Opera Singer. A dramatic tenor, he sang in many of the world's principal opera houses and is remembered as his generation's leading exponent of Giuseppe Verdi's "Otello". Taking to music from an early age he originally trained as a baritone and made his professional debut at Belluno in 1898; the next year he was called upon to substitute for an ailing tenor as Canio in Leoncavallo's "I Pagliacci" at the Teatro Mercadante in Naples and was a tenor ever after. Zenatello made his La Scala Milano debut in 1902 and proved more versatile than some dramatic tenors, able to sing such lighter roles as Alfredo in Verdi's "La Traviata", Rodolfo from Puccini's "La Boheme", and Edgar in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor"; he even performed some Wagner, albeit in Italian translation. He created LT Pinkerton in the world premiere of Puccini's "Madame Butterfly" at La Scala on February 17, 1904, with Rosina Storchio in the title role and Cleofonte Campanini on the podium; like some other operas that have become standards the first performance was a flop and Zenatello's voice was probably not really suited to Pinkerton anyway. Still, his best known parts were the heavier fare such as Manrico in Verdi's "Il Trovatore", Rhadames from the same composer's "Aida", Don Jose in Georges Bizet's "Carmen", the painter Mario Cavaradossi from Puccini's "Tosca", and the title doomed poet of Umberto Giordano's "Andrea Chenier". Zenatello's undoubted signature piece, however, was the tragic jealous Moor of Verdi's "Otello" which he sang upwards of 500 times in the leading theatres on both sides of the Atlantic. He bowed at Covent Garden, London, in 1905 (returning several times over the years) and was long a member of the Boston Opera Company, but despite his long residence in America he strangely never sang with New York's Metropolitan Opera save for a few 1909 tour performances in which he substituted for Enrico Caruso. Zenatello lived with Spanish mezzo Maria Gay (1879-1943) from 1906 on but whether they ever married or whether Maria, who used the tenor's name, was indeed still married to somebody else is a matter of speculation. Retiring from the stage in 1933 he continued to teach voice, numbering coloratura Lily Pons among his discoveries. Part of his ongoing legacy is the ancient Roman Arena of Verona which he was responsible for restoring in 1913 and which is still used for operatic performances. Zenatello made around 200 records which include portions of "Otello"; many of them continue to be available on CD.