Renata Tebaldi

Rome, Dec. 19 (Reuters): Italian soprano Renata Tebaldi, one of the great post-World War II opera divas who Arturo Toscanini said had the ?voice of an angel?, has died, a family friend said today. She was 82.

She died in the Republic of San Marino where she had moved several months ago to be close to the sea, said a family friend. Tebaldi performed in opera houses from Italy to the US and was as admired for her dramatic stage presence as the purity of her voice.

Her breakthrough came in 1946 when she auditioned in Milan for the great conductor Toscanini and she made her debut at the city?s La Scala opera house later that year.

Tebaldi was born in the Italian seaside town of Pesaro on February 1, 1922. Stricken with polio at the age of three, she was unable to partake in strenuous activities and instead became interested in music.