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Notes

Literature

In Russian

• Bulygin A.K. Caruso M.: Young Guard, 2010. 438 p. (Life of Remarkable People: Ser. Biogr.; Issue 1264).
• Ilyin Yu., Mikheev S. Great Caruso. St. Petersburg: Glagol, 1995. 264 p.
• Tortorelli W. Enrico Caruso / Per. from Italian. N. V. Vishnevskaya; General edition of I. I. Martynov. - M .: Music, 1965. - 176, p. - 75,000 copies.
• Fuchito S., Beyer B. J. The Art of Singing and the Vocal Method of Enrico Caruso / Per. with him. St. Petersburg: Composer, 2004. 56 p.
• Enrico Caruso on stage and in life / per. from English. P.P.Malkova; general edition of M.P. Malkov. - M .: Agraf, 2002. - 480 p. - (Magical flute). - 1500 copies. - ISBN 5-7784-0206-6.
• Malkov M.P. / Enrico Caruso on stage and in life: M. Agraf, 2002, pp. 450-460.

in foreign languages

• Bolig, J. R. Caruso records: a history and discography. Mainspring Press, 2002. 216 p.
• Caruso, Dorothy. Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death, with discography by Jack Caidin. Grant Press, 2007. 316 p.
• Caruso D., Goddard, T. Wings Of Song. New York, 1928. 220 p.
• Caruso, Enrico, Jr. Caruso's Caricatures. Dover Publications, 1993. 214 p.
• Caruso, Enrico, Jr. My Father and My Family (Opera Biography Series, No. 2). Amadeus Press, 2003. 488 p.
• Fucito, Salvatore. Caruso and the Art of Singing. Dover Publications, 1995. 224 p.
• Gara, Eugenio, Caruso: Storia di un emigrante. Milan: Rizzoli, 1947. 281 p.
• Gargano, Pietro & Cesarini, Gianni. Caruso, Vita e arte di un grande cantante. Longanesi, 1990. 336 p.
• Gargano, Peter. Una vita una leggenda. Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori, 1997. 159 p.
• Greenfield, Howard S. Caruso: An Illustrated Life. Trafalgar Square Publishing, 1991. 192 p.
• Jackson, Stanley. Caruso. Stein And Day Publishers. New York, 1972. 302 p.
• Key P. V. R., Zirato B., Enrico Caruso: A Biography. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1922. 459 p.
• Michele, Mary di. Tenor of Love: A Novel. Penguin Canada, 2004. 336 p.
• Mouchon, Jean-Pierre. Enrico Caruso: His Life and Voice. Gap, France: Editions Ophrys, 1974. 74 p.
• Robinson, Francis. Caruso His Life in Pictures. With discography by John Secrist. N. York and London Studio Publications, inc., 1957. 159 p.
• Scott, Michael. The Great Caruso. Northeastern University Press, 1989. 322 p.
• Vaccaro, Riccardo. Caruso. Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1995. 466 p.
• Ybarra, T. E. Caruso: the Man of Naples and the Voice of Gold. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1953. 315 p.

see also

• in "100 Great Vocalists"

Links

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An excerpt characterizing Caruso, Enrico

He looked at her, and the earnest passion of her countenance struck him. Her face said: “Why ask? Why doubt that which is impossible not to know? Why talk when you can’t express what you feel in words.
She approached him and stopped. He took her hand and kissed it.
– Do you love me?
“Yes, yes,” Natasha said as if with annoyance, sighed loudly, another time, more and more often, and sobbed.
– About what? What's wrong with you?
“Oh, I’m so happy,” she answered, smiled through her tears, leaned closer to him, thought for a second, as if asking herself if it was possible, and kissed him.
Prince Andrei held her hands, looked into her eyes, and did not find in his soul the former love for her. Something suddenly turned in his soul: there was no former poetic and mysterious charm of desire, but there was pity for her feminine and childish weakness, there was fear of her devotion and gullibility, a heavy and at the same time joyful consciousness of the duty that bound him forever with her. The real feeling, although it was not as light and poetic as the former, was more serious and stronger.
“Did maman tell you that it couldn’t be before a year?” - said Prince Andrei, continuing to look into her eyes. “Is it really me, that child girl (everyone said so about me) thought Natasha, is it possible that from now on I am a wife, equal to this strange, sweet, intelligent person, respected even by my father. Is that really true! Is it really true that now it is no longer possible to joke with life, now I am big, now responsibility for all my deeds and words lies on me? Yes, what did he ask me?
“No,” she answered, but she did not understand what he was asking.
“Forgive me,” said Prince Andrei, “but you are so young, and I have already experienced so much life. I'm scared for you. You don't know yourself.
Natasha listened with concentrated attention, trying to understand the meaning of his words, but did not understand.
“No matter how hard this year will be for me, postponing my happiness,” continued Prince Andrei, “during this period you will believe yourself. I ask you to make my happiness in a year; but you are free: our engagement will remain a secret, and if you are convinced that you do not love me, or would love ... - said Prince Andrei with an unnatural smile.
Why are you saying this? Natasha interrupted him. “You know that from the very day you first came to Otradnoe, I fell in love with you,” she said, firmly convinced that she was telling the truth.
- In a year you will recognize yourself ...
- A whole year! - Natasha suddenly said, now only realizing that the wedding was postponed for a year. - Why is it a year? Why a year? ... - Prince Andrei began to explain to her the reasons for this delay. Natasha didn't listen to him.
- And it can not be otherwise? she asked. Prince Andrei did not answer, but his face expressed the impossibility of changing this decision.
- This is terrible! No, it's terrible, terrible! Natasha suddenly spoke up and sobbed again. “I’ll die waiting for a year: it’s impossible, it’s terrible. - She looked into the face of her fiancé and saw on him an expression of compassion and bewilderment.
“No, no, I’ll do everything,” she said, suddenly stopping her tears, “I’m so happy!” The father and mother entered the room and blessed the bride and groom.
From that day on, Prince Andrei began to go to the Rostovs as a groom.

There was no betrothal, and no one was announced about Bolkonsky's engagement to Natasha; Prince Andrew insisted on this. He said that since he was the cause of the delay, he must bear the full burden of it. He said that he had forever bound himself with his word, but that he did not want to bind Natasha and gave her complete freedom. If in six months she feels that she does not love him, she will be in her own right if she refuses him. It goes without saying that neither the parents nor Natasha wanted to hear about it; but Prince Andrei insisted on his own. Prince Andrei visited the Rostovs every day, but not like a groom treated Natasha: he told her you and only kissed her hand. Between Prince Andrei and Natasha, after the day of the proposal, completely different than before, close, simple relations were established. They didn't seem to know each other until now. Both he and she loved to remember how they looked at each other when they were still nothing, now they both felt like completely different beings: then pretended, now simple and sincere. At first, the family felt awkward in dealing with Prince Andrei; he seemed like a man from an alien world, and Natasha for a long time accustomed her family to Prince Andrei and proudly assured everyone that he only seemed so special, and that he was the same as everyone else, and that she was not afraid of him and that no one should be afraid his. After a few days, the family got used to him and did not hesitate to lead the old way of life with him, in which he took part. He knew how to talk about housekeeping with the count, and about outfits with the countess and Natasha, and about albums and canvases with Sonya. Sometimes the family Rostovs among themselves and under Prince Andrei were surprised at how all this happened and how obvious the omens of this were: both the arrival of Prince Andrei in Otradnoye, and their arrival in Petersburg, and the similarity between Natasha and Prince Andrei, which the nanny noticed on the first visit Prince Andrei, and the clash in 1805 between Andrei and Nikolai, and many other omens of what happened, were noticed at home.
The house was dominated by that poetic boredom and silence that always accompanies the presence of the bride and groom. Often sitting together, everyone was silent. Sometimes they got up and left, and the bride and groom, remaining alone, were also silent. Rarely did they talk about their future lives. Prince Andrei was scared and ashamed to talk about it. Natasha shared this feeling, like all his feelings, which she constantly guessed. Once Natasha began to ask about his son. Prince Andrei blushed, which often happened to him now and that Natasha especially loved, and said that his son would not live with them.
- From what? Natasha said scared.
“I can’t take him away from my grandfather and then…”
How I would love him! - said Natasha, immediately guessing his thought; but I know you want no pretexts to accuse you and me.
The old count sometimes approached Prince Andrei, kissed him, asked him for advice on the upbringing of Petya or the service of Nikolai. The old countess sighed as she looked at them. Sonya was afraid at any moment to be superfluous and tried to find excuses to leave them alone when they did not need it. When Prince Andrei spoke (he spoke very well), Natasha listened to him with pride; when she spoke, she noticed with fear and joy that he was looking at her attentively and searchingly. She asked herself in bewilderment: “What is he looking for in me? What is he trying to achieve with his eyes? What, if not in me what he is looking for with this look? Sometimes she entered into her insanely cheerful mood, and then she especially liked to listen and watch how Prince Andrei laughed. He rarely laughed, but when he laughed, he gave himself over to his laughter, and every time after this laughter she felt closer to him. Natasha would have been perfectly happy if the thought of the forthcoming and approaching parting had not frightened her, since he, too, turned pale and cold at the mere thought of it.
On the eve of his departure from Petersburg, Prince Andrei brought with him Pierre, who had never been to the Rostovs since the ball. Pierre seemed confused and embarrassed. He was talking to his mother. Natasha sat down with Sonya at the chess table, thus inviting Prince Andrei to her. He approached them.

First of all, there is no doubt about it. It was a brilliant artist. Performing on stage for 26 years, for the last 15 he proudly bore the title of “King of Tenors”, and ten years before his death he was recognized as the greatest singer of his era, which, if they talk about opera performance, is still called: “Karuzovskaya”.

MATER'S BIOGRAPHY

Enrico Caruso was born on February 25, 1873 in the family of the most ordinary auto mechanic. The parents of the future singer - Anna Maria and Marcello Caruso - lived very poorly, but our today's hero always called them very kind and open people. The descriptions of Caruso's childhood are interesting. You can learn a lot of interesting things about the outstanding tenor from Alexei Bulygin's book "Caruso" from the "Life of Remarkable People" series. Just listen:

“Of the seven children in the Caruso family, only three survived - Errico (Enrico in the Neapolitan manner), Giovanni and Assunta. What was the reason for such a high infant mortality rate in Naples? The tenor's son, Enrico Caruso Jr., reflects on this:

It was believed that people were dying from the "Neapolitan fever" (as typhoid fever and cholera were colloquially called). At that time in Naples, filth reigned everywhere. There were no sewage treatment facilities. The poor lived in so-called bassies - rooms on the first floors of buildings designed as warehouses - without windows, running water and toilets. Doors that opened directly onto the street served as the only source of ventilation and were closed at night. Many families lived in the same room with chickens and goats, because at night the livestock on the street could simply be stolen.

In the morning, the housewives took out the excrement of the animals and emptied the chamber pots, pouring their contents into the gutter. Garbage that was thrown directly onto the street was washed away by the slow waters of city fountains or collected by street scavengers, who dumped it into the bay at the end of the working day.

... Food was cooked on coals right on the sidewalk. From the open, dirty cauldrons, there was a smell of rotting scraps.

A spaghetti vendor walked the streets of the city pushing a cart full of cooked pasta, a container of sauce, and a charcoal burner. He reheated a portion in boiling water, served it on a piece of yellow cardboard, in passing wondering if sauce was needed. If so, he took a full spoonful of the sauce and with a full exhalation spread it over the entire serving of spaghetti ... "

Unsanitary conditions reigned everywhere in Naples. Picturesque sketches depict the life of the poor, who in those years simply could not afford better conditions.

However, Caruso's biography is full of a variety of myths that contrast sharply with his real life facts.

NOBLE MILK

There is a version that, despite the origin of a poor family, Caruso was fed the "countess's milk." “Neapolitan fever” in the year of Enrico’s birth, Caruso’s house went around, but the young mother of Anna Caruso lost her milk, so a familiar countess helped her feed the baby, whose child died at that time. According to family legend, a noble lady took care of the boy, taught him to read and write, and when Anna was sick, she sent her fruit baskets.

In 1884, another cholera epidemic broke out in Naples, killing thousands of people. Errico saw how his acquaintances and friends died in terrible agony, how corpses were dumped into a huge pit dug near the city, how hordes of huge rats rushed through the streets, expelled from cellars with antiseptic chemicals.

It was impossible to hide from cholera either at home or in church. On the street where the Caruso family lived, in one day the disease claimed the lives of more than 40 families. Anna Caruso tirelessly prayed that trouble would pass her house, she believed that cholera did not affect her family because her beloved Errico sang in the church choir.

Over time, professional singers and musicians began to work with the young man.

Soon, Caruso's mother died due to illness. Some time later, due to the plight of his family, the singer began to perform church compositions right on the central streets of Naples. In this way, he earned money for a long time. During one of these "street concerts" Caruso was noticed by one of the teachers of the vocal school, Guglielmo Vergine.

The young singer was invited to audition, and very soon Enrique Caruso became
study music with the famous conductor and teacher Vincenzo Lombardi. It was he who organized the first concerts of the young performer in the bars and restaurants of the resort areas of Naples. Some time later, Enrico felt popular for the first time. Many people always came to his concerts. Soon after the performances, well-known representatives of the Italian music industry began to approach him often, who offered certain contracts to the talented performer. Thus, our today's hero first appeared in Palermo.

STAR HOUR

According to many researchers, it was after the legendary performance of the role of Enzo from the opera La Gioconda that the twenty-four-year-old Caruso was talked about as an established star of the Italian stage. Star Trek Enrico Caruso After this triumphant success, Enrico went on his first foreign tour. Oddly enough, the musician's route lay in distant and cold Russia. This was followed by performances in other countries and cities.

And already in 1900, as a full-fledged celebrity, Caruso first performed on the stage of the legendary Milan theater "La Scala". After that, our today's hero again went on tour. During this period, the great Italian performed in London's Covent Garden, and also gave concerts in Hamburg, Berlin and some other cities. The singer's performances were held with constant success, but the concerts of the Italian performer on the New York stage of the Metropolitan Opera became truly magical and inimitable. Having performed here for the first time in 1903, subsequently our today's hero became the leading soloist of this theater for almost twenty years.

Caruso's repertoire included both lyrical and dramatic parts. However, our today's hero has always coped with any operatic works with the same virtuosity. In addition, it is also worth noting the fact that throughout his career, Caruso always included traditional Neapolitan songs in his repertoire. Perhaps that is why today Enrico remains one of the most famous natives of Naples and all of Italy. It is also noteworthy that it was Enrico Caruso who became one of the first opera performers on the world stage who decided to record his repertoire on gramophone records. To a large extent, it was this circumstance that predetermined the world popularity of the tenor, and made his work accessible to the masses. Already during his lifetime, Enrico Caruso was called a legend of vocal art. This outstanding tenor remains a role model for many contemporary performers as well.

DEATH OF CARUSO, CAUSE OF DEATH

Enrico Caruso performed and toured extensively. Therefore, the news of his death was largely unexpected for his fans in different countries of the world.

Therefore, the news of his death was largely unexpected for his fans in different countries of the world. Enrico Caruso died of purulent pleurisy At the age of 48, the great tenor died in his native Naples as a result of purulent pleurisy. After his death, a special huge wax candle was made in memory of the outstanding opera performer. It was promised that every year this candle would be lit before the face of the holy Madonna. According to some estimates, only after 500 years the gigantic candle should burn out.

In the book of Alexei Bulygin "Caruso" you can find the memories of colleagues and admirers of the great tenor:

In one of the interviews, our contemporary, tenor Nicola Martinuccii, when asked which of his singers he likes to listen to most, answered:

- Of course Caruso. When I listen to it, I want to beat my head against the wall in desperation - how can you sing after that?!

As the means of sound recording developed in Europe and America, work was carried out to preserve and restore the records of the “king of tenors”. With the help of editing, orchestral accompaniment was superimposed on recordings of Caruso's voice, giving the numbers a less archaic sound. In this updated form, Caruso's records were produced (still in huge numbers) throughout the 1950s and 1980s.

Even during his lifetime, the name Caruso became a household name, personifying the highest form of giftedness in the vocal sphere. The best compliment to a tenor is to put his name next to Caruso. So, the Warsaw cantor Gershon Sirota is called the "Jewish Caruso", Jussi Bjerling - Swedish, Leo Slezak - Austrian, Mario Lanz - American.

MEMORY OF CARUSO

In 1951, 30 years after the death of the singer, two films were released - In America - "The Great Caruso", in Italy - "Enrico Caruso: Legend of One Voice".

The credits of the first of them indicate that the events of the films are based on a book written by Dorothy Caruso, the widow of the artist.

The success of "The Great Carouso" was officially secured by the "Oscar", the following years the film approved in the minds of the audience ... an absolutely distorted image of Caruso.

(1873-1921) Italian opera singer

There is nothing unusual in the biography of Enrico Caruso. Like many other outstanding singers, he owes his success to excellent vocal skills, diligence and luck. Caruso's creative formation took place at a time when there was no question of any modern "promotion" with the help of video recordings or disks.

Nevertheless, Enrico Caruso became known to our contemporaries, since it was he who introduced the mandatory recordings on records into the practice of the singer, thanks to which his magnificent voice was preserved. It was about him that the great conductor Arturo Toscanini once said: "This Neapolitan made the whole world talk about himself." Despite the fact that, it would seem, everyone sings in Italy, the boy's talent was noticed in childhood. He was born in Naples in the family of a watchman and by the age of sixteen he already had a sonorous voice, skillfully accompanying himself on the guitar. However, he did not stop there and began to take lessons from the pianist Schirardi and maestro de Lutno. The famous baritone singer Missiano taught Caruso several popular songs. And on holidays and on days of great events, Enrico sang in the choir at the Church of St. Anna.

The first success came to him in 1888, when the teacher of the church institute, Father Bronzetti, chose him to perform the part in M. Fasanaro's one-act opera The Robbers in a small theater at the church. At that time, Enrico studied at the evening gymnasium.

Once his voice was heard by the singer G. Vergine. He immediately appreciated his capabilities and persuaded Father Enrico to send his son to the Bel Canto Temple, as the singing school was then called, which was led by Vergine himself. There, under his guidance, the talent of the young man began to fully reveal itself. The father agreed to give his son to get rid of the extra mouth, he did not really believe in the promises of the maestro. But the young man himself by that time was already infected with art and greedily rushed to study the history and art of singing.

Soon the teacher showed his student to the famous tenor Masini, who found that Enrico Caruso had a voice of unique beauty, but it still needed to be developed and improved. The assessment was flattering and promising, but Caruso was young, he wanted to be famous right now, and here he had to humble his temperament, deprive himself of many pleasures. However, thanks to iron discipline, great hard work and, to a large extent, ambition, Enrico Caruso eventually became what millions of fans know him to be.

The singer's path to great art was not strewn with roses. His debut in Morelli's Friend Francesco in 1894-1895 went unnoticed. Only a year later, thanks to the efforts of the impresario F. Zucchi, he experienced his first success in Gaetano Donizetti's opera The Favorite. Now he receives invitations to sing all over Italy. And Caruso makes his first tour, performing in Alexandria, Caserta, Messina, Salerno, Sicily.

Enrico Caruso gains material stability and at the same time becomes addicted. He is engaged for the whole season, but the performance fee is still minimal. True, in Palermo he will perform together with the famous soprano A. Giacchetti-Botti, who had not only a beautiful appearance, but also a dramatic talent. Caruso immediately fell in love with her, later Ada responded to his feelings, but their relationship was very difficult. From Ada, Caruso had two sons, whom he later took with him to New York, because Ada constantly toured. She did not agree to leave the stage in order to devote herself to the family. In the end, this led to a break. For some time, Ada's sister, Rina, helped the singer raise her sons, but soon she left his house. Only ten years later, in 1918, real happiness finally came to the singer. He met Dorothy Blacklenk and fell in love with her with a passionate, youthful love. They soon married, despite the protests of Dorothy's parents. She became a real mother to the sons of Enrico Caruso. Soon, Enrico and Dorothy had their own daughter, who was named Gloria. Now the singer was truly happy.

The real debut of Caruso took place on the stage of the Milan theater "La Scala" in November 1897. According to tradition, only after success on this famous stage did the singer gain true recognition and the paths to all stages of the world opened before him. The success of Enrico Caruso grew from performance to performance, and at the end of the month he was offered a contract with an unprecedented amount of payment - a thousand lire for one exit.

Only one city did not accept the fame of the singer - his native Naples. The local theatrical bosses could not forgive the great tenor that he gave free performances and deprived them of their earnings. A scandal was being prepared, but Caruso's talent won. As elsewhere, the performance ended with a standing ovation. After that, the singer vowed never to sing on the Neapolitan stage again. Nevertheless, he returned to Naples every year, spent time with friends, sang a lot and willingly for them.

He had a chance to perform on the stages of almost all the leading theaters in the world. The most successful year for the singer was 1902, when he performed with Nelly Melba in Monte Carlo. International fame came to him after a successful performance in the same year at the Covent Garden Theater in London. But almost every year, Enrico Caruso found time to perform on the stage of La Scala.

By the age of thirty, his repertoire included more than fifty operas. He selected material very carefully and could learn a game he liked in just a few days. Here is what the outstanding Polish pianist I. Paderewski recalled about his voice: “The secret of Caruso’s success lies in the wonderful fusion of the singer’s emotions, inner expressiveness and technique, which gave his art beauty, emotionality, amazing listeners.”

In the year of his thirtieth birthday, Enrico Caruso crossed another important milestone - he performed on the stage of the American Metropolitan Opera. Although by this time he had traveled almost the whole world, it was this scene that was considered the highest point in the career of any performer. He made his debut in New York as the Duke in Verdi's Rigoleto at the Metropolitan Opera and conquered the American public forever. After the very first performance, the director of the theater signed a contract with Caruso for a whole year. So the maestro settled in New York.

Subsequently, Enrico Caruso regularly appeared on this stage until the last year of his performances - 1920. In total, he sang in almost 40 operas, participating in more than 600 performances.

The repertoire of Enrico Caruso is amazing: he knew more than a hundred operas in different languages, and sang in more than eighty of them. In addition, he performed countless songs of any genre, singing in English, French, German and Spanish, from classical church music to Italian romances of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Despite his somewhat obese figure, Caruso was considered a good actor. In the US, he has appeared in several sound films. In addition, he recorded a lot and successfully on records: he became the first singer in history to retain almost all of his performances on records.

The singer's own musical work was not extensive: he left behind several romances - "Old Times", "Serenade", "Sweet Torments" (the latter was written together with Berthelemy).

He was also known as a brilliant draftsman, cartoonist, who left hundreds of caricatures of his friends and acquaintances - Kreisler, Leoncavallo, Safonov, Toscanini, Tirendelli. Together with photographs of Enrico Caruso, where he was depicted in various roles, these cartoons were published from 1906 in New York by the weekly Follia.

The last year of his life was very dramatic for Enrico Caruso. During a performance of the opera Elixir of Love at the Brooklyn Academy, he began to cough up blood. Little did the great tenor know then that his last work would be the role of Eleazar in Alevi's The Cardinal's Daughter at the Metropolitan Opera on Christmas Day 1920. He underwent emergency lung surgery. The doctors did everything in their power, and the singer's condition began to improve. But he could no longer perform on stage. Before leaving for Naples, Caruso recommended the director of the theater to the young singer. It was Beniamino Gigli, who was starting his journey, the future great singer, who became a worthy successor to Caruso.

To finally restore his strength, the maestro moved to Naples. But the disease did not recede, and in August 1921 he died, mourned by many of his fans. He was buried in a crystal coffin placed in a special chapel. Only fifteen years later the coffin was closed and the body was buried.

Even during the lifetime of the outstanding singer, many musical works were dedicated to him, and this tradition has survived to this day. The popular Italian singer Lucio Dalla, for example, created a song called “Caruso” and recorded it with another great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti. And another brilliant tenor - Mario Lanza - played the role of a singer in the film "The Great Caruso", thereby also paying tribute to his memory.