Antonio Selva
also Antonio Scremin
Birthplace: Padua, Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia
Antonio Selva was an Italian bass who created Silva in Verdi's Ernani at La Fenice in 1844 and Count Walter in Luisa Miller at the Teatro di San Carlo in 1849. Verdi had heard him at Venice's Teatro San Samuele that season and asked for him as Silva when Vincenzo Meini withdrew. Born Antonio Scremin in Padua, he had trained as an organ builder. He went on to sing in Rome, Milan and at the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, specialising in Verdi roles such as Zaccaria in Nabucco, and was engaged at the Teatro Real in Madrid from 1864 to 1874.
Creations
- Don Ruy Gomez de Silva — Ernani (Venice, 1844)
- Il Conte di Walter — Luisa Miller
Written from
- Forbes, E. (1992) 'Selva, Antonio', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 304.
- Wikipedia (2026) Antonio Selva. (Accessed: 30 September 2026).
- Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Selva, Antonio', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 2, col. 2720.
- Rescigno, E. (2001) 'Selva, Antonio', in Dizionario verdiano. Milan: Biblioteca Universale Rizzoli, pp. 486-487.
- Leoni, C. (1879) Epigrafi e prose edite ed inedite. Florence, pp. 309-310. (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
- Il diavolo condannato nel mondo a prender moglie, ovvero Il diavolo maritato a Parigi (1844): libretto. Venice: Tip. Rizzi. (Accessed: 18 October 2026).