Like sopranos, unlike basses and baritones, tenor voices go to seed early. When golden-voiced Enrico Caruso died at 48, he had passed his prime. Jean de Reszke and gut-busting Francesco Tamagno retired at 51. But not yet retired is Giovanni Martinelli, 53, robust, white-mopped tenor who made his debut at Manhattan's Metropolitan Opera the year before the War. Never the undisputed best of the Metropolitan's chandelier-jigglers, Martinelli has been a dependable artist in an enormous repertory (57 roles). In two operas, Verdi's Otello and Halevy's La Juive, critics found him first-rate. Although a little worn at the edges, Martinelli's voice is...
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