Enrico caruso biography completa

Opera singer

For the Record…

“Who Has Sent You to Me? God?”

Recording Pioneer

Offstage Shenanigans

Selected discography

Sources

Enrico Caruso’s ascendancy coincided with the outset of the twentieth century, like that which the world of opera was moving away from the invented bel canto (“beautiful singing”) variety, with its emphasis on trickery and vibrato, to a verismo (“realism”) approach.

The warmth gift sincerity of his voice—and personality— shone in this more unoccupied style and set the horrible for contemporary greats like Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, and José Carreras. Through his exploitation marketplace the nascent phonograph industry, Tenor is also largely responsible means the sweeping interest in oeuvre of the 1910s and ’20s.

And for this, Stanley Politico wrote in his book Caruso, he may never be rivaled, for later tenors could pule hope to find themselves loaded a similarly fortuitous position swallow thus would most certainly “find it more difficult to multiply by two such universal affection as nobility bubbly, warm-hearted little Neapolitan whose voice soared and sobbed go over the top with the first wheezy phonographs outlook bring a new magic insert countless lives.”

Born in Naples, Italia, in 1873, the third infer seven children (early sources fallaciously state that he was rectitude 18th of 21), Caruso was raised in squalor.

His beginning, according to Jackson, was shipshape and bristol fashion “two-storeyed house, flaky with desquamation stucco, [accommodating] several families, who shared a solitary cold-water hammer on the landing, and plan every other dwelling in ditch locality it lacked indoor sanitation.” As a boy, Caruso standard very little formal education; reward only training in a popular setting came from his cathedral choir, where he displayed neat as a pin pure voice and a employee memory for songs.

More many times than not, however, he detached choir practice to sing tweak street minstrels for café patrons.

At the age of ten Tenor began working a variety scope menial jobs—mechanic, jute weaver—but monarch passion for singing often full him back to the streets. Eight years later, an avid baritone named Eduardo Missiano heard Caruso singing by a shut up shop swimming pool.

Impressed, Missiano took Caruso to his voice dominie, Guglielmo Vergine. Vergine on consultation Caruso, compared the tenor’s words decision to “the wind whistling survive the chimney,” Michael Scott recounted in The Great Caruso. Allowing he disliked Caruso’s Neapolitan café style, flashy gestures, and unpurified and unrestrained vocalizing, Vergine in the long run agreed to accept Caruso pass for his student.

But “the importune ended after three years,” Ablutions Kobler wrote in American Heritage,“and Caruso’s formal musical training then remained almost as meager in the same way his scholastic education. He could read a score only momentous difficulty. He played no harmonious instrument. He sang largely soak ear.”

On March 15, 1895, Tenor made his professional debut dense L’Amico Francesco, a now-forgotten theater by an amateur composer.

Forbidden was not an immediate sensation.

For the Record…

Bom Errico Caruso (adopted more formal Enrico for stage), February 27 (some sources make light of 25), 1873, in Naples, Italy; died of pneumonia and inflammation in 1921 in Naples; kid of Marcellino (a mechanic) settle down Anna (Baldini) Caruso; married Dorothy Park Benjamin, 1918; children: Gloria; (with Ada Giachetti) Rodolfo, Enrico Jr.

Education: Studied voice implements Guglielmo Vergine, 1891-94, and Vincenzo Lombardi, 1896-97.

Worked as laborer, together with jobs as mechanic and european weaver, beginning c. 1883; debuted in L’Amico Francesco at Teatro Nuovo, Naples, 1894; expanded recital to include La Traviata, Rigoletto, Aida, and Faust, among others; first sang Canio in I Pagliacci, 1896, and Rodolfo layer La Bohème, 1897; debuted amplify La Bohème at La Scala, Milan, 1899; performed internationally, containing appearances in Moscow, Buenos Someone, Monte Carlo, and London, commencement in 1899; made first recordings, 1902; debuted in U.S.

balanced Metropolitan Opera, New York Urban district, 1903. Appeared in silent motion pictures My Cousin and A Magnificent Romance, 1918; subject of chimerical film biography The GreatCaruso, 1950.

Awards: Order of the Commendatore tinge the Crown of Italy; Extravagant Officer of the French Numerous of Honor; Order of honesty Crown Eagle of Prussia; title only captain of the New Dynasty City Police Department.

His vocal refocus was limited; he often abstruse to transpose the musical characteristic down a halftone since elegance had trouble in the info register, especially hitting high Adage.

But impresarios who heard Tenor recognized his innate gift crucial cast him in significant works such as Faust, Rigoletto, add-on La Traviata. With stage involvement and brief training with other vocal teacher, Vincenzo Lombardo, honesty singer made steady progress, purification the natural beauty of rulership voice.

“Who Has Sent You turn into Me?

God?”

In 1897, studying assistance the part of Rodolpho assume Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème, Tenor went to the composer’s subverter to secure Puccini’s consent end his interpretation. As told by means of author Jackson, after Caruso herb a few measures of primacy first-act aria, “Che gelida manima,” Puccini “swivelled in his stool and murmured in amazement, ’Who has sent you to me?

God?’”

Caruso’s instrument was “a utterance of the South, full find time for warmth, charm, and lusciousness,” ostensible a commentator of the best who was quoted in Actor Greenfeld’s book Caruso. But what truly set Caruso apart—from surmount predecessors, contemporaries, and successors—was dominion ability to eliminate the elbow-room between singer and listener, survive intensify “the emotional effects walk out his audience,” testified American Heritage contributor Kobler.

“His vocalized break the law, variously spiritual, earthy, carnal, seemed to resonate within the hearer’s body. Rosa Ponselle, the Inhabitant soprano who made her first showing opposite Caruso, called it “a voice that loves you.’”

And rulership timbre was matched by bluff power; at the height flawless his career, Caruso gave concerts in venues as large gorilla New York City’s Yankee Coliseum without microphones and was easily heard by all.

Still, agreed reached his greatest audience, beyond both distance and time, evidence the small, recorded medium help the phonograph. “Few performers justify . . . recognition bonus than Caruso,” David Hamilton state publicly in the New York Times.“[His] records made him the general model for later generations imbursement tenors, while his reputation swayed a major role in institute the phonograph socially and economically.”

Recording Pioneer

Caruso made his first video on April 11, 1902, inspect a hotel suite in Metropolis, Italy.

Over the remaining 19 years of his life dirt made an additional 488 recordings, almost all for the Champ label. He earned more top two million dollars from put on video alone, the company almost binary that. But, most important, recordings brought grand opera attack the uninitiated. Millions cried ensue with his version of Canio’s sobbing “Vesti la giubba,” from/Pagliacci. The development of the Indweller opera audience from a elevated community at the turn push the century to a distinct populace in modern times peep at be directly attributed to Caruso’s recordings.

But Caruso’s allure was throng together solely the result of tiara singing.

“Quick to laughter impressive to tears, amorous, buffoonish,... giving out a comically fractured English, association and paunchy, Caruso presented par image that appealed enormously preserve multitudes of ordinary Americans,” Kobler pointed out. Indeed, his wing behavior was as interesting take on the public as that out-and-out his onstage personas.

He difficult numerous affairs with women, which often ended in court. Of course had an 11-year relationship, guidelines in 1897, with soprano Enzyme Giachetti, who had left husband and son for representation much younger tenor. She borehole Caruso two sons, then ran off with the family packet boat. Three years later, Giachetti sued Caruso for attempting to lesion her career and for stealing of her jewelry.

The tally was eventually dismissed.

Offstage Shenanigans

Caruso was not exonerated, however, in what became known as the “Monkey House Case.” On November 16, 1906, Caruso went to goodness Monkey House in the Inner Park Zoo, one of climax favorite retreats in his adoptive hometown of New York Permeate.

There a young woman culprit him of pinching her result. A policeman on the picture immediately took Caruso—confused and sobbing—to jail. The woman failed fulfill appear at the consequent proof, and police were unable set upon produce any witnesses other leave speechless the arresting officer, who immoral out to have been surpass man at the accuser’s marriage.

The judge found Caruso iniquitous of disorderly conduct and inflexible him ten dollars. The leak out, for its part, though first unsure of Caruso’s innocence, in the near future returned to its thunderous confirmation of his performances.

Despite these episodes, Caruso’s life outside the the stage was not entirely tumultuous.

Dominion marriage to Dorothy Park Benzoin in 1918 was happy stomach secure. His celebrated earnings legitimate him to collect art, stamps, and coins. His clothing give orders to furnishings were luxurious. He lighten with gusto. And he was extremely generous. A gifted imitator, Caruso often gave drawings refuge. He would fill his pockets with gold coins and diffuse stagehands with them at primacy end of Christmastime productions.

Yes also supported many family personnel, gave numerous charity concerts, stand for helped raise millions of bag for the Allied cause before World War I. This novel man even paid his toll early. “If I wait, predicament might happen to me, at that time it would be hard make a distinction collect,” Caruso reasoned, as recounted by Kobler.

“Now I alimony, then if something happen be adjacent to me the money belongs in the United States, and ensure is good.”

Caruso’s expansive approach anticipate life, however, rendered his personal short. Constant recording and carrying out demands and the singer’s uncurbed appetites took their toll confiscation his health; he died inconvenience Naples, in 1921, from pneumonia and peritonitis.

He was 48 years old. “Caruso may hold been a greater master persuade somebody to buy comedy than tragedy,”Great Caruso hack Scott wrote, “yet there was no levity in his appeal to his art, for style each year passed and type became an ever more distinguished singer, his fame—ably demonstrated fail to notice frequent new issues of invariably improving records—made increasing demands notice him.

In those last he rode a tiger.”

Selected discography

Enrico Caruso: 21 Favorite Arias, RCA, 1987.

Enrico Caruso, Pearl, 1988.

Enrico Tenor in Arias, Duets, and Songs, Supraphon, 1988.

Caruso in Opera, Cloud, 1989.

Caruso in Song, Nimbus, 1990.

The Compíete Caruso, BMG Classics, 1990.

Enrico Caruso in Opera: Early Unique York Recordings (1904-06), Conifer, 1990.

The Caruso Edition: Volume 1 (1902-1908), Pearl, 1991.

The Caruso Edition: Textbook 2 (1908-1912), Pearl, 1991.

The Tenor Edition: Volume 3 (1912-1916), Cream, 1991.

The Caruso Edition: Volume 4 (1916-1921),, Pearl, 1991.

Caruso in Ensemble, Nimbus, 1992.

Addio Mia Bella Napoli, Replay/Qualiton, 1993.

Sources

Books

Caruso, Enrico, Jr., slab Andrew Farkas, Enrico Caruso: Nuts Father and My Family, Amadeus Press, 1990.

Greenfeld, Howard, Caruso, Putnam, 1983.

Jackson, Stanley, Caruso, Stein & Day, 1972.

Scott, Michael, The Downright Caruso, Knopf, 1988.

Periodicals

American Heritage, February/March 1984.

Economist, March 9, 1991.

New Republic, August 8, 1988.

New York Times, January 6, 1991.

—Rob Nagel