His long time friend, Prof. Richard England, wrote in a long appreciation: ‘With the passing of Paul Asciak, Malta has lost one of its most outstanding artistic personalities. Paul was the finest of gentlemen apart from his musical qualities, always elegant and exuding a charming personality’.
This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.