Dramatic Tenor

Francesco Merli was an Italian tenor celebrated for his commanding voice and his mastery of heavy dramatic roles. He is often remembered as one of the finest dramatic tenors of...

Once again, I present to you a tenor I hadn't heard of . Umberto Borsò was a dramatic tenor who sang in Europe and the Metropolitan Opera in the 50s...

I must confess that I did not know who this singer was. However, upon listening to him, I was amazed. Here was a heroic tenor who had slipped from the...

This week, I seem to be lost in Belgium. I am reposting Fernand Ansseau, who many compared to Caruso. Ansseau started his studies as a baritone but moved into the...

Gino Penno, an exceptionally talented tenor, was a prominent figure in Italian opera during the mid-20th century. Gifted with a powerful voice and rich expressive nuances, Penno performed heroic and...

So I am really going back in time with this posting. Leo Slezak was a distinguished Czech operatic tenor, celebrated for his powerful and expressive voice. Slezak was born on...

Bergonzi was a great lyric tenor. He had what the Italians call "lo squillo", or a ringing sound in his upper registers. See if you can hear it. He was...

Mario Filippeschi was a spinto/dramatico Italian tenor. He was very well known for the ringing sound at the top of his register ("lo squillo" in Italian). As I remark below,...

Giovanni Martinelli ranks among the greatest tenors of the 20th century, and perhaps came to be the true Caruso-successor after Caruso’s death in 1921. He had a very distinct sound,...