Two years later he began studying in earnest with the baritones Luigi Montesanto and Mariano Stabile, the latter impressing on the young tenor the importance of clear diction, advice he readily followed.

World War Two interrupted Di Stefano's early career as he had to join the Italian army, where he often entertained the troops with his singing.

After a period of internment he was allowed to sing on Lausanne Radio, where he made the first of his recordings, disclosing a tenor voice of decided beauty and a singer with personality.

[4] He began his career as a lyric tenor, notable in roles such as Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore and Alfredo in Verdi's La Traviata.

He made his New York debut at the Metropolitan Opera in February 1948 as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto[5] after singing the role in Riccione with Hjördis Schymberg in August of the previous year.

After his performance in Manon a month later, Musical America wrote that Di Stefano "had the rich velvety sound we have seldom heard since the days of Gigli".

[8] In 1953 Walter Legge, leader of EMI's classical wing, wanted a tenor to record all the popular Italian operas with Maria Callas, and chose Di Stefano.

Far from the studious precision and "aplomb" of a Bjorling or a Kraus, or the vocal overpowering of a Del Monaco or stylistic rigour of a Bergonzi, Di Stefano had a natural musicality, with a generous, instinctive and communicative style of singing.

In the following years he developed into roles of the lyrical repertoire, with more drive and drama (Tosca, La forza del destino, Turandot, Carmen, up to Pagliacci and Andrea Chénier).

Di Stefano also made many other recordings with other wonderful singers, complete EMI sets of Madama Butterfly (opposite Victoria de los Ángeles, 1954) and La traviata (with Antonietta Stella and Tito Gobbi, 1955).

In 1995, VAI issued an approved version of La bohème, from a 1959 performance in New Orleans, with the tenor starring opposite Licia Albanese, Audrey Schuh, Giuseppe Valdengo and Norman Treigle.

In 1951, Di Stefano sang in a performance of Verdi's Requiem, at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Arturo Toscanini, the other soloists being Herva Nelli, Fedora Barbieri and Cesare Siepi.