My own fondest memories of him come from a Lyric-sponsored recital at Medinah Temple in the winter of 1978-79. I was seated among a group of older Italian-American couples in their Sunday best. The singer was just 43, the recital was simplicity itself and his handkerchief was of normal size.
As he sang a mix of operatic arias and Italian songs, my seatmates and I would turn to one another with broad smiles, quite sure that he was singing only to us. While many singers can do this in recital, how many others had the ability to make the whole world feel that way?
News RSS