Beniamino Gigli (March 20, 1890 - November 30, 1957) was an Italian singer, widely regarded as one of the greatest operatic tenors of all time. He was blessed with a voice of immense beauty and technical facility but, regrettably, he was not always the most tasteful and stylish of singers, especially in the latter stages of his career.
Here he sings the aria 'Nessun dorma' from Puccini's Turandot, in a studio recording.
Listeners to "Opera Fanatic" on WKCR-FM voted for Favorite Tenor of the Century. 47 singers received a grand total of 600 votes. Gigli came in 4th place. The first five places were:

1st: Corelli, with 185 votes or 30.8% of the vote
2nd: Björling 177 (29.5%)
3rd: Caruso 69 (11.5%)
4th: Gigli 50 (8.3%);
5th: Vickers 17 (2.8%)

свернуть