Ezio Fortunato Pinza was an Italian opera singer. Pinza possessed a rich, smooth and sonorous voice, with a flexibility unusual for a bass. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas. At the San Francisco Opera, Pinza sang 26 roles during 20 seasons from 1927 to 1948. Pinza also sang to great acclaim at La Scala, Milan and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
Pinza, c. 1949
Ezio Pinza (left) jokes with comedian Jimmy Durante as Pinza leaves his imprints at Grauman's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, 1953.
The grave of Ezio Pinza at Putnam Cemetery, in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA
The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as the general manager. The company's music director has been Yannick Nézet-Séguin since 2018.
Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, home of the Metropolitan Opera
Full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at a concert by pianist Josef Hofmann, November 28, 1937
Auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center
Gold curtain, a gift of the Metropolitan Opera Club, in the auditorium