Apollo Granforte (1886-1975) was an Italian baritone, one of the notable Verdi singers of the early recording era. Born in Legnano, he became associated with La Scala and with major Italian operatic recordings of the 1920s and 1930s.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears in complete opera recordings including Verdi’s Il trovatore and Puccini’s Tosca. His colleagues include Aureliano Pertile, Carmen Melis and other important Italian singers of the period.

Granforte’s singing was strong, dark and theatrically direct, with the weight needed for Verdi baritone roles. He belonged to a generation whose style was still close to the nineteenth-century Italian stage.

His records are important documents of pre-war Italian opera. Granforte’s voice has the old bronze clang of a theatre before microphones softened the edges.