The Key West citizen., 1952-11-12
Hal
BOYLE
SAYS
Bv HAL BOYLE

bOLOGINA. 1ldly vi LII t1C
golden world of opera there is an
old fond saying:
"An singers are crazy-and ten
ors are the worst"
Not being much of an opera fan
myself, always low-rated tenors,
regarding them as a kind of high
barking he-soprano.
That was before l met Giuseppe
Di Stefano, who is built like full
back and is rated by some to have
the best voice to come out of Italy
since Caruso used to pitch high
notes that would break a window.
At 81 Giuseppe who doesn't
mind being called Joe or Beppo or
Beppi or any other nickname-is a
leading tenor in the Metropolitan
Opera company in New York, a
favorite here and in half a dozen
other lands. 1t is hard to see how
the movies have overlooked him,
as the lady fans of long-hair music
think he is as handsome as the
late Rudolph Valentino.
His swift and glittering rise from
poverty has given Joe gusty ap-
preciation of the fruits of success,
but left him ruggedly unspoiled.
"Some people go through this
world on first class ticket, some
on a second class ticket, but most
get only a third class ticket" he
said. 81 was born with a fourth
class ticket in my mouth, and /
have never forgotten it"
The son of a Sicilian policeman,
Joe looked forward dismally to a
life of obscure labor until at II
someone discovered the big kid had
a voice box the world needed. He
worked like draft horse through
hungry years on that voice, tuning
it like a violin. After he made his
debut at La Scala, the Milan opera
house that has been springboard
to greatness for so many singers,
there were no more food problems
for Joe.
Frances and / and DR.. Anson
Clark, a Lubbock, Texas, Gilman,
visited Joe in the new villa he is
finishing at Marina Di Ravenna,
a seashore resort.
1 decided right then that if am
ever born again, l want to be an
opera tenor. He is a king in his
world. When Joe lifts his head, his
mama and his pretty young wife,
Maria, come running on the double
to see what the great man wants.
So do his lawyer, his secretary, his
gardener, his houseman-and all
their families. A tenor, like a mata-
dor or a ring champion, is always
surrounded by a retinue of retain
ers, admirers, or strangers who
just dropped in for a free meal.
We attended the christening of
little Giuseppe Jr., who was bap-
tized in a small font near the tomb
where Dante was buried. A bap-
tism is a big thing in an Italian
family, and some go of Joe's
friends drove hundreds of miles to
see little Joe get off to a good
start in life. There were buckets
of champagne, trays loaded with
refreshments, and it was a won
derful party for everybody but Joe
Jr., who fell asleep.
"okay, I'll sing" said Joe. He
got in his new robins egg blue
Cadillac and started for Bologna.
He was speeding along a flat
stretch of road when a dog ran
| out on the highway. Joe, who loves
animals, swerved sharply. The car
hit a soft shoulder, knocked over
three stone road markers, then
| turned turtle and rested upside
down in a ditch, wheels spinning.
Joe climbed out unhurt, took his
wife to a hospital where her in
jured wrist was put in a cast. Then
| they climbed into another car and
rode on to Bologna.
was in the audience that night.
The opera was La Boheme, one
of Joe's favorites. In the first act
! during a duet he hit a high "C''