By MATTHEW GUREWITSCH [NY Times, 21 January 2007]
ITíS ancient history, but the Sicilian tenor Marcello Giordani makes it a point of honor to acknowledge the crisis. His career got off to a promising start in Spoleto, Italy, with Verdiís ìRigolettoî in 1986. He was 23, and he had plenty going for him: musicality, easy high notes, a handsome face, a good physique. And he was tall ó a godsend to leading ladies.