Cesare Siepi (born Milan, February 10, 1923) is an Italian opera singer, generally considered to be one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and his great elegance of phrasing made him a natural Don Giovanni, among his many other roles. His international reputation was established in 1950, when Sir Rudolf Bing brought him to the Metropolitan Opera in New York to open the 1950 season as King Philip II in Don Carlos. He was to remain principal bass at the Met until 1974, adding roles such as Boris Godunov (in English) and Gurnemanz in Parsifal (in German), and singing all the major roles of the bass repertoire. His also gave his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in 1950, and appeared there regularly until the mid 1970s. In 1953 Siepi debuted at the Salzburg Festival with a legendary Don Giovanni conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler, staged by Herbert Graf, and designed by Austrian architect Clemens Holzmeister. He made an immediate impact at the Salzburg Festival in the title role of Don Giovanni which became perhaps his best known role, as it had been for the most famous Italian bass of the generation before, Ezio Pinza.

Siepi was a frequent guest at the Vienna State Opera. In 43 performances he sang Don Giovanni, more often than any other singer in modern times except for Eberhard Waechter. He was a particularly fine recital artist, especially in Community Concerts under Columbia Artist Management, and a sensitive interpreter of German Lieder. Siepi enjoyed a long career, and performed regularly until the 1980s, including lead roles in the Broadway musicals Bravo Giovanni and Carmelina. In addition to his many studio recordings, there are also many live recordings of performances of his major roles.

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CD Length and Format:

CD 1 76.47 minutes
CD 2 72.48 minutes

The CDs are in MP3 Format (320 kbps), with Cue Sheets.