César Vezzani

César Vezzani (8 August 1888 – 11 November 1951) was a French/Corsican operatic tenor who became a leading exponent of French grand opera through several decades.

He continued singing there in such works as Dinorah by Meyerbeer and Erlanger's La sorcière, as well as Italian operas such as Tosca and Cavalleria Rusticana.

Vezzani was called up and was wounded in action He resumed his singing career during the later years of the war, but most of his subsequent engagements were in provincial opera houses, especially in the south of France, though he also sang in Brussels.

The ringing and heroic quality of his voice made him an ideal choice for certain heavy and dramatic tenor parts, but he never abandoned some of the more lyrical roles of the French repertoire.

Then from 1923 until the early 1930s he recorded for French HMV in arias from many of his favourite roles, including Reyer's Sigurd, Halévy's La Juive, and Meyerbeer's L'Africaine.

Critics have shown universal recognition of the exceptional quality of Vezzani's voice, though they have sometimes expressed reservations about the subtlety of his approach, which was generally robust.