Tozzi was born George John Tozzi in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at DePaul University with Rosa Raisa, Giacomo Rimini and John Daggett Howell. He later studied singing in New York City with Beverley Peck Johnson. He made his professional debut in the Broadway production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia in 1948 as Tarquinius. His signature roles included Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Philip II in Verdi's Don Carlos, Hans Sachs in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Méphistophélès in Gounod's Faust. In 1957 he portrayed the title role in a nationally broadcast performance of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov with the NBC Opera Theatre. In 1958 he created the role of The Doctor in Barber's Vanessa. Tozzi was the recipient of three Grammy Awards: in 1960 the Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance, Operatic or Choral for The Marriage of Figaro with Erich Leinsdorf; in 1961 the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Puccini's Turandot, with Erich Leinsdorf; and in 1963 the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for Georg Solti's recording of Verdi's Aida. Tozzi also sang the bass part in the recording of Sir Thomas Beecham's version of Handel's Messiah for RCA Victor in 1959. After dubbing the singing parts for the character of Emile de Becque in the 1958 film version of South Pacific, Tozzi spent many years playing the role of de Becque himself in various revivals and road tours of the show, including one at Lincoln Center in the late 1960s. In a return to live national television in 1964, he collaborated with the conductor Alfredo Antonini in the role of Herod in CBS Television's adaptation of Hector Berlioz's oratorio L'enfance du Christ. In 1980, Tozzi earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for his work as Tony in The Most Happy Fella. He was a professor at the Juilliard School, Brigham Young University, and Indiana University. He served as Distinguished Professor of Voice at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music from 1991 until he retired in 2006. He played guest roles on several television series in the 1970s and ’80s, including “The Odd Couple,” “Baretta,” “Kojak” and “Knight Rider.” Tozzi published a novel in 1997, The Golem of the Golden West.
Personal life
Tozzi was twice married. He first married Catherine Dieringer, who died before him; in 1967 he married Monte Amundsen, a singer, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Tozzi died on May 30, 2011, in Bloomington, Indiana, aged 88, of a heart attack. He was survived by Amundsen, their children, Eric Tozzi and Jennifer Tozzi Hauser, and three grandchildren.
