Children's dreams usually shatter against a wall of parental misunderstanding, but in the story of Ezio Pinza, the exact opposite happened: it was his father's firm decision that introduced this great artist to the world. Born in Rome in May 1892, Pinza managed to conquer the globe with his phenomenal voice, maintaining the status of the definitive Italian bass for decades to come. The maestro was a virtuoso master of his voice and astounded audiences with his incredible musicality, despite the astonishing fact that he never learned to read sheet music. For more than twenty years, he remained the leading star of Milan's Teatro alla Scala, successfully combining the most challenging solo roles with large-scale tours accompanied by prominent symphonic orchestras.

The singer’s repertoire spanned over 80 diverse roles. Even when his characters were not the central figures of the plot, they invariably captivated the audience's full attention. Pinza brilliantly transformed into Don Giovanni and Figaro, Mephistopheles and Boris Godunov. While favouring Italian classics, he remained a versatile performer, turning with equal success to the masterpieces of Mozart, Wagner, Mussorgsky, and French Romantics – to everything that resonated with his refined soul.

The artist’s concert tours spanned the entire globe, from Europe and America to distant Australia, and he was met with stormy ovations everywhere. World War II disrupted his touring schedule, yet the singer never stopped working, perfecting his artistry to absolute flawlessness and exploring new genres, including cinema and Broadway musicals. Today, his unique talent is carefully preserved in historical recordings and on film, while a prestigious international opera award proudly bears his name. In the maestro's own words, only those performers who strive to deeply comprehend and live their roles can truly be considered artists. Ezio Pinza was exactly that kind of creator – a great legend who entered into immortality.

To mark the birthday of the great opera singer, we have prepared a music selection featuring excerpts from the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Gaetano Donizetti performed by Ezio Pinza. This collection is compiled from digitized tracks sourced from the historical audio records stored in the Sound Library of the museum Collection.