Giuseppe Di Stefano was born on July 24, 1921, and passed away on March 3, 2008. He was an Italian operatic tenor who performed professionally from the middle of the 1940s until the early 1990s. Fans and friends called him "Pippo," and he was often referred to as "The Golden Voice" or "The Most Beautiful Voice." He was considered the true successor of Beniamino Gigli, a famous singer. Luciano Pavarotti, another well-known tenor, said he modeled his singing style after Di Stefano. In an interview, Pavarotti described Di Stefano as his idol and noted that his voice was "the most incredible, open voice you could hear." He also praised Di Stefano's musical talent as natural and beautiful. Di Stefano was also a major influence on José Carreras, another famous tenor. He died on March 3, 2008, due to injuries caused by an attack from unknown attackers.

Early life and musical training

Giuseppe Di Stefano was born in Motta Sant'Anastasia, a village near Catania, Sicily, in 1921. When he was six years old, he moved to Milan with his parents. He was the only son of a former military officer who became a shoemaker and his mother, who made clothes for others. Di Stefano studied at a Jesuit seminary and briefly thought about becoming a priest.

At age 16, he started singing suddenly after losing a card game. A friend told him he should train his voice. Two years later, he began serious lessons with baritones Luigi Montesanto and Mariano Stabile. Stabile taught him the importance of clear pronunciation, which Di Stefano followed carefully.

World War Two stopped Di Stefano’s early career because he had to join the Italian army. He often sang for soldiers during his service. His commanding officer thought he was not a good soldier and decided he would serve his country better by leaving the army to sing. He performed under the name Nino Florio until Italy was defeated. Then, he fled to Switzerland. After being held in a camp, he was allowed to sing on Lausanne Radio, where he made his first recordings. These showed a beautiful tenor voice and a singer with strong personality. He recorded many Sicilian songs, which first brought attention from people who could recognize talent outside Italy in the late 1940s.

Career

He began his career as a lyric tenor, well-known for roles like Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata. He made his New York debut at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1948 as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto after performing the role in Riccione with Hjördis Schymberg in August of the previous year. A month later, after his performance in Manon, Musical America wrote that Di Stefano "had the rich velvety sound we have seldom heard since the days of Gigli." He performed regularly in New York for many years. In 1957, Di Stefano made his first appearance in Britain at the Edinburgh Festival as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore and his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1961, as Cavaradossi in Tosca.

As a singer, Di Stefano was admired for his excellent diction, special voice quality, passionate delivery, and the sweetness of his soft singing. During his Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast debut in Faust, he sang a high C loudly and then softened to a very quiet sound. Sir Rudolf Bing wrote in his memoirs, "The most spectacular single moment in my observation year had come when I heard his diminuendo on the high C in 'Salut! demeure' in Faust: I shall never as long as I live forget the beauty of that sound."

During his time as an international star, Di Stefano won a gold Orfeo, an Italian musical award. In 1953, Walter Legge, who led EMI's classical music department, wanted a tenor to record all the popular Italian operas with Maria Callas and chose Di Stefano. One of their notable recordings was the famous 1953 studio recording of Tosca under Victor de Sabata, which is considered "as being one of the great performances in the history of the gramophone." The two performed together often on stage, from 1951 in South America to the end of 1957 in Un ballo in maschera at La Scala, the last time the two collaborated in an opera. He sang Alfredo in the famous Visconti production of La Traviata in 1955 at La Scala, as well as Edgardo to her Lucia under Herbert von Karajan at La Scala, Berlin, and Vienna. Rudolf Bing from the Metropolitan Opera House said Di Stefano's playboy lifestyle, which he believed caused his vocal decline, although Di Stefano blamed allergies to synthetic fibres for permanently damaging his vocal cords.

In 1973, Di Stefano and Maria Callas went on a recital tour that ended in 1974. Critics remarked that Maria Callas had lost her voice, but the public reaction was nevertheless enthusiastic everywhere. During this time, there were rumors of a short romantic relationship between the two singers. Di Stefano continued to sing successfully, and his final operatic role was as the Emperor in Turandot in July 1992.

In 1949, he married Maria Girolami, a conservatory student, in New York, with whom he had three children. The pair separated in 1976. In 1977, he began a new relationship with Monika Curth, an operetta soprano from Hamburg, whom he married in 1993.

His last public appearance was on October 24, 2004, in Oderzo to receive an award. On December 3, 2004, he was seriously hurt during a robbery at his home in Diani Beach, Kenya, by unknown attackers who left him bloodied and unconscious. After being taken to a hospital in Mombasa, his condition proved to be more serious than it had appeared at first. After undergoing at least three operations, he went into a coma on December 7. On December 23, he was transferred to Italy, where he was hospitalized in Milan. Eventually, he awoke from the coma, but his health never fully improved. He died in his home in Santa Maria Hoè, north of Milan, on March 3, 2008, at the age of 86.

Vocal and singing style

Di Stefano was a lyric tenor with a soft voice, a warm and rich sound, and a very expressive style, especially in his early years. People admired his singing ability, clear pronunciation, passionate way of singing, engaging performances, and his skill in singing very softly with great control. Unlike the precise and confident style of singers like Bjorling or Kraus, or the powerful voices of Del Monaco or the strict attention to style of Bergonzi, Di Stefano had a natural musical talent and a generous, instinctive way of communicating through singing.

Di Stefano belonged to the tradition of post-romantic Italian and French tenors. He gave memorable performances, especially early in his career, in operas such as Rigoletto, La traviata, La bohème, The Pearl Fishermen, Manon, and Faust. Later in his career, he took on more dramatic roles in the lyrical repertoire, including Tosca, La forza del destino, Turandot, Carmen, Pagliacci, and Andrea Chénier.

Recordings with Maria Callas

Di Stefano and Maria Callas recorded many operas together for EMI. They recorded the following full versions of operas:

• Lucia di Lammermoor – 1953
• I puritani – 1953
• Cavalleria rusticana – 1953
• Tosca – 1953
• Pagliacci – 1954
• Rigoletto – 1955
• Il trovatore – 1956
• La bohème – 1956
• Un ballo in maschera – 1956
• Manon Lescaut – 1957

A series of duets performed by Di Stefano and Callas was recorded by the Philips label in November–December 1972. Antonio de Almeida conducted the London Symphony Orchestra during these recordings. These recordings were not officially released, but a "pirate" version was later made available.

Other recordings

Di Stefano recorded many operas with other talented singers. He made full EMI recordings of Madama Butterfly (with Victoria de los Ángeles, 1954) and La traviata (with Antonietta Stella and Tito Gobbi, 1955).

For English Decca, he recorded L'elisir d'amore with Hilde Gueden and Fernando Corena (1955), La Gioconda with Zinka Milanov and Leonard Warren (1957), La forza del destino (1958), and Tosca with Leontyne Price and Giuseppe Taddei, led by Herbert von Karajan (1962).

For Ricordi (Ricordi MRO 104/105), he performed a full stereo version of Lucia di Lammermoor with Renata Scotto, Ettore Bastianini, and Ivo Vinco in 1958. Nino Sanzogno conducted the Orchestra and Chorus of La Scala, Milan.

In 1995, VAI released an approved recording of La bohème from a 1959 performance in New Orleans. Di Stefano sang alongside Licia Albanese, Audrey Schuh, Giuseppe Valdengo, and Norman Treigle. In 1962, he recorded parts of Massenet’s Manon with Anna Moffo, led by René Leibowitz.

In 1951, Di Stefano performed in Verdi’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall, led by Arturo Toscanini. The other soloists were Herva Nelli, Fedora Barbieri, and Cesare Siepi. This performance was released as a recording by RCA.

Single songs

• "Che gelida manina," "Pourquoi me revéiller," "Una furtiva lagrima," "E lucevan le stelle," "Del tempio al limitar" (with Giuseppe Marchiò) RADIO LOSANNA-EMI 1945
• "È la solita storia del pastore," "Oh dolce incanto," "Ed anche Beppe amò," "Mi par d'udire ancora" RADIO LOSANNA-EMI 1946
• "Ah dispar vision," "E lucevan le stelle," "De' miei bollenti spiriti," "È la solita storia del pastore," "Addio Mignon," "Ah non-credevi tu" His Master's Voice 1947
• "Com'è gentil," "Pourquoi me revellier" EMI 1951
• "Firenze è come un albero fiorito," "Non piangere Liù," "Nessun dorma," "Ch'ella mi creda," "Or son sei mesi," "Oh tu che in seno agli angeli" EMI 1955
• "Ah mi parla di lei," "Tardi si fa," "Notte d'amor," "Già nella notte densa," "Oh come al tuo sottile," "Leila, Leila mia," "Non hai compreso" (with Rosanna Carteri) EMI 1957
• "Un dì all'azzurro spazio," "Come un bel dì di maggio," "Recondita armonia," "E lucevan le stelle," "Non piangere Liù," "Nessun dorma," "Pourqoui me revellier," "En fermant les yeux," "La fleur," "Salut demeure," "De mon amie, fleur endormie" Decca 1958