I’ve finally succumbed to iTunes after swearing I would never buy an iPod.

Well, I haven’t bought an iPod, so my dignity is still intact, but I was led into iTunes by Stephen Baker of BusinessWeek’s Blogspotting. He it was who pointed out that their oldest recording was an old opera track.

I tried to find this particular track, which retails at 99c, but ended up buying/downloading an album by my all-time favorite tenor, Giuseppe di Stefano.

The album is called, My First Puccini and contains some real gems. Recondita Armonia from Tosca is di Stefano at his finest. It also has Nessum Dorma and other favorites.

Unfortunately the compilation includes no less than four versions of E Lucevan Le Stelle, a great song, much admired, but four versions? The problem is that, while many opera buffs might welcome four renditions at different times in his career, Apple doesn’t provide any provenance: dates, venues etc.

Still, at £7.99 ($14.70, if it’s a straight conversion), this is well worth the entrance fee.

So, who is Giuseppe di Stefano? Here’s the biography from his fansite:

“The tenor voice most bella of the world? Giuseppe di Stefano became world famous for his beautiful tone and exceptional use of pianissimo and natural elegance of delivery. He sang with impeccable style, pureness and beauty and his secret was just to sing, without gimmickry and artifacts. His timbre and delivery were exceptional, with great personality.

“His admirable ‘Do Di Petto’ was unique in the history of opera, but he sang with an open, uncovered tone that damaged his vocal cords and, with the years, his sweet and bella timbre had grown coarse and hard, particularly with the assumption of heavier roles not really suited for his vocal range. The abuse provoked his premature disappearance from the opera scene.”

Check out the price of Tosca, with di Stefano and Maria Callas from Amazon.