Image:Ezio_Pinza.jpg
The Italian bass '''Ezio Pinza''' (18_May 1892 - 9_May
1957) was one of the outstanding Opera singers of the first half of the 20th century. He spent twenty-two seasons at New_York's Metropolitan_Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of fifty operas.
Pinza was born in Rome and grew up in Ravenna. He studied at Bologna's Conservatorio Martini. His operatic debut was in 1914 as Oroveso in ''Norma'' in Cremona.
After World_War_I, he debuted at Rome in 1919 and Milan's La_Scala in February, 1922. Pinza's Met debut came November 1926 in Spontini's ''La_Vestale'', with famed American soprano Rosa_Ponselle in the title role. In 1929, he sang Don Giovanni, a role with which he was subsequently to become closely identified. He subsequently added the Mozart roles Figaro (in 1940) and Sarastro (in 1942) to his repertoire, as well as a vast number of Italian operatic roles of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, as well as Mussorgsky's ''Boris Godunov'' (sung in Italian).
After retiring from the Met in 1948, Pinza embarked on a second career on Broadway. In April 1949, he appeared in the Rodgers_and_Hammerstein musical ''South_Pacific'' and his operatic, expressive performance of "Some Enchanted Evening" made him a matinee idol and a national celebrity. He also appeared in the Broadway production of ''Fanny'' in 1954, opposite Florence_Henderson.
Pinza died at age 64. His funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New_York_City.
Pinza, Ezio
Pinza, Ezio
Pinza, Ezio
Pinza, Ezio
Pinza, Ezio
Pinza, Ezio
Pinza, Ezio
Ja:エツィオ・ピンツァ
Lb:Ezio_Pinza