Julij Betetto
Bassist Julij Betetto (also Julius Betetto) was born on 27 August 1885 in Ljubljana. He sang in the choir at St. James in Ljubljana under the direction of Fran Gerbič, who recognised his talent and enrolled him in the school of Music Matrix. He appeared as a soloist at the Ljubljana Opera debuted as a soloist in the role of Mihe in Smetana's opera The Bartered Bride. After four years in Ljubljana, he went to Vienna, where he continued his studies with August Iffert. At the Vienna Court Opera, he performed in all the important bass roles. His singing colleagues included Mattia Battistini, Maria Jeritza, Enrico Caruso and Tita Ruffo. He returned to Ljubljana, where he was director of the Ljubljana Opera and head of the music school of the Musical Matrix, and rector of the Academy of Music. As a singing teacher, he trained a number of successful singers. He died on 14 January 1963 in Ljubljana.
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Some of the more important roles:
- Kecal (Smetana: Prodana nevesta)
- Puščavnik (Weber: Čarostrelec)
- Sparafucile (Verdi: Rigoletto)
- Nočni čuvaj (Meyerbeer: Hugenoti)
- De Fisque (Donizetti: Maria di Rohan)
- Ramfis (Verdi: Aida)
- Don Basilio (Rossini: Seviljski brivec)
- Christoforo (Kogoj: Črne maske)