Baritone

Probably one of the greatest singer Malta has produced, Satariano was born in Valletta. Following a relatively modest debut in Sliema in 1918, he attracted the attention of the Royal Opera House impresario Lancellotti and made his debut there on 5 November 1919 in a minor role in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.

He then moved to secondary ones and later to more important ones, his first being Albert in Massenet’s Werther  during the 1922-1923 season.

Satariano then moved to Italy where he made his name after appearances at Milan’s Carcano and several other Italian opera houses.

His big break, which Italian critics described as a ‘revelation’, was his last-minute standing-in for the great Mariano Stabile in a performance of Mulè’s Dafni in Palermo.

From then on, Satariano never looked back. He was a frequent visitor to his native land, altough at one time he was absent from the Royal Opera stage for 8 years. He sang all over Italy, in Istanbul, South America, Tripoli, and England where he first sang in 1938 and which he subsequently made his second home.  He gradually built up a repertoire of scores of roles. By general consensus  Rigoletto  was the role which he most made his own.

The distinguished singers opposite whom he sang included Melba, Chaliapin, Pederzini, Saraceni, Icilio Calleja, Pertile, Toti del Monte, Simionato, Poli, Licia, Albanese, Tassinari, Garuti, Basiola, Schipa, Galeppi, Franci, Merli, de Muro Lomanto, Granforte, Arangi Lombardi, and Joan Hammond.

In London, Satariano appeared at the Royal Albert Hall and during World War II he entertained troops with various appearances on ENSA shows. For many years he enjoyed a fruitful association with the Carl Rosa Company, to which he introduced rising Maltese tenor Oreste Kirkop.

Satariano continued singing well into his sixties and left his last stage appearance for his many admirers in his native land. This was in 1957, when he sang Rigoletto at the Radio City Opera House, {amrun, still remembered by many as a truly great performance and not a swan song.

Satariano retired definitely in 1962 and came to Malta where he died in his 97th year.

This biography is part of the collection created by Michael Schiavone over a 30-year period. Read more about Schiavone and his initiative here.