Ezio Pinza (1892-1957) was an Italian bass, one of the most celebrated operatic singers of the first half of the twentieth century. He was a star at the Metropolitan Opera and later achieved Broadway fame in South Pacific.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Toscanini and in Verdi’s Requiem from La Scala.

Pinza’s voice was sonorous, elegant and remarkably flexible for a bass, with a natural nobility that suited both sacred and operatic repertory. He had presence before he even appeared to try.

His page is essential. Pinza’s bass is less a floor than a beautifully laid foundation stone.