Emili

Emili Vendrell Ibars

Emilio Vendrell

Barcelona , 13 de gener de 1893
Barcelona , 1 d'agost de 1962

Performer

Tenor

He began his music studies at the Escolania de Santa Maria del Mar in Barcelona ​​and later joined the Orfeó Català, where he studied with Lluís Millet and Assumpció Prades. He was born in a working-class family and was an idol of popular Catalanism in the 1920s and 1930s under the name of "the voice of the people". In 1921, he performed the evangelist's part in the first performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion on the Iberian Peninsula. He debuted as zarzuela performer in 1922 with Don Joan de Serrallonga by Enric Morera and continued performing works by Guerrero or Amadeu Vives whose Doña Francisquita was performed around a thousand times. He also specialized in lieder performances in Catalan and of traditional Catalan songs like Rosó or L'emigrant. In addition, he sang some oratories, opera (El giravolt de maig) and symphonic repertoire. He wrote books such as El mestre Millet i jo and I and the singing manual El cant.