Born in Montagnana (Veneto, Italy) in 1885, tenor Giovanni Martinelli is seen as Caruso's heir despite his singing technique and timbre being completely different. He debuted in Milan in 1910 in the role of Verdi's Ernani. In 1913, he sang at the Monte Carlo Opera in La fanciulla del Westand, for the first time, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Established in this city, he contributed, alongside Rosa Ponselle, to making the Metropolitan the first Verdi theater in the world between the two wars. After having sung more than fifty different Italian roles, he tackled that of Othello, which was one of his great triumphs. Endowed with a voice of exceptional light and brilliance, Martinelli communicated a grandiose dimension to his interpretations.
