Ferruccio Tagliavini

Ferruccio Tagliavini was an Italian operatic lyric tenor who was born in 1913 in Reggio Emilia and died in 1995. He displayed an early aptitude for singing and appeared in his first professional stage work at age 12 in 1925 before later training in the bel canto repertoire. Tagliavini made his professional operatic debut as Rodolfo in the opera La bohème in 1939 at the Teatro Comunale in Florence. He achieved a major career breakthrough in 1942 at La Scala performing the role of Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. Following World War II, he performed at many of the world's leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House. His discography includes celebrated studio recordings of La sonnambula (1952) and La bohème (1952). Tagliavini retired from the stage in 1965 but continued to perform in occasional recitals until the mid-1970s.