If you wanted to list off the greatest baritones of the 20^th century, Tito Gobbi will land somewhere on that list.

Born on Oct. 24, 1913, the baritone actually started his career studying law. But a family friend suggested that he study singing. So he moved from Padua, where he was studying, to Rome.

In 1935, at the age of 22, he made his opera debut in Gubbio and the rest, as they say, is history. He made his La Scala debut in Milan in 1942, after working with the company as an understudy. During this time, he was under the guidance of Tullio Serafin, who would have a major impact on his career.

After World War II, Gobbi flourished on the international stage, appearing at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Royal Opera House, and the Metropolitan Opera.

He also appeared in many films, including “Avanti a lui tremava tutta Roma,” “The Glass Mountain,” as well as a number of opera films. He has 25 film credits to his name.

In his later career, Gobbi directed productions, often starring in them himself.

He also produced a few books that also detailed his experience in opera.

He died in 1984.

Signature Roles

Is there a role that Gobbi didn’t excel at? Truth be told, the baritone had the complete package and he left a stamp on nearly everything he touched.

But some of his major masterpieces have to be his Rigoletto, Scarpia, and Iago. The latter two were perfect for the coarser qualities of his voice and his way with text made his interpretations all the more chilling. He claims to have sung Scarpia “thousands of times.”

With Rigoletto, we get a little bit of his harshness, but it is counterbalanced by his expansive lyricism in scenes with Gilda where Gobbi manages to transform the Verdi anti-hero into a vulnerable and empathetic character.

Read More on Gobbi

His 5 Greatest Recordings

Watch and Listen

Everyone is going to point to the Gobbi-Callas “Rigoletto” on CD (we even do the link to his greatest recordings), so why not look at him from a different angle? Here he is in a movie performance from 1946.

This is fun – watch as two great Scarpia interpreters talk about the iconic role.

And here he is in the famous ending from Act one of “Tosca.”