parterre box

34 comments

• kashania says:

  I am not a big fan of some of Di Stefano’s choices (both in repertoire and his singing technique) but there’s no doubt to my mind that he had one of sweetest tenor voices and could sing exquisitely. That legendary Chicago recital (which includes that magnificent diminuenco on the high C of “Salut demeure”) is a must for any opera lover.

  When past his prime (like the Karajan/Price Tosca), he still sang beautifully despite the fact that the voice didn’t always deliver.

  RIP

  on March 3, 2008 at 2:23 PM
• Marie Lamb says:

  I’m saddened, but not totally surprised, at the news of the passing of Giuseppe di Stefano. I gather that he was never entirely well again after that terrible attack in Kenya. He gave audiences a lot of pleasure when he was at his best, and still had a lot to offer even after wear and tear began to show in his voice. He was truly one of the greats of the postwar era, and thank goodness he left us so many recordings. Addio, Pippo, we’ll miss you; you were a marvelous artist!

  on March 3, 2008 at 2:29 PM
• Andrew Patner says:

  He never recovered from the brutal beating he suffered as part of a robbery attempt in Kenya in 2004.

  on March 3, 2008 at 2:46 PM
• FrickaFrac says:

  He sang with style, beauty and nuance. what isn’t to emulate.?
  We have people who scream and shout and assimilate coloratura. There are NO giants today. God pray we get someone impressed enough by the gifts of Di Stefano to be inspired to even try and do some of the things that man did
  without even thinking. Hell yes look back, until someone has enough of the basics to dare to be imaginative.

  on March 3, 2008 at 3:23 PM
• MaestroFurioso says:

  Thank you so much, LaC, for the E Lucevan le Stelle you put on the player. What beautiful, subtle phrasing and dynamics he uses on it. And if that weren’t enough, one gets to hear the tremendous crowd response and the even more tender, delicate, subtle encore…just magnificent, thanks ever so much.

  on March 3, 2008 at 3:27 PM
• brett says:

  There’s a difference between emulating musicality/technique (which is what voice students are, of course, instructed to do) and imitating a singer (you could call me a Fleming flapper, but her Beverly Sills impersonation in Baby Doe’s Letter Song doesn’t do it for me) and his/her career.

  on March 3, 2008 at 3:42 PM
• bolshoipavel says:

  WOW! That clip of E lucevan le stelle is incredible! Do we know what the venue was? Because as glorious as the singing was, and it was glorious, the audience response is fabulous! So full of enthusiasm, love, and admirations!

  on March 3, 2008 at 4:12 PM
• bolshoipavel says:

  WOW! That clip of E lucevan le stelle is incredible! Do we know what the venue was? Because as glorious as the singing was, and it was glorious, the audience response is fabulous! So full of enthusiasm, love and admiration!

  on March 3, 2008 at 4:13 PM
• MaestroFurioso says:

  I, too, would be interested in knowing the occasion of the E lucevan le stelle. Really a magical moment to have recorded.

  on March 3, 2008 at 4:20 PM
• closetdivo says:

  I was fortunate enough to hear him in Andrea Chenier at the Cincinnati Summer Opera. It was one of the most wonderful and unforgetable evenings of my life. His Maddalena, BTW, was an incandescent Mary Curtis-Verna. The next week he sang in Mann Lescaut which I missed because my parents carried me off kicking and screaming to a vacation spot in Michigan. I also heard him twice in those recitals with Callas in the 70′s. One of his encores was Marechiare—fabulous. I have always counted him as one of my favorite tenors, not only for his beautiful voice, but also for his superb diction.
  He always sang with passion, something that is very rare these days.
  RIP, Maestro.

  on March 3, 2008 at 5:25 PM