Ezio Pinza was an Italian opera singer and actor who had a successful career in the United States. He is best known for his role as Emile de Becque in the musical South Pacific, for which he won a Tony Award in 1950. He also starred in the original Broadway production of Fiddler on the Roof in 1964. Pinza was a renowned bass-baritone, and his voice was described as 'mellow yet robust, warm, ample and unforced'.