THE great Italian tenor, Beniamino Gigli, made a farewell tour of Britain in 1955, entertaining his Scottish fans with a concert at St Andrew’s Halls on March 2. His last concert was in Manchester on March 21, the day after his 65th birthday. Ill-health then prevented him embarking on a planned farewell tour of Italian concert venues.

He died, aged 67, in November 1957. “Gigli, greatest tenor since Caruso”, read the headline above his obituary in these pages. When he played Glasgow that March evening in 1955, our critic noted that he had demonstrated, “despite some diminution of his powers”, he was still a great singer and artist. “The ring and power of his high notes could well be the envy of many another Italian tenor, his mezza voice, his shading of a phrase, his rhythm, his humour their despair”.