Ettore Bastianini - a teenage operatic crush

Of the voices I first heard when I made the discovery of Opera when I was in my early teens, that of Ettore Bastianini will always be a fondly admired.

I first heard him in the duet from La Boheme, that famous recording with Carlo Bergonzi on a compilation of duets owned by the person who got me into opera in the first place.  That double set of LPs was borrowed repeatedly.

   

With his good looks and gorgeous voice it's no wonder he was one of my first operatic crushes, together with Mario Del Monaco.  How lucky for me that the two of them recorded together frequently. 

He was renowned especially for his assmpution of Verdi roles, Di Luna and Renato in particular and recorded them in the studio among other roles including Carlo Gerrard, Figaro, Germont, Enrico and Rigoletto to much acclaim.

Below are two stunning examples of the man in action, Eri tu from Un Ballo un Maschera and of course I couldn't go past the duet from La Forza del Destino with Mario Del Monaco as a tribute to a great Talent that left us all too early.

                

#HappyBirthday #Opera #EttoreBastianini #OnThisDay 

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