L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURS DAY,   AUGUS T  1,   2013 Dear Readers, August-Agosto has many dates with an Italian connection: S. Alphonsus Liguori (16961787), a doctor, a lawyer and Bishop, died at Nocera, Italy on August 1, 1787. He was born at Marianelli, near Naples and received his law degree at 16 from the University of Naples. *** Caruso, the world famous tenor was born in Naples in 1873 and died there at age 48 on August 2, 1921. Enrico Caruso had just turned twentytwo when he made his professional debut in Domenico Morelli's new opera, L'amico Francesco, in March 1895. During the engagements that followed, mostly in the provincial Italian theaters, he built a repertory at an astonishing rate. The records show that he learned 16 major roles in two years. In 1898, he sang in the world premier of Arlesiana, and upon the sudden death of Roberto Stagno, for whom Giordano composed Fedora, Caruso was chosen to take his place at the world premier, November 1899. As he later said, "After that, the contracts descended on me like a big rainstorm". After tours of Russia (1899 and 1900) and Buenos Aires (1899, 1900, 1901), his ascendancy began to accelerate. The series of important debuts that followed included Teatro all Scala (1900), Teatro San Carlo of Naples (1901), Covent Garden (1902), Paris (1904), and Vienna (1906). In retrospective, Caruso's most important debut was with the Metropolitan Opera, as the Duke in Rigoletto, November 1903. The Met became his artistic home for the rest of his great career; he sang 628 performances in the house including galas. During his 18 seasons with the Met, he was featured in 17 opening nights; he performed 39 of the 64 roles in his repertoire, among them Canio (I Pagliacci), Radames (Aida), Manrico (Il Trovatore), Samson, Faust, Don Jose, Lionel, Cavaradossi, Rodolfo, the Duke of Mantua, and Riccardo. During his career he took part in ten world premieres, and he created Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West). Caruso became the most sought after and highest paid singer in the world. His fees at the Metropolitan eventually rose to $2,500 a performance, a fee limited rather than set by the tenor himself. His cachet elsewhere was much higher ($10,000 a performance in Cuba (1920) and $15,000 in Mexico City (1919). His last Victor contract (scheduled to run until 1934) guaranteed him an annual minimum of $100,000 in royalties, and his two silent movies (My Cousin and A Splendid Romance, 1918) brought him $100,000 each Caruso made his first recording in 1902. The ten sides he recorded for Gramophone and Typewriter Company in Milan on April 19, 1902 were so successful that Caruso has been longevity this way: "I believe in being flexible. But I haven't seen the need to radically change my style. I'd change it in a minute if I walked into a club and saw an empty house. Luckily, the clubs I've played were full". The whopping smashes he's hammered out include "Because of Poster depicting Enrico Caruso as "Rigoletto" generally credited for turning the gramophone, until then regarded as a toy, into a musical instrument. He signed an exclusive contract with The Victor Talking Machine Company in 1904, and all of his subsequent records were made in York City or in Camden, New Jersey. The majority of these acoustic recordings have never been out of the catalog, and despite the sonic deficiencies, his entire recorded legacy has been repeatedly reissued on long playing records and compact discs. Guglielmo Vergine was Caruso's only singing teacher, but conductor Vincenzo Lombardi helped him conquer his difficulties with his high notes, and he received help from his common-law wife, Ada Giachetti, a singer who bore Caruso's two sons. Caruso was a serious man in private, and a kind, gregarious, fun-loving person in company. His warm humanity endeared him to his public, his generosity was legendary. Always ready to extend a helping hand, he is said to have supported or helped over a hundred friends and relatives with monthly checks. *** Tony Bennett (Antonio Dominick Benedetto) was born August 3, 1926 in Astoria, New York. The son of a New York tailor, he was a teenage trouper who became a World War II trooper, and was discovered by Bob Hope in 1949. The nation's top balladeer, he has been around more than five decades, surviving the big band era, nose jobs, wiggling hips, and shaggy locks. He weighs his You", " Boulevard of Broken Dreams ("That tune will always be my sentimental favorite for obvious reasons. It sold about half a million copies and established me in the business"), "I Won't Cry Any More", "Rags to Riches", "I Left My Heart in San Francisco". Tony Bennett is still touring and thrilling a whole new generation of listeners with PAGE  23 his music. *** Hawaii was formally proclaimed the 50th state in August 1962. After White House ceremonies, the new 50-star flag was unfurled, the 20th design since the United States was formed. Both Hawaii and Alaska, which gained statehood in January, were formerly U.S. territories, represented by non-voting delegates in the House of Representatives. Now they have senators and congressmen. *** Padre Severino da Montescaglioso, Cappuccino, said his first mass (Prima Messa Solenne) in the town of his birth, Montescaglioso, province of Matera, on August 5, 1962. *** Christopher Columbus left Spain during the first week of August 1492. By sailing westward, on October 12, 1492 Columbus and his crews sailing on the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria "discovered America". *** Italian Labor swap for Belgian coal deal ended in tragedy on August 8, 1856 for 262 people including 136 Italian miners who lost their lives at Marcinelle, Belgium coal mine. This tragic accident was all the more painful because it dramatically pointed out that ignoring safety concerns, politicians "sold" Italians to Belgium for coal and political expediency. "Venduti per un sacco di carbone: la sofferenza in Belgio" (Sold for a sack of coal: the suffering in Belgium). In 1946 there was a fuel shortage in Italy, and a shortage of miners in Belgium, so government bureaucrats of both countries signed a deal to trade Italian men for Belgium coal. Fifty thousand impoverished, unemployed Italians were to be sent in shifts from collection centers in Milan to work the mines of Wallonia, southern Belgium. In return, the Italian government would receive 200 kilos of coal for each miner, amounting to two or three million tons each year. Italy solved its fuel shortage; Belgium expanded its workforce. The men received no training at all. Mostly, they were peasants who had never even heard of mines before. On their first day, 1,000 meters below the surface, many wondered where the windows were. Italy did not inspect the accommodations provided for the miners. For the first few years, home turned out to be the barracks of former concentration camps built by the Nazis to No house slave workers. questions were asked regarding safety in the mines, which dated from the 1890's and were in disrepair. More than 1,000 Italians died over the following ten years in mine accidents. Then, on August 8, 1956, a devastating pit fire choked 262 people in a matter of minutes in the mine of Bois de Cazier at Marcinelle, near the industrial city of Charleroi; 136 of them were Italian. The official verdict at the inquest was that the accident had been caused by human error. The fire started at 8:00 in the morning. The gas released did the rest. For the great majority of the miners inside, working without oxygen masks, there was no escape. Only 13 survived. *** Celebrating Ferragosto in Southern California ANDREW BAgLEY While Italy celebrates many traditions, customs and holidays, perhaps more than other countries in part to its religion, it is Ferragosto, a national holiday in Italy that Italians really look forward to and rejoice. Ferragosto, derived from the Latin word Feriae Augusti, means Festivals of Emperor Augustus. It occurs on the calendar year August 15 and is a time where all Italians mark the date vacation! Yes, it's time for the summer holidays - a break from work; a break from school. Widespread and common for many Italian workers, is a three week vacation period centered on and around the middle of month. Italians share Ferragosto with family, friends and feast with good food and wine. Firework displays, celebrations and parties are all part of the festivities. A popular game that is played during Ferragosto is known as gavettone which literally means water balloon. It is a prank where a person is doused with water usually from a water balloon, bucket, hose, or if along the beach, tossed into the sea against that person's will all in good fun. It is also a time where shops, stores and businesses all board up and citizens and visitors alike experience "chiuso per ferie", which means closed for holidays. Except if you are about a destination tourist spot. Depending on the size of any business, either they close or remain open operating on a skeleton staff. Cities and towns become deserted as Italians flock towards its coastline for R&R and relief from the suffocating summer city heat. The name Ferragosto originates back to the Roman Empire circa 18 BC where Emperor Augustus declared it a time to rest after the hard labor of harvest. On Italian calendars, August 15 is also known as Assunzione della Beata Vergine Maria or The Assumption of Mary, in addition to Ferragosto. Pope Pius XII indoctrinated the feast in 1950 and the date has significant meaning to the Catholic Church being an important religious holiday. If you are not going to Italy for vacation this year, you can still enjoy Ferragosto as it is being celebrated here in San Diego in Little Italy on Saturday, August 17. The fun starts at 6:00 PM and roars until midnight. This third year themed event will be focused on the Roaring 20's. Entertainment such as a casino, dancing, live music by the Big Daddy Orchestra and the Ooh La La Dancers of La Jolla will strut their stuff swinging big band style. Money raised for this charitable event will go toward the Little Italy Association, Washington Elementary School Foundation, and Our Lady of the Rosary Church. Tickets start at $110 and may be purchased on line at http://www.ferragostosd.org/ferragosto-2013/tickets.html or by calling 619-2344820.

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