Giuseppe di Stefano “La donna e mobile” from Rigoletto

Great tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano has died after a 3 year agony. His ordeal started on 3 December 2004 when he was seriously injured during an aggression carried out by some robbers as he was staying in his house in Diani, Kenya.

He was admitted to the Mombassa hospital, but his conditions turned out to be much worse that the way they had looked like at a first moment. Due to his injuries on 7 December he entered a coma and on 23 December 2004, after a long trip to Italy, he was admitted to a Milan hospital where he remained for more than 3 years, until his death. Di Stefano has been one of the greatest opera singers of our country: a career and a success that lasted from the forties to the seventies. His name and his exceptional talent as a tenor with a professional voice and a clear pronunciation derived also to his artistic and affectionate relationship with Maria Callas. They sang together for the first time in 1951 in Sao Paolo, Brazil during a Traviata representation directed by maestro Tullio Serafin. He sang with Maria Callas in many operas and concerts, and recorded many records whose artistic and historical value is extremely high. (AGI News)