ITALIAN opera singer Carlo Bergonzi, considered a leading performer of Verdi’s work, has died at age 90.
During a career spanning 40 years, Bergonzi performed a string of stage roles, making his debut as a tenor at Milan’s La Scala in 1953. His voice was captured on numerous recordings, including one of every major Verdi operatic aria, which was made in 1976.
He was regularly performing well into his 60s, and at the age of 75 undertook the demanding title role in Verdi’s “Otello” at New York’s Carnegie Hall, amongst a roster of stars including Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
His vocal prowess extended across a whole range of recorded operatic material, including “La Boheme,” “Madame Butterfly” and “Lucia di Lammermoor.”
Bergonzi was the first to admit that his physique and stage presence were less than ideal for the operatic stage, telling The New York Times in 1981, “I know I don’t look like Rudolph Valentino.”
During World War II, Bergonzi was held in a Nazi prisoner of war camp for three years. He later resumed his singing career that had begun as a youth in the church choir.
(SD-Agencies)
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