Miguel Fleta
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Miguel Burró Fleta (1 December 1897, Albalate de Cinca, Huesca, Spain - 28 May 1938, A Coruña) was a Spanish tenor.
Despite his short career, (1919–1935), Fleta is often described as one of the greatest opera singers to have lived. He had the honour of creating the role of Calaf in Puccini's posthumously-premiered final opera Turandot in 1926, at the insistence of the conductor Arturo Toscanini.
During his brief but important career, Fleta was most admired for the finesse with which he used his rich, flexible, and wide-ranged voice. The most notable aspect of his performance style was the technical dexterity of his bel canto technique enabling him to produce the most spectacular messa di voce and pianissimo. He was regarded as the "Lord High Keeper of the Seal of the Ancient Vocal Method" and was the primary inspiration for the trademark pianissimo of Montserrat Caballe. Fleta died, aged 40, in A Coruña in 1938.