Renata Tebaldi

(born Feb. 1, 1922, Pesaro, Italy - died Dec. 19, 2004, San Marino) Italian soprano. After her debut in Mefistofele in 1944, she established herself at La Scala, performing with the conductor Arturo Toscanini for the 1946 reopening concert and over the next decade. Her debuts at Covent Garden (1950) and the Metropolitan Opera (1955) were both in the role of Desdemona, and she sang at the Met for 17 years in roles such as Tosca, Manon Lescaut, Mimi, and Violetta. She retired in 1976.