Caruso, Enrico (EN)

Caruso Enrico, *27 February 1873 Naples, †2 August 1921 Naples, Italian tenor. Blessed with a beautiful voice, he sang in churches from his early childhood, and organists gave him music lessons free of charge. He began formal vocal studies in 1891 under G. Vergine and made his debut on 16 November 1894, at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples in the premiere of F. Morelli’s opera L’amico Francesco. He then sang for a time on provincial stages without much success. In April 1897, however, Caruso’s performances in Salerno in Donizetti’s La Favorita, Bizet’s Carmen, and especially in Verdi’s La Traviata were met with success; in May of that year, his performance in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo sparked enthusiasm, a response that was repeated in Livorno during performances of Puccini’s La Bohème. In the fall of 1897, Caruso was engaged by the Teatro Lirico in Milan; during this time, he turned to the verismo repertoire (including U. Giordano’s Mala Vita, J. Massenet’s La Navarraise and Sapho, R. Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and La Bohème, and the world premiere of F. Cilea’s L’Arlesiana). His interpretation of the role of Loris during the world premiere of Giordano’s Fedora (1898) brought Caruso a true triumph and went down in the history of Italian opera theater. From that moment on, Caruso’s international career began. During the 1898–99 and 1899–1900 seasons, he sang at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg (including Ernani, Un ballo in maschera, Verdi’s Aida, and Wagner’s Lohengrin); in the summer of 1899 he performed in Buenos Aires, and subsequently achieved great success at Rome’s Teatro Costanzi in Massenet’s Iris, Ponchielli’s La Gioconda, and Boito’s Mefistofele. During this time, thanks to his exceptionally diligent and judicious work, his voice reached its full brilliance, even in the upper register. His debut at La Scala in Puccini’s La Bohème (1899, conducted by A. Toscanini) received a cool reception due to the singer’s indisposition; it was only somewhat later that his performance in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore brought him complete success. During his performances at the opera in Warsaw (14 October – 8 November 1901), he sang leading roles in Verdi’s operas (Aida, Un ballo in maschera, Rigoletto), Puccini’s La bohème, Bizet’s Carmen, and A. Boito’s Mefistofele. He also performed with Polish singers on foreign stages: with A. Didur in A. Ponchielli’s La Gioconda (Buenos Aires, 1899) and with M. Sembrich-Kochańska in Rigoletto (Metropolitan Opera House, 1903).

In the 1901–02 season, he ventured to perform for the first time in his hometown of Naples (Teatro San Carlo). He achieved great success in Massenet’s Manon, but his performance in L’elisir d’amore was soon met with a lukewarm reception by the audience and some critics, who claimed that Caruso did not measure up to F. de Lucia, the previous performer of the role of Nemorino. Deeply hurt by this, Caruso never sang in Naples again. In February 1902, he made his debut in Monte Carlo; in March, at La Scala, he took part in the world premiere of A. Franchetti’s Germania; and in November, at the Teatro Lirico, he created the role of Maurice during the world premiere of Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, later also participating in the first performances of this opera in Lisbon, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro. In 1902, he made his first appearance at London’s Covent Garden, achieving extraordinary success (he sang, among other roles, in Mozart’s Don Giovanni) and performed there every season until 1909. In 1903, he made his debut in Verdi’s Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera House, where he was engaged on a permanent basis as a leading tenor (until December 1920), as well as on other American stages. At the Metropolitan Opera House, he sang an exceptionally wide-ranging repertoire, from Gluck’s Armida and Bellini’s lyrical La Sonnambula to heroic roles in Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delilah, Verdi’s Il Trovatore, and Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète; he also took part, among other things, in the world premiere of Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West (1910). He made guest appearances on European stages (Rome, Milan, London, Paris, and others). In December 1920, he suffered a hemorrhage during a performance of Halévy’s La Juive at the Metropolitan Opera House. Although the immediate surgery was successful, the singer, who was transported to Naples, died a few months later.

Blessed with a magnificent voice of unique timbre and rich resonance, coupled with extraordinary dramatic expression, Caruso was recognized as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century, earning the honorable title of “King of Tenors” in history. His repertoire included approximately 70 opera roles; he was also the first tenor to begin recording his performances on gramophone records on a wider scale.

Literature: J.H. Wagenmann Caruso und das Problem der Stimmbildung, Altenburg 1911; S. Fucito, B.J. Beyer Caruso and the Art of Singing, New York 1922; P.V.R. Key, B. Zirato E. Caruso. A Biography, Boston 1922, London 1923, German trans. 1924; P. M. Marafioti Caruso’s Method of Voice Production, London 1925; D. Caruso, T. Goddard Wings of Song. An Authentic Life Story of Caruso, London 1928; N. Daspuro E. Caruso, Milan 1938; D. Caruso E. Caruso. His life and Death, New York 1945, 2nd ed. 1963; H. Steen Caruso. Eine Stimme erobert die Welt, Essen 1946; J. Freestone, H.J. Drummond E. Caruso. His Recorded Legacy, London 1960; S. Niemand E. Caruso. 1873–1921. W 40 rocznicę śmierci, Katowice 1961 Biblioteka Państwowej Wyższej Szkoły Muzycznej; J.P. Mouchon E. Caruso, sa vie et sa voix, Langres 1966; J.R. Bolig The Recordings of E. Caruso, Dover (Delaware) 1973; M. Scott The Great Caruso, London 1988.