`sō, Ital. änrē`kō kär`zō), 1873–1921, Italian operatic tenor, b. Naples. The natural beauty, range, and power of his voice made him one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. He studied for three years with Guglielmo Vergine and made his operatic debut in Naples in 1894. His first major success came in London in 1902, and he achieved even greater triumph with his American debut in 1903 at the Metropolitan Opera as the duke in Rigoletto. He remained the reigning favorite at the Metropolitan until a short time before his death (from pleurisy). He sang more than 50 roles in Italian and French operas, such as La Traviata, Aida, La Bohème, Tosca, and Carmen. After his death his recordings perpetuated his fame.
Bibliography
See biographies by D. P. B. Caruso (new ed. 1963) and S. Jackson (1972).
Caruso, Enrico
orig. Errico Caruso(born Feb. 25, 1873, Naples, Italy—died Aug. 2, 1921, Naples) Italian tenor. Apprenticed to a mechanical engineer at age 10, at 18 he began to sing in public in his free time. He attracted the notice of a teacher and made his professional debut in 1894. He sang his best-known role, Canio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, for the first time in 1896. He recovered from a disastrous La Scala debut in 1900 and within two years had gained the high notes that made him an international star and a legend. He sang at the Metropolitan Opera (1903–20) in almost 60 roles, becoming the most famous male opera star of his time. His warm, appealing tenor voice of great emotive power made his recordings (which include some of the first vocal recordings ever made) best-sellers for decades after his death.
Caruso, Enrico
Born Feb. 24 (other sources give 25 or 27), 1873, in Naples; died there Aug. 2, 1921. Italian singer (tenor).
In his youth Caruso sang in a church choir and from 1891 studied under G. Vergine. He made his debut in 1894 at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples. He toured Italy between 1895 and 1898 and in 1900–01 sang at La Scala in Milan. Caruso was a leading soloist at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York (1903–20), toured triumphantly from 1898 in many countries (Russia, 1898 and 1900), and performed yearly in Italy.
Caruso was one of the most admired opera singers in the world; his voice, with an extraordinary range, beautiful timbre, and unusual strength, abounded in warmth of feeling. His brilliant acting and strength and passion in singing enabled Caruso to perform a range of tenor roles from lyric to tragic. His best parts were the Duke, Manrico, and Radamès in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and Aida; Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore; Faust in Boito’s Mefistofele; Canio in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci; Turiddu in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana; Rudolfo, Cavaradossi, and Des Grieux in Puccini’s La Bohème, Tosca, and Manon Lescaut; Don José in Bizet’s Carmen; Eleazar in Halévy’s La Juive; and Lionel in Flotow’s Martha. Caruso performed Neapolitan songs with exceptional fervor.
WORKS
“Kak nuzhno pet’.” TeatraVnaia gazeta, 1914, nos. 16–18.REFERENCES
L’vov, M. “E. Karuzo.” Sovetskaia muzyka, 1955, no. 1, pp. 98–100.Tortorelli, V. E. Karuzo. Moscow, 1965. (Translated from Italian.)
Fucito, S., and B. J. Beyer. Iskusstvo peniia i vokaVnaia metodika E. Karuzo, 2nd ed. Leningrad, 1967. (Translated from German.)
Daspuro, N. E. Caruso. [Milan] 1938.
Mouchon, J.-P. Enrico Caruso: Sa Vie et sa voix. Langres, 1966.
Lauri-Volpi, G. Voci parallele. Milan, 1955. (In Russian translation: VokaVnye paralleli. Leningrad, 1972. Pages 158–169.)
S. M. GRISHCHENKO
Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content.
| ?Page tools | ||
|---|---|---|
|