October an Italian Cultural Experience. Thirty-One Days of Italians” Day 16 The Art of the Tenor Enrico Caruso (1873 –1921), born in Naples, was an Italian tenor, who sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles on stage. Caruso also made approximately 290 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920. All of these recordings, which span most of his stage career, are available today on CDs and as digital downloads. Carusos 1904 recording of Vesti la giubba from Leoncavallos opera, Pagliacci, was the first sound recording to sell a million copies. He also appeared in silent films and participated in the first U.S. public radio broadcast in 1910. In May, 1902, Caruso debuted at the Covent Garden Opera in Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. With the help of the banker Pasquale Simonelli, he went to New York. There Caruso made his Metropolitan Opera debut in November 1903.Carusos 25-year career included 863 appearances at the New York Metropolitan Opera before he died at the age of 48. He was married to socialite, Dorothy Park Benjamin, the daughter of a wealthy New York patent lawyer. Dorothy lived until 1955 and wrote a biography about Caruso (Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death). A fastidious dresser, Caruso took two baths a day and liked good Italian food and convivial company. Caruso was superstitious and habitually carried good-luck charms with him when he sang. He played cards for relaxation and sketched friends, other singers and musicians. His favorite hobby was compiling scrapbooks. He also amassed a valuable collection of rare postage stamps, coins, watches and antique snuff boxes. Caruso was a heavy smoker of strong Egyptian cigarettes. This habit, combined with a lack of exercise and the punishing schedule of performances that Caruso willingly undertook season after season at the Met, may have contributed to the persistent ill-health which afflicted the last 12 months of his life. Listen to Caruso perform O Sole Mio Click on the link and wait the few seconds for the ad to play: https://youtube/watch?v=u1QJwHWvgP8
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 12:42:20 +0000
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