Bergonzi in 1962, in the title role in Verdi’s Ernani. Image via archives.metoperafamily.org
Carlo Bergonzi, who began his career as a baritone before recognising his voice was better suited to tenor roles, died in Milan on 25 July.
The son of a cheese-maker, Bergonzi was born in Vidalenzo, Italy in 1924. His studies at the Parma Conservatory were interupted by World War II, during which time he spent three years in a German concentration camp.