Di Provenza: Titta Ruffo

Titta Ruffo, 1877-1953. Tullio Serafin, near the end of his life, said that he has only seen three “miracles“ of opera: Caruso, Ponselle, and Ruffo. On this recording, Ruffo sings the first verse of the aria, then switches to the lyrics for the second verse and goes on to the cadenza. They couldn’t fit the entire aria onto one side back then.