To commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the birth of the legendary soprano Renata Tebaldi, the distinguished writer, broadcaster, lecturer, and opera authority Roger Pines gives an illustrated talk about Tebaldi’s art in some of her most acclaimed roles.  We are very grateful to Decca Classics for agreeing our inclusion of extracts from their copious catalogue of Tebaldi recordings, which are listed below.

Tebaldi was born on the 1^st of February 1922 in Pesaro, Italy, and died in the Republic of San Marino in 2004. In her career that spanned the best part of 32 years, from 1944 to 1976, she was acclaimed as a dramatic and a lyrical singer of the very greatest virtuosity and expressiveness – in so many ways, which Roger Pines explains in detail.

Roger Pines is internationally revered and in great demand as one of the World’s most informed and enlightened opera writers, broadcasters and lecturers. For 26 years he was the Dramaturg of the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Program Editor and Co-Host / Co-Producer for the company’s live opening-night broadcasts. Additionally he was the Special Lecturer/Consultant for the Ryan Opera Center, Lyric Opera’s young-artist program. He is a regular writer for major American and European publications, notably Opera Magazine and Opera News, and for them he has also conducted in- depth biographical interviews with many of the most highly sought after opera singers of the last several decades. As a lecturer he has been providing specialist opera education in his residencies at the University of Texas at Austin, the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, and Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music in Evanston, Illinois. Since 2005 he has been a worldwide radio celebrity as a favourite panellist on the Metropolitan Opera Quiz programmes that are heard during the intervals of the famous Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.

The feature is hosted and produced by Jon Tolansky.

The music extracts in this feature are from (in this order of appearance):

Verdi – La forza del destino – Pace, pace mio dio – From the album The Great Renata Tebaldi (Decca E4702802)

Puccini – La Bohème – Mi chiamano Mimi (1951 version) – From the album La Bohème (Decca 440 233-2)

Puccini – La Bohème – Donde lieta (1951 version) – From the album La Bohème (Decca 440 233-2)

Giordano – La gioconda – È un anatema (with Marilyn Horne) – From the album La gioconda (Decca 430 042-2)

Verdi – Aida – Ritorna vincitor (1949) – From the album The Great Renata Tebaldi (Decca E4702802)

Verdi – Otello – Dio to giocondi, o sposa (1960 version – with Mario del Monaco) – From the album Otello (Decca 411 618-2)

Verdi – Otello – Ave Maria (1960 version) – From the album Otello (Decca 411 618-2)

Wagner – Tristan und Isolde – Liebestod – From the album A Tebaldi Festival (Decca 452 4562)

Giordano – Andrea Chénier – La mamma morta (1957) – From the album Andrea Chénier (Decca 425 407-2)

Puccini – Tosca – Mario, Mario (1959 version – with Mario del Monaco) – From the album Tosca (1959) (Decca 411 871-2)

Puccini – Tosca – Non la sospiri (1959 version – with Mario del Monaco) – From the album Tosca (1959) (Decca 411 871-2)

Puccini – Tosca – Questo è il bacio di Tosca! (1951 version) – From the album Tosca (1951) (Decca 440 236-2)

Puccini – Tosca – Questo è il bacio di Tosca! (1959 version) – From the album Tosca (1959) (Decca 411 871-2)

Puccini – La Fanciulla del West – Una partita a Poker (with Anselmo Colzani) – From the album La Fanciulla del West (Bella Voce BLV107246)

Puccini – Suor Angelica – Senza mamma, bimbo, tu sei morto – From the album The Great Renata Tebaldi (Decca E4702802)

Cilea – Adriana Lecouvreur – Giusto cielo! – From the album Adriana Lecouvreur (Decca 430 256-2)

Rodgers – Carousel – If I Loved You – From the album A Tebaldi Festival (Decca 452 4562)

Puccini – Tosca – Vissi d’arte (1959 version) – From the album Tosca (1959) (Decca 411 871-2)