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1. Pari siamo (0:00) 2. Cortigiani, vil razza dannata (03:35) E. Herbert-Caesari says of this dramatic baritone: 'Talking of baritones, it was in 1908 in Rome that I first heard, in Aida, the biggest baritone voice of all time : Viglione Borghese. (His records are very poor imitations and give no clue whatever to the opulence of that colossal voice.) He started life as a medical student, but gave that up and went into opera, which he soon gave up as he did not care “for the atmosphere and intrigues“. He went to the Klondyke where the gold rush was on. Saw a lot of shooting and killing but found no gold. After about three years he repaired to San Francisco, California. He became a bottle-washer, a waiter, and did sundry other jobs. In odd moments he would sing. His was a completely *natural* voice. The Italian colony there clubbed together and with a sufficient sum of money he was sent back to Italy with letters of recommendation, and he entered opera once again. He studied roles
