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Enrico Caruso
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| Enrico Caruso was born in Naples, 27 February 1873, the fifteenth of twenty-one children and the first to get past infancy.
He recalled later that he began singing at the age of ten in his local church, where his voice seemed to please the church authorities and the public to such an extent that he was always in demand for special festivities.
On the day his mother died he was due to sing at the church but wanted to stay at home with her.
His dying mother insisted that he must sing, and when he returned she was dead.
Caruso was only fifteen years old.
At times he felt that he and his voice were two separate beings: whenever he had to be somewhere special his voice had to be elsewhere.
By the age of sixteen he had developed into a tenor with baritonal qualities. He soon found ways of earning enough for his keep, singing in church concerts and busking at the local baths. There was always a long queue so the young Caruso and his best friend entertained them while they waited, with popular songs of the day. This developed into an evening job, serenading the girls for prospective Romeos. When the girls had sufficiently melted to Caruso's romantic songs the Romeo would take over, leaving Caruso to move on to the next engagement! With the help of a number of teachers and agents Caruso's career began to take shape. Even though his voice was of exceptional quality there were many hurdles to overcome. First, he was conscripted into the army which should have been for three years. Here again his voice came to the rescue as his reputation spread through the camp. It wasn't long before the major called him to the office. He was so impressed by Caruso's voice that he took him to a local nobleman's house for an introduction. This man was passionate about opera and also taught singing. The result for Enrico was a discharge from the army, and the discovery of a new teacher. One of his engagements at this time was to perform at a small opera house in Egypt. It was for one month's work to sing every day for very little reward, only enough to pay for his keep. Fortune struck, however, on the boat journey to Alexandria. A group of Englishmen, who spent the whole crossing in the bar, insisted on him singing for them. After many hours of entertainment they passed the hat round, and his earnings were larger than the whole month's fee at the opera house. During another engagement in Geneva, Caruso began his lifelong friendship with the baritone Giuseppe De Luca. After performances in the opera house they would serenade the customers at the best restaurants in town earning enough for their own supper. They would sing popular Neapolitan songs, many of which Caruso had originally sung for their composers during annual song competitions held in Naples. At one of these restaurants his reputation had spread to such an extent that all the tables were full and a large crowd had gathered outside. After entertaining the customers for more than two hours he and De Luca sat down to wine and pasta provided by the proprietor. They had just finished when they were presented with a bill for 180 Lire. The shocked performers soon retaliated with their own bill of 300 Lire for entertainment, asking for the balance of 120 Lire! During the next few years Caruso was to sing where and whenever he could, to strengthen his voice for the career ahead. This often meant at least seven performances a week in as many different operas. By 1900 he had already performed in Russia, at St Petersburg and Moscow, and in South America, at Buenos Aires, with considerable success. It was now the turn of La Scala Milan to invite the young Caruso for the 1900-1 season. His debut in La Bohème with the legendary Toscanini conducting, was not a success for a number of reasons: his fear of maestro Toscanini, and the difficult high C in his first act aria Che gelida manina. Thankfully, he recovered from this disaster with an outstanding performance of Nemorino in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore. From that moment on history was made, and success followed success. Caruso soon began to record for the gramophone, and every major opera house in the world offered engagements. Although opera was to be his main work, concerts still held an important place in his musical life, and it was here, in particular, that he could draw on his Neapolitan background. Of the 245 known recordings of Caruso, 90 are of songs. For this compilation we have selected a group of Caruso's favourite songs showing his great versatility. These range from the Neapolitan Tarantella Sincera with its attractive light-hearted music and lyrics, to the popular Caruso only performed for one season (1901-2) at the San Carlos Opera in Naples. He left in disgust after being booed, vowing never to sing there again. In spite of this, his heart was very much in Naples, and he returned as often as possible, not to sing but to enjoy the sunshine and warmth of the people. After a serious illness at the end of 1920 he returned to convalesce, and died there on 2 August 1921. The whole of Naples mourned his death, hanging black drapes over their front doors and erecting high barriers across the streets declaring 'In mourning for Caruso'. |
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