By
far the most famous singer of his day, Caruso (tenor) was
born in Naples in 1873 and made his debut there in 1894. He
rapidly became widely acclaimed, singing at many of the
world's major opera house: though like many of his
generation, he sang most often at the Metropolitan Opera
House,New York. He first appeared at Covent Garden in 1902.
His fame was much increased by his gramophone records,
beginning in 1902, which made him the first star of the
recording industry. His voice, which had a baritonal quality
in addition to a fine lyrical tenor tone, overcame the
considerable deficiencies of the early recording system
better than most, and it was his recordings more than any
others that established the gramophone as something more
than a mere toy. His most popular recordings have never been
out of print in one form or another (see note below).
He died in Naples on August 2, 1921.
'O
SOUVERAIN! O JUGE! O PÉRE!' (Le Cid) (Massenet)
HMV 2-03205, recorded 5 November 1916.
Because
of the limitations of acoustic recordings most of his records suggest a
rather penetrating tone - something which many modern transfers tend to
emphasize. This recording - possibly his finest, technically speaking -
shows a very warm and smooth tone and demonstrates just why he was the
superstar of his day. It was recorded in the USA for Victor, and has
been transferred at 76 rpm and has been digitally noise reduced (see
the note on the introduction page).
'È
SCHERZO, OD È FOLIA' (QUINTET) (Un Ballo in Maschera)
(Verdi)
with HEMPEL, DUCHÈNE, DE SEGUROLA & ROTHIER
Victor 89076, recorded 3 April, 1914
Although almost all Caruso's records were made in America
for Victor, in Europe one normally sees them in the various
Gramophone Company versions. Unusually, this one is a Victor
original (click here to
see the label). Though not quite as good technically as
the one above, it still gives a good idea of the voices. The
transfer is at 76 rpm and has also been digitally noise reduced.
Originally I had transferred these at 80rpm, the speed
given in the Victor catalogues of the period: however the
authoritative book by Enrico Caruso Jr. and Andrew Farkas
gives 76 rpm so I have adopted this (thanks to Steve
Jabloner for drawing my attention to this).
If you would like to download
these recordings you can do so from this page.
Opera singers were the pop stars of their era, and one of
the tributes paid to the greatest of them was to invent a
recipe in their name. I have found two
recipes and a cocktail named after Caruso.
By
far the most famous singer of his day, Caruso (tenor) was
born in Naples in 1873 and made his debut there in 1894. He
rapidly became widely acclaimed, singing at many of the
world's major opera house: though like many of his
generation, he sang most often at the Metropolitan Opera
House,New York. He first appeared at Covent Garden in 1902.
His fame was much increased by his gramophone records,
beginning in 1902, which made him the first star of the
recording industry. His voice, which had a baritonal quality
in addition to a fine lyrical tenor tone, overcame the
considerable deficiencies of the early recording system
better than most, and it was his recordings more than any
others that established the gramophone as something more
than a mere toy. His most popular recordings have never been
out of print in one form or another (see note 
