Renata Tebaldi

Renata Tebaldi was an Italian lirico-spinto soprano popular in the post-war period and was especially prominent as one of the stars of La Scala and the Metropolitan Opera. Among the greatest and most beloved opera singers, she has been said to have possessed one of the most beautiful voices of the 20th century, a voice that was focused primarily on the verismo roles of the lyric and dramatic repertoires. Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini praised Tebaldi's voice as "la voce d'angelo", while La Scala music director Riccardo Muti summed up Tebaldi as "one of the greatest performers with one of the most extraordinary voices in the field of opera."