Sergio Franchi

Sergio Franchi (April 6, 1926 - May 1, 1990) was an Italian tenor.

He was born in Cremona, Italy. His sister is singer Dana Valery. His father wanted him to become an electrical engineer, so he studied both music and engineering simultaneously.

The family moved to South Africa in 1952, where Sergio worked part-time as a draftsman, while continuing to study music. He later returned to Italy to study with Rossi Masetti in Milan.

He toured extensively in Europe, and, in 1962, he undertook an American tour. In 1972, he became an American citizen.

Franchi made his New York City Broadway mark by being chosen by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim to take the part of Renato De Rossi opposite Elizabeth Allen as Leona Samish, in the Rodgers/Sondheim musical Do I Hear a Waltz? The show was not well received at first but managed to run 200 performances beginning March 18, 1965. The title song has become popular in the repertoire.

After his death from brain cancer in Stonington, Connecticut at the age of 64, a foundation was formed in his name to give out scholarships to talented singing students of limited means.

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