Italian tenor Carlo Bergonzi, renowned for his virtuosity in Verdi operas, has died in Milan, the ANSA news agency reports. He was 90.

He launched a four-decade career when he debuted Milan’s La Scala and the Colon in Buenos Aires in 1953.

He played opposite the likes of Maria Callas and Montserrat Caballe under the direction of Herbert Von Karajan and Riccardo Mutti.

After a career of 40 years, he spent the rest of his life teaching his art.