L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 2023 www.italoamericano.org 4 B efore the phrase " p o p s t a r " w a s e v e n c o i n e d , Enrico Caruso was already the e p i t o m e o f t h e A m e r i c a n Dream—yet profoundly Ital- ian, forever tethered to his beloved Naples. Today, he stands as one of the greatest tenors of all time, a living e m b l e m o f I t a l y ' s d e e p l y rooted bel canto tradition. U n p a r a l l e l e d a n d i r r e - placeable, Caruso became an icon and left us at the young age of 48, after an extraordi- n a r y 2 5 - y e a r c a r e e r t h a t spanned both sides of the Atlantic. A true hero of two worlds, Caruso's impact on global music goes far beyond the charismatic intonations c a p t u r e d o n h i s 7 8 r p m records. His final bow at the Met- r o p o l i t a n O p e r a c a m e o n Christmas Eve of 1920, after more than 860 triumphant performances. Even as he grappled with a grim diagno- sis of pleuritis and endured t r e a t m e n t s t h a t p r o v e d f u t i l e , C a r u s o r e m a i n e d undeterred. He lent his icon- ic voice to the character of Eléazar in Halévy's opera La Juive before taking his leave. As he bid farewell to Ameri- ca—a country he had utterly c a p t i v a t e d — h e h a r b o r e d hopes of returning to Italy for the healing that would a l l o w h i m t o p i c k u p t h e t h r e a d s o f a r e m a r k a b l e career. A career that had its h u m b l e b e g i n n i n g s o n M a r c h 1 5 , 1 8 9 5 , a t Naples' Teatro Nuovo with the performance of Domeni- c o M o r e l l i ' s c o m i c opera L'amico Francesco. H i s t a l e n t h a d a l r e a d y opened the doors of Milan's L a S c a l a a n d o t h e r m a j o r theaters of that era for him. B o r n o n F e b r u a r y 2 5 , 1 8 7 3 , i n t h e b u s t l i n g S a n Carlo all'Arena district of Naples, Caruso was the son o f a m e t a l w o r k e r a n d a cleaning woman. At the age of ten, he joined his father in the foundry. However, his mother managed to enroll him in night school, where h i s a p t i t u d e f o r d r a w i n g emerged. Yet, it was his self- taught voice, honed in the church, that was his true gift. Baritone Eduardo Missiano discovered him singing at a funeral. Although his debut w a s n ' t a t r i u m p h , i t w a s enough to get the press talk- ing about him for the first time. Caruso began his journey o n t h e s t a g e s o f C a s e r t a , Naples, and Salerno. His first international perfor- mance took him to Cairo. In Livorno, he began to refine his craft under the guidance of maestro and orchestra conductor Vincenzo Lom- bardi. What followed was a meteoric rise: in 1897, he made his debut at Milan's Teatro Lirico with Federico's L a m e n t i n F r a n c e s c o Cilea's L'Arlesiana, earning w i d e s p r e a d a c c l a i m . H e t h e n p o r t r a y e d L o r i s i n Umberto Giordano's Fedo- ra, followed by tours in Rus- s i a , L i s b o n , R o m e , a n d Monte Carlo. At London's Covent Garden, he took on t h e r o l e o f R i g o l e t t o i n Giuseppe Verdi's opera. The following year saw him per- forming in Buenos Aires. In 1897, he inaugurated Paler- mo's Teatro Massimo with Verdi's Falstaff. Then, in July 1899, he played Rodol- fo in the premiere of Giaco- mo Puccini's La Bohème, at t h e R o y a l O p e r a H o u s e Covent Garden in London. I n N o v e m b e r 1 8 9 9 , h e r e t u r n e d t o R o m e . I n D e c e m b e r 1 9 0 0 , C a r u s o s a n g i n L a B o h è m e , c o n - d u c t e d b y A r t u r o T o s c a n i n i , d u r i n g t h e opening night of La Scala's prestigious opera season. He was at the zenith of national fame. In 1901, Caruso staged Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d ' A m o r e a t t h e T e a t r o d i San Carlo in Naples. Howev- er, something went awry: e v e n t o d a y , i t r e m a i n s unclear whether there were jeers from the audience or unfavorable reviews, but the tenor vowed never to sing in h i s h o m e t o w n a g a i n . H e k e p t t h i s p r o m i s e e v e n in San Francisco, follow- ing the terrifying earthquake of 1906. He was on tour and had just performed in Car- men at the Mission Opera House when the devastating quake rocked the Bay Area, catching him in the dead of night. C a r u s o h a d a l r e a d y sensed the artistic and eco- nomic possibilities of the nascent recording industry before setting foot in Ameri- ca in 1902. He recorded ten opera arias for the British Gramophone & Typewriter C o m p a n y , b e c o m i n g t h e first to successfully venture into this new technology. His fame spread worldwide, e x p o n e n t i a l l y i n c r e a s i n g both his engagements and e a r n i n g s . H e w o u l d a l s o m a k e h i s t o r y a s t h e f i r s t artist to sell more than a m i l l i o n r e c o r d s w i t h t h e aria Vesti la Giubba from the opera Pagliacci, which he recorded in the United States in 1904, under the Victor label. In New York, his success was so overwhelming that he commissioned Tiffany & Co. a 24-carat gold medal featuring his profile: this keepsake was intended to commemorate his perfor- mances at the Metropolitan Opera and to be distributed to his closest friends and admirers. For the 1907/08 season alone, he was paid $140,000 for a series of 70 performances. By this point, he had become a wealthy and universally acclaimed international star. He was in demand everywhere, from Buenos Aires to the Royal O p e r a H o u s e i n L o n d o n , from the Opéra in Paris to New Orleans. However, it was exactly after an exten- sive North American tour in 1920 that his health began to deteriorate. When he passed away on Enrico Caruso, the voice that joined Italy and America BARBARA MINAFRA NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS A portrait of Enrico Caruso dating 1910 (Copyright A. Dupont. Photo courtesy of Museo Caruso-Palazzo Reale di Napoli) CONTINUED TO PAGE 6

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