Luigi Alva né Luis Ernesto Alva y Talledo (10 April 1927) was the foremost lyric tenor of the 1950s and 1960s.

Born in Peru, where he studied with Rosa Mercedes, he went to Milan on a grant to perfect his singing. After his debut at the Piccolo Teatro alla Scala in 1955, he was soon invited to sing at the most important European festivals and opera houses.

A Mozart and Rossini specialist, his interpretations on disc of Don Ottavio (in Don Giovanni), Count Almaviva (in The Barber of Seville) and Fenton (in Verdi's Falstaff) are still references today.

He was admired for his purity of tone, the elegance of his phrasing and the clarity of his diction.

External links

Biography from Decca