Tito Schipa (1888–1965) began his career as a composer before becoming a professional singer. After his operatic début as Alfredo in La traviata in 1910, he made numerous appearances throughout Europe. He joined the Chicago Civic Opera in 1919, and remained there until 1932 when he made his début at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. The outstanding tenore di grazia of his time, Schipa had a distinctively sweet, yet incisive timbre to his voice. The fluency and lightness of his singing, most particularly in Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti, surpassed that of his contemporaries and most of his successors, while his ability to express a sense of pathos and passionate intensity was rare for a lyric tenor. This first of two volumes of Schipa’s complete early Victor recordings presents the singer in his youthful prime.