Cetra Records

Cetra Records was an Italian company which produced opera recordings from the 1930s onwards. Its roster of artists included Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi, Lina Pagliughi, Ebe Stignani, Carlo Bergonzi, Galliano Masini, Giovanni Malipiero, Ferruccio Tagliavini, Carlo Tagliabue, Rolando Panerai, Italo Tajo, Giuseppe Taddei, Tancredi Pasero and Cesare Siepi, among other leading Italian opera singers. The company achieved something of a triumph in the early 1950s when it produced many recordings of obscure or seldom heard Verdi operas to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the composer's death in 1901. Cetra recordings are often now reissued by the company Warner Fonit Cetra. Cetra opera albums were distributed in the United States on the Cetra-Soria label (founded by Dario Soria and Dorle Soria, who later founded Angel Records). Beginning in 1966, several Cetra opera recordings were issued in the United States by Everest Records. Cetra Records also produced popular music recordings from at least the World War II years through the 1960s. One of their instrumental artists is accordionist Michele Corino, a soloist with Italy's prominent "Orchestra Angelini" until he moved to San Francisco, California, in 1948. "Mike" ran a prominent accordion studio in "North Beach Music" (a.k.a. Corino Music) and taught, worked and recorded with brothers Fabio and Gianfranco Giotta, part of the San Francisco-based Caffe Trieste (see also "Cavalier Records", "Caffe Trieste" and "Trieste Records"). Gianfranco shared the studio with Mike on the 1963 Cetra album titled "Rome to Paris". (Rondo DB)