* choose a star * -- Performing -- José Carreras - Spanish tenor Placido Domingo - Spanish tenor Mirella Freni - Italian Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa - New Zealander soprano Luciano Pavarotti - Italian tenor Bryn Terfel - Welsh baritone -- Retired -- Franco Corelli - Italian tenor Marilyn Horne - American mezzo-soprano Leontyne Price - American Soprano Giuseppe di Stefano - Italian tenor Beverly Sills - American soprano Joan Sutherland - Australian soprano -- Stars of the Past -- Jussi Bjorling - Swedish tenor Maria Callas - American soprano Enrico Caruso - Italian tenor Fyodor Chaliapin - Russian bass Tito Gobbi - Italian baritone Lotte Lehmann - German soprano Nellie Melba - Australian soprano Lauritz Melchior - Dutch Tenor Rosa Ponselle - American soprano Francesco Tamagno - Italian Tenor Fyodor Chaliapin - Russian bass 1873-1938 Hailed as the greatest Russian bass of his time, Fyodor Chaliapin was largely self taught. He made his debut in 1890, and performed in St. Petersburg until joining a Moscow based company in 1896. Starting with the new century, Chaliapin began to tour the great European opera stages. Beginning in 1921 the acclaimed Russian bass enjoyed eight seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Admired by many composers of the time, both Rachmaninov and Massenet created the roles for him. His title role in Massenet's Don Quichotte was immortalized with its capture on film.