Enrico Caruso

Singer

• Born: February 25, 1873
• Birthplace: Naples, Italy
• Died: August 2, 1921
• Place of death: Naples, Italy

Italian opera singer

Caruso was hailed by many as the greatest operatic tenor of the twentieth century. With his “voice of gold,” he achieved international success that was unparalleled by any singer in his lifetime.

Area of achievement Music

Early Life

Enrico Caruso (ayn-REE-koh kah-ROO-soh) was born into a poor, working-class family. Many myths exist about his early life that have been perpetuated in numerous biographies; however, Enrico Caruso, Jr., published a large volume in 1990 from which much factual information about the family is available. Enrico Sr.’s father, Marcellino, was a factory mechanic. Of seven children, only Enrico (the third), along with his younger brother Giovanni and sister Assunta, lived to adulthood. His mother, Anna, weak from the previous births, kept Enrico alive with the help of a wet nurse. Anna and Enrico were mutually devoted to each other, and her daily devout prayers for him were often recalled by the tenor in later years. After she died, Enrico was blessed with a stepmother who, although not particularly loving with his siblings, treated him as her own son. She recognized Caruso’s musical talent and helped him seek every opportunity allowable on their limited budget.

Caruso, like all Neapolitan boys, sang in church from about age eight, and it was not long before his special talent emerged. The school organist used gifts of candy and exemptions from school work to entice Caruso to train his voice. He then exploited Caruso by having him perform for weddings and fashionable concerts, thereafter pocketing the money. Uninterested in the confinements of school, Caruso’s formal education ended at the age of eleven when he was sent home for bad behavior. Consequently, his father made him a draftsman’s apprentice at De Lucca Mechanical Laboratories, a position Caruso hated except for the drawing experience it offered. His talent for sketching was evident throughout his life in his famous caricatures of fellow singers and other important people. To please his mother, he remained there until she died.

Devoting himself solely to artistic endeavors, he refused to satisfy his father’s wishes that he train as a mechanic. Despite their disagreement, he remained at home until he was called into military service. With a few free singing lessons from Amelia Niola, their doctor’s sister, he sang wherever he could street corners, restaurants, and churches gaining happiness but little money. His drawing talent, however, brought him a small freelance income copying music.

To his despair, his treasured voice weakened after puberty and seemed to become a light baritone instead of the vibrant tenor for which he yearned. A friend, Edoardo Missiano, recognized Caruso’s unique talent and took him to his own teacher, Guglielmo Vergine. After much persuasion, Vergine agreed to teach Caruso for no fee, later demanding an outrageous contract for 25 percent of all his operatic earnings for the first five years of “actual singing time.” Caruso was only able to end the contract many years later by offering Vergine a large lump sum payment.

Vergine’s slow encouragement only seemed to make Caruso more determined. He continued to persevere until he was suddenly drafted into the army. The strenuous lifestyle made it impossible for him to protect his vocal health, and he was able to convince his superiors to honor a withdrawal plea. The price was dear, however, as his brother Giovanni was required to fulfill Caruso’s three-year obligation.

Caruso returned to Vergine and continued studying, seizing every opportunity to sing. Just a few days after a disheartening audition at the Mercadente Theater for Nicola Daspura, his first break came unexpectedly. Mario Morelli engaged him to sing in his opera L’amico Francesco (1894), which he was producing at Teatro Nuovo at his own expense, thereby needing inexpensive talent. On November 16, 1894, in a small role and stricken with stage fright, Caruso sang with enough sparkle to attract attention. A visiting impresario hired him for a season in Caserta for Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana (1890) and Charles Gounod’s Faust (1859). His vocal and dramatic skills were far from polished, but his unique vocal quality was apparent, and his operatic career had nonetheless begun.

Life’s Work

Small jobs abounded for Caruso in southern Italy, but his first recognized success came in 1897 in performances of Amilcare Ponchielli’s La gioconda (1876) in Palermo. The next year in Milan he created the role of Loris in Umberto Giordano’s Fedora (1898). Following his Buenos Aires, Argentina, debut in 1899, his biggest triumph yet came during the 1900-1901 season in the famed La Scala opera house in Milan. He sang Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini’sLa Bohème (1896) and an even more applauded Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (1832) by Gaetano Donizetti; both roles remained part of his permanent repertory. On the basis of this success, he made his Covent Garden debut in London on May 14, 1902, as the notorious Duke in Giuseppe Verdi’sRigoletto (1851). The first of many appearances there, he returned from 1904 to 1907 and 1913 to 1914. He also performed in Spain, Germany, Austria, France, and the United States with such renowned divas as Luisa Tetrazzini, Dame Nellie Melba, Geraldine Farrar, and Mary Garden.

The opera house that became a second home to the Italian, however, was the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he appeared continuously from 1903 until his death in 1921 in a total of 626 performances. He kept a home in New York hotels and spent only about two months of the year vacationing in Italy. His interpretation of the Duke in Rigoletto was the instrument for his Metropolitan debut on November 23, 1903, with the soprano Marcella Sembrich in the role of Gilda. This was followed by a long line of operas at the Metropolitan Opera, especially those by Puccini Madama Butterfly (1904), Tosca (1900), and La Bohème and other favorites such as Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1892); Verdi’s Aïda (1871), La forza del destino (1862), and Il trovatore (1852); Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (1835) and L’elisir d’amore; Friedrich von Flotow’s Martha (1847); and Georges Bizet’s Carmen (1875). He created the leading tenor role of Dick Johnson in Puccini’s La fanciulla del west (1910) in 1910. His last performance was of Eléazar in Fromental Halévy’s La Juive (1835) on December 24, 1920, a role for which he carefully prepared, even to the extent of casting a bronze bust to help him envision physical characteristics for his stage makeup.

Caruso’s exhausting performing schedule rarely produced serious vocal difficulties; however, in 1909, a nodule was removed from his vocal cords. Surprisingly, his singing showed no ill effects from the surgery.

During his career, he maintained an active family and social life. For a number of years he lived with soprano Ada Giachetti with whom he had two sons, Enrico, Jr., and Rodolfo. They parted less than amicably when she both longed for the reinstatement of her own career and also became involved with another man. Emotionally devastated, it was not until 1918 that Caruso cultivated another serious relationship. For the last three years of his life, he was happily married to Dorothy Park Benjamin with whom he had a daughter, Gloria. Caruso developed a bout with pleurisy in 1920 that was never cured. Infections plagued him until he succumbed to the disease in Naples on August 2, 1921. People everywhere mourned the tenor who had become a phenomenon in the world of opera. Buried in Italy, he was given a royal funeral. His body lay encased under glass for six years until his widow won the fight to have the sarcophagus covered.

Significance

Described as having “a voice of gold,” Caruso’s fans dubbed him the Great Caruso. Despite his lack of general education, Caruso possessed impressive aesthetic discrimination and musical instincts. In the early years, however, he was not always happy with his voice and worked diligently to correct imperfections. The lack of early consistent training was largely responsible for the discontent he felt, especially in his uppermost range. As he began to acquire professional coaching, he built the exceptional technique and freedom that for most of his life characterized the unique quality of his voice. The conductor Vincenzo Lombardi offered Caruso the first instruction on which his mature vocal technique was founded. The dark, smooth sweetness of the middle voice, combined with the ringing brilliance of the sustained top notes, became his hallmark. Caruso himself attributed his masterful command of phrasing to his solid breath control, an aspect of singing he never took for granted. His daily practice sessions included exercises for stamina and suppleness of phrasing. His physical build was also in his favor as a singer. His spacious throat and the wide resonance areas of his head were aided by a large chest cavity that he was reportedly able to expand a full nine inches on inhaling.

Audiences and fellow performers were thrilled by his brilliant yet velvet sound but were no less impressed by his warm and jovial personality. Unlike many prima donnas among his contemporaries, he was known for fairness and genuine support of his colleagues. Equally important was an uncommon sense of humor that sometimes extended to the stage and to practical jokes, for which he was remembered by more than one fellow performer.

It is almost impossible to think the word “tenor” and not have the name of Caruso resound. Those who heard him proclaimed his singing to be unlike any other. A large number of records made by the Victor Company have left a legacy that underscores that fact. Recording technology was in its infancy when Caruso began recording, and it became a very lucrative part of his existence. Between his concert fees, which had reached as high as $7000 per performance, and his record royalties, he left an estate valued at millions of dollars.

Bibliography

Caruso, Dorothy. Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1945. Intimate account of Caruso’s life, mainly during his three-year marriage to Dorothy. Biographical and historical information with photographs, complete discography, and letters to Dorothy give personal insights into his character and personality.

Caruso, Enrico, and Luisa Tetrazzini. Caruso and Tetrazzini on the Art of Singing. New York: Metropolitan, 1909. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1975. Words from the two singers and colleagues about their personal vocal regimens and advice about maintaining a healthy voice and developing a singing career.

Caruso, Enrico, Jr., and Andrew Farkas. Enrico Caruso: My Father and My Family. Portland, Oreg.: Amadeus Press, 1990. A complete source of factual information; this book corrects much previously perpetuated false information. Also contains sections on Ada and Rina Giachetti (mother and aunt of Caruso’s sons), complete lists of Caruso’s appearances, and a discography. Insights on the family from narrative and original documents.

Fucito, Salvatore, and Barnet J. Beyer. Caruso and the Art of Singing. New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1922. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1995. This book contains a brief history and a listing of Caruso’s vocal exercises, as well as practical advice to students and teachers of singing by Fucito, Caruso’s musical coach and accompanist from 1915-1921.

Jackson, Stanley. Caruso. New York: Stein and Day, 1972. Detailed history of Caruso’s personal life and career with accounts of relationships with famous colleagues and impresarios. Contains photographs and an excellent bibliography.

Midgette, Anne. “Caruso’s Tenor, a Century Later.” The New York Times, November 20, 2003. Focuses on Caruso’s life and work, including his popularity and accomplishments, and the author’s analysis of his performances.

Roddam, Catherine. “Enrico Caruso’s Landmark Recordings.” History Today 52, no. 4 (April, 2002): 6. Discusses the development of the gramophone and how Caruso’s recordings helped popularize the new invention.

Scott, Michael. The Great Caruso. New York: Knopf, 1988. Conveys a sense of the tenor’s overwhelming popularity and discusses why, even during the singer’s lifetime, he was called the Great Caruso. Contains some misinformation later corrected in the book by Enrico Caruso, Jr., but still a valid source for public response to and critical commentary on the singer’s work.

Ybarra, T. R. Caruso: The Man of Naples and the Voice of Gold. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1953. Simply stated insights on Caruso’s career and personal life by a writer who witnessed numerous memorable New York performances. Includes photographs, a list of Metropolitan Opera performances, and a bibliography.

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1901-1940: 1902: Johnson Duplicates Disc Recordings; April 11, 1902: Caruso Records for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company.