Tito Gobbi

Tito Gobbi 24 October 1913 5 March 1984 was an Italian operatic baritone with an international reputation He made his operatic debut in Gubbio in 1935 as Count Rodolfo in Bellinis La sonnambula and quickly appeared in Italy major opera houses By the time he retired in 1979 he had acquired a repertoire of almost 100 operatic roles They ranged from Rossinis Barber through Donizetti and the standard Verdi and Puccini baritone roles to Alban Bergs Wozzeck He had a worldwide career as operatic baritone appearing in or recording the singing role for over 25 films and from the mid1960s onward was the stage director for about ten different operas which were given close to 35 productions throughout Europe and North America including a significant number in Chicago for the Lyric Opera of Chicago Gobbi and Tilda had a daughter Cecilia who now runs the Associazione Musicale Tito Gobbi an organization devoted to preserving and celebrating the record of her fathers contribution to opera He was also the brotherinlaw of one of his famous colleagues at Covent Garden the Bulgarianborn bass Boris Christoff Gobbi retired in 1979 and died in Rome in 1984 aged 70