Francesco Tamagno

Francesco Tamagno sang in the chorus of the Teatro Regio in Turin before a solo career of more than thirty years across 26 countries. He created Gabriele Adorno in the revised Simon Boccanegra in 1881, the Infante in the Italian Don Carlo of 1884, and the title role of Verdi's Otello at La Scala in 1887. Critics likened his voice to a trumpet or a cannon, though his recordings show he could sing softly when asked; he is the earliest Italian tenor to have left a substantial body of them. He raised his daughter alone and said so publicly.