Tino Rossi

Tino Rossi, born April 29th, 1907 Ajaccio/Corsica, died September 26th, 1983 Paris. The emperor of French light music, one of the most successful and popular French film stars (although he was a less than accomplished actor), operetta and pop singers ever, venturing every now and then into classical music, as well – never on stage, though. Without proper voice training, he made his debut at the Alcazar in Marseille in 1927, and in 1932, already a celebrity, came to Paris. What he was lacking in voice, he made up for with enormous musicality and a fine technique (of course, this fragile instrument didn't last too long, and by the time he was 50, it was more or less gone, as his later recordings demonstrate, cf. the rare Una furtiva lagrima above). Some of his classical renditions clearly show that he could have been, well, maybe not an opera singer for lack of voice size, but certainly a highly regarded lieder singer had he chosen to try; and his Roi d'Ys aubade has hardly any competition among "real" tenors. There is a good website featuring Rossi's biography, pictures, more sound examples, and an extensive (though not entirely complete) discography.

Picture source