Dubbed the "Brazen Bull of Milan," Mario del Monaco was the epithome of the Italian Tenore di Forza, his voice bright and brassy and with the most beautiful B-flat on stage, according to legendary tenor Giacomo Lauri-Volpi. He became the legendary Otello of the post war era, a role that he reportedly performed the stunning number of 427 times on stage and it was his wish the he would be burried in his Otello custom at his death. His career lasted for three decades, from his debut in 1940 untill his retirement in 1975.