DI STEFANO DIES

Last updated: Tuesday, March 4, 2008

DI STEFANO DIES

Italian opera star GIUSEPPE DI STEFANO has died. He was 86.

The celebrated tenor, who had been in a coma since December (07), passed away at his home near Milan on Monday (03Mar08).

Di Stefano had suffered serious head injuries as he attempted to protect his wife from thieves during a robbery at his holiday home in Kenya in 2004.

He underwent two operations after being hit on the head in the incident, but never made a full recovery from the attack.

Born in Sicily, Di Stefano enjoyed a career spanning over 60 years after making his opera debut aged just 25.

He went on to achieve fame for his duets with the late Maria Callas and is perhaps best known for his roles in Verdi's Rigoletto and Donizetti's Luica di Lammermoor.

Di Stefano, who was frequently referred to as "the maestro" by the legendary Luciano Pavarotti himself, made his last public performance in Rome in 1992.

In fact, Pavarotti owed his own career to Di Stefano after the Sicilian was forced to pull out of a performance of La Boheme in London in 1963. Pavarotti filled in for the star and it was his breathtaking performance at that show which catapulted him into the limelight.

Source: WENN

| Tuesday, March 4, 2008

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