Giuseppe di Stefano - Lolita (Lausanne, 1945)

It’s encore month! Dead Tenors’ Society presents previously featured tenors in recordings never heard on this channel. Giuseppe di Stefano…Pippo to his friends…was born near Catania, Sicily on July 24, 1921. The son of a shoemaker, di Stefano moved with his family to Milan as a child. He briefly considered becoming a priest but began taking singing classes after discovering his voice as a teen. To earn money, he sang in boys’ choirs, as well as cafes and restaurants around Milan. Despite reports that di Stefano never studied voice, the young tenor began lessons with Adriano Tocchio at 17. It was through Tocchio that di Stefano found a position as a chorister with La Scala. At 19, he began working with baritone Luigi Montesanto, but his studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the Italian Army in early 1941. Although he avoided active combat, the young tenor was busy singing camp shows for the troops. In 1943, he was sent to Switzerland where he was interned in a refugee camp. Strangely