Vico Polotto

He attended the tenor Tito Schipa in Genoa, who led him into the canoro refinement.

Initially active as a tenor, on Schipa's advice he began to play baritone roles and this allowed him to take part in important settings. During his career, from the early years '40 in the middle of the years '70 he performed (especially in comprimary roles) on the main stages of Italian opera, including the Teatro Alla Scala in Milan, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino^[1][2], the La Fenice Theater in Venice, the San Carlo Theater in Naples, the Teatro della Pergola and the Teatro Comunale in Florence^[3][4] (where he was particularly active), the Teatro Sociale of Mantua and of course the Teatro Carlo Felice of Genoa.^[5][6]

He participated in productions directed by Vittorio Gui, Alberto Erede, Hans Swarowsky, Gino Marinuzzi, Fernando Previtali, Mario Rossi, Antonino Votto, Iva Pacetti, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Oliviero De Fabritiis, Ugo Ràpalo, Franco Capuana, Francesco Molinari Pradelli, Bruno Bartoletti and signed by Giorgio Strehler and Franco Zeffirelli. He sang alongside artists such as Renata Scotto, Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Franco Corelli, Leyla Gencer, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Iris Adami Corradetti, Rosetta Pampanini, Magda Olivero, Aldo Protti, Pia Tassinari, Ferrmen Tagliavini, Gianna Pederzini, Gino Bechi, Margherita Carosio, Enzo Mascherini, Elena Rizzieri, Giuliana

Among the most frequent roles we mention Sharpless in Madame Butterfly and Marcello and Colline in The bohème. On 21 February 1948 he was part of the cast of the world premiere, at La Scala in Milan, of The berry by Giorgio Federico Ghedini and on 16 May 1959, at San Carlo, he sang at the first time Pantea by Michele Lizzi.

Some performances he participated in were then released on record by labels such as Decca and EMI.

He spent the last years of life in Arquata Scrivia, where he died in 1993 at the age of 74. He is buried in Montaldo Bormida.

• Andrea Chénier, in the role of Fouquier Tinville (Rome, Teatro dell'Opera, September 1957). Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, cond. Gianandrea Gavazzeni. With Renata Tebaldi, Mario del Monaco, Ettore Bastianini. Recording: Decca, 1990 (00289 425 4072).^[7]
• Tosca, in the role of Sciarrone (Genoa, Teatro Margherita, 1965). Orchestra and choir of the Autonomous Municipal Theater of the Opera of Genoa, dir. Pietro Argento. With Marcella Pobbe, Gianni Raimondi, Cornell MacNeil, Virgilio Carbonari. Engraving: FIMVELSTAR (FR043).

• Othello, in the role of Montano (Genoa, Teatro Margherita, 18 April 1968). Dir. Franco Capuana. With Pier Miranda Ferraro, Tito Gobbi. Engraving: FIMVELSTAR (043).
• The bohème, in the role of Sergeant (Genoa, 12 April 1969). Orchestra and choir of the Carlo Felice Theater, dir. Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari. With Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Lorenzo Saccomani, Mariella Adani, Silvano Pagliuca, Otello Borgonovo. Engraving: Belcanto (6007); Melodram (27031); Verona (27979-80).^[8][9]
• La traviata, in the role of Baron Douphol (Rome, Teatro dell'Opera, 6 October 1969). Dir. Tullio Serafin. With Victoria de los Ángeles, Santa Chissari, Silvia Bertona, Carlo del Monte, Mario Sereni, Sergio Tedesco. Engravings: EMI (7 49578-2); Classics For Pleasure (CFPD); HMV Classics (D5 72898).
• Andrea Chénier in the role of Fouquier Tinville (Genua, 20 March 1972). Orchestra del Teatro Carlo Felice, dir. Paolo Peloso. With Raina Kabaivanska, Laura Zanini, Aldo Protti, Carlo Bergonzi, Mariotti Alfredo. Engraving: Living Stage, 2005 (LS 1114).

• Shabran Matilde, in the role of Rodrigo (Genoa, 27 March 1974). Orchestra and choir of the Teatro Comunale dell'Opera of Genoa, dir. Bruno Martinotti. With Cecilia Valdenassi, Maria Casula, Margherita Rochow-Costa, Pietro Bottazzo, Rolando Panerai, Domenico Trimarchi, Carlo Zardo, Agostino Ferrin, Renato Ercolani. Engraving: UORC (205).^[10]