Farewell, Salvatore Licitra

The Swiss-born Sicilian tenor has died, far too young at the age of 43, 10 days after an accident on his Vespa. He was one of the best and most stylish of his rare breed, even if the scrummage to find an heir to Pavarotti sometimes pushed him into a corner. I'll not forget his Alvaro in Verdi's La forza del Destino at Covent Garden: here after so long was another true Italian tenor with a golden middle range who could at least act with his voice.

That London debut was memorably conducted by Antonio Pappano, though the advertised maestro who'd haughtily gone walkabout was Riccardo Muti. He'd given Licitra a major break at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the city where until the age of 30 Licitra had been running a graphic-design business. His first big hit with Muti was in Il trovatore, where he hit Manrico's high Cs and, more significantly, conveyed true ardour with terrific musicality. A fine recording of that live event remains as testament, though it seems to be out of the catalogue at the moment.

The musicality is also apparent in this YouTube clip which finds Licitra sensitively allied with Eugene Kohn and the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. It may bring a lump to the throat: Puccini's Cavaradossi, condemned to death, sings how he has never loved life so much. Addio, Salvatore.

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Watch Salvatore Licitra sing Puccini with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra