Tito Schipa, nato Attilio Amedeo Schipa (Lecce 1888 – New York 1965) After a long training routine in the opera company of Joseph Bourbons, triumphed in Naples in the season of 1914 directed by Leopoldo Mugnone, where a legendary Tosca the stage name "Tito Schipa" prevailed definitely artistic and society news. With Manon of 14 January 1918 to Real Madrid also the first triumph abroad was assured. In 1919 he arrived in the United States, invited by the Scottish soprano Mary Garden and impresario Cleofonte Campanini, who together ran the Civic Opera of Chicago. Here he married the French soubrette Antoinette Michel d'Ogoy, known in Montecarlo March 27, 1917 on the occasion of the first performance of La Rondine by Giacomo Puccini, where he played the character of Roger. By her he had two daughters, Elena and Liana. On December 4, 1919 Schipa debuted triumphantly in Chicago with Rigoletto under the direction of Gino Marinuzzi. It was a triumph and the beginning of a stay in the US lasting more than fifteen years granted to the American public, curious to measure its size with that of the unforgettable Caruso. In October 1932 he left Chicago, taking over from Beniamino Gigli at New York's Metropolitan Opera. In 1935 he took part in Werther in San Francisco. But the effects of the Great Depression, the irreparable crisis with his wife and nostalgia for his homeland, never forgotten, reported Schipa in Italian. After a long career almost half a century, in the fifties Schipa began to appear on the increasingly rare scenes. The April 14, 1955 gave the farewell to the stage with Elisir d'amore at the Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, to be followed by the tour of the Soviet Union, the Hungarian People's Republic and the United States. Portrait autographed photo dated 1929. Photography; 17,6x24 cm Excellent condition