Back in the 1960s my father worked with an Italian man (Giovanni) whose family was overseas. For many years my parents invited Giovanni to spend Easter and Christmas with us. He’d bring some of his opera LPs and we’d play them after lunch. My love of opera began by listening to those recordings. Giovanni returned to his family in the mid-1970s. As a parting gift he gave us some of his LPs and Beniamino Gigli’s album Jewels of Song was the one I chose as a keepsake.
