The Incomparable Enrico Caruso Quiz

Answer: Errico

He went by the name Errico (Neapolitan dialect) initially but later used the name Enrico which is the accepted more formal version. The English equivalent is Henry. He was born in Naples Feb 25, 1873 and died there on Aug 2, 1921. He was the youngest of three of seven children who survived beyond infancy.

His father, Marcellino was a local mechanic and foundry worker. His mother was Anna Baldini. His mother insisted that the young Enrico be schooled and he gained a basic education through a facility provided by the local church.

By the time he was 11, he was apprenticed to an engineer, Palmieri, helping construct water fountains. He later worked with his father at the foundry. During this time, he sang as a church choirboy and his musical potential began to emerge.

He contemplated a career in music and later, at age 16 commenced voice lessons with Guglielmo Vergine. This was the beginning of a fabulous journey for the young man, who at that stage had no idea of the international phenomenon that he would eventually become.

Answer: L'Amico Francesco

Whilst learning from Vergine, he raised cash for his family by singing in the streets of Naples and at private functions. At age 18, this was all interrupted by military service for a period of 45 days. He then resumed his tutelage under Vergine, and at age 22 made his debut in an opera, "L'Amico Francesco", which is rarely produced nowadays.

The opera was composed by Domenico Morelli and was staged in a provincial opera house. This began a series of performances for him in the non main stream venues; it was here that he met and received further training from Vincenzo Lombardi, a conductor and voice teacher who helped Caruso develop his high register, and improved his style and overall technique. During this time, he met other Lombardi students: two baritones, Antonio Scotti and Pasquale Amato, and also a tenor, Fernando de Luca.

It was destined that they would sing together at the Metropolitan Opera in New York some years later. The tenor, Fernando de Luca would sing at Caruso's funeral almost 30 years later.

He continued to sing in provincial theatres for a number of years. In 1898, Caruso created the role of Loris in Umberto Giordano's opera, "Fedora". His recording of "Amor ti Vieta" from that opera, still remains as one of his most popular pieces. In 1900 he was contracted to sing at La Scala in Milan. This was the most prestigious opera venue in Italy. The role was Rodolfo, in "La Boheme" and, to be approved, he was required to audition for the composer Giacomo Puccini with Arturo Toscanini conducting. Puccini was overwhelmed with the audition and afterwards asked "Did God himself send you to me?". Just prior to the turn of 20th century, he performed a number of concerts and operas in South America with a touring company, then in 1899-1900 he appeared before the Tsar in St Petersburg and Moscow. However, it was his recording of ten discs for the Gramophone and Typewriter company in the early 1900s that really spread his fame, and soon he made his debut at Covent Garden, and then set out to conquer America in 1903.

Answer: Rigoletto

Caruso made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on Nov 23, 1903 in "Rigoletto" by Giuseppe Verdi. It was opening night for the Metropolitan Opera season and it was to be the first of Caruso's record sequence of opening the season for the opera company, 17 consecutive times in fact. (This record was surpassed by Placido Domingo in 1999; however Caruso set his record by the age of only 48 years, whereas Placido Domingo took ten years longer.) This was the beginning of a long association with the Metropolitan, and an even bigger relationship with the American people.

In 1904, he entered into a contract with The Victor Talking-Machine Company and would soon become the first real recording star that the world had seen. This medium also spread his popularity far quicker than any live performances had done. During the off season, he toured Europe and the Americas with various impresarios giving concert performances.

He enjoyed an extraordinary following, but by way of explanation, he was a man of extraordinary talent.

More on the voice later, for indeed, it was a non typical tenor voice endowed with a beauty which set him apart from those that had come before, and those that would likely follow. As a guide to the effect that Caruso had at the Metropolitan Opera, and on the people of New York, he remains to this day in 2013 as the most popular artist the opera company has ever contracted, and the one who was always sought out by the audience as their preferred performer rather than the actual opera itself. The ticket request was for whatever Caruso was singing next, rather than for a specific opera performance. His was the case, where it was the singer, not the song which was of interest. He had become a celebrity within a few years, and the Caruso phenomenon had set its root.

Answer: The Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906

The Metropolitan Opera had scheduled a series of performances in San Francisco, and Caruso being part of the group that was on tour with the ensemble, was present at the time of the great earthquake. The earthquake struck at five am on Apr 18, 1906 and the ensuing fires destroyed most of the city.

Modern day estimates of the death toll put it at around 3000, but it was reported at about 600 at the time. None of the opera company's artists were injured, though the costumes and sets were destroyed. Using a personally autographed photograph of President Theodore Roosevelt to prove his bona fides, Caruso managed to flee the city.

He never returned. Controversy descended on Caruso in New York later that year, when he was accused of pinching a married woman's bottom near the monkey enclosure at Central Park Zoo. Caruso claimed that the perpetrator was in fact one of the monkeys and not him. Nevertheless, he was fined ten dollars, and garnered some unwanted publicity.

It was rumoured later that Caruso had been set up by the woman and her policeman friend and that some chicanery was involved in an attempt to extort money from the famous opera singer, but the incident died a quiet death, the public thought no more of it, and Caruso's career kept blossoming.

He was now regarded as the leading tenor in the world, and his burgeoning recording career spread his fame even further. Of the recordings that he made from the period 1901 - 1921, approximately 260 still exist. These recordings were pre-electric-microphone recording, and were simply wax impressions cast by a stylus mounted on a a diaphragm attached to a hornlike device. As a result, the audio quality is not truly representative of his voice, but the reproduction is remarkably good in the later recordings.

Answer: Dorothy Park Benjamin

Caruso entered into a common law relationship with a married woman in 1897. She was Ada Giachetti, a successful soprano in her own right, and the relationship lasted until 1908 when she left him in favor of the chauffeur. During the relationship, Ada bore Caruso four sons, and she was commonly referred to as Mrs. Caruso.

It was Caruso's "Star" status that allowed what at the time would have been seen to have been a scandalous situation to prevail. After the separation, a messy court case followed, but Ada and the children were well provided for, and Caruso was left to deal with his now empty life. Soon he commenced a relationship with Dorothy Park Benjamin, a New York socialite who was 25 years his junior.

They were married against the wishes of her family, on Aug 20, 1918 and they had a daughter, Gloria (1919-1999). Dorothy Park Benjamin died in 1955.

Answer: La Juive

Caruso had suffered an accident on stage early in December 1920, and never seemed to recover. A pillar from a set had fallen across his back, and he suffered some thoracic damage. His condition gradually worsened, and he was eventually incapacitated; after some consideration the doctors correctly diagnosed purulent pleurisy and empyema, which is an infection of the membrane around the lungs. Early in 1921, he underwent surgery to drain the affected area, and seemed to be recovering.

It should be noted that Caruso was a heavy smoker of a particularly strong unfiltered Egyptian/Turkish brand of cigarettes and it was likely that this habit did not help matters.

He decided that he should return to his villa "Bellasguardia" in Naples, to convalesce.

His wife, Dorothy, and his young daughter accompanied him. However, his condition worsened, and Caruso died in Naples shortly after 9 am on Aug 2, 1921. He was only 48 and the world had witnessed the passing of a phenomenon. His death made headlines around the world, and tributes and testimonials flooded the international press.

The funeral was a state affair, and his embalmed body remained on display in a sarcophagus for some extraordinary period of time. Eventually he was permanently entombed in Naples in 1929. It remains one of the most visited shrines in the world today, more than 90 years after his death.

Answer: The Glass Tenor

Caruso was in his early 20s, and had already made his debut, and it is true that he had difficulties addressing the "passagio" notes e flat through to f sharp, but this was not uncommon for most tenors with any sort of weight in the voice. Eventually it resolves itself or the singer finds another job.

The "passagio" for a singer, is the transition between the chest register and the head register. It is undoubtedly the most difficult part of the vocal range to mould and develop for male singers. It is much more difficult for the bigger voices, and Caruso's voice was, by any standard, extremely big.

He found a way to overcome his problems using his own methods which were never clearly explained, other than he did it his way. In doing so, he developed a quality in his voice which set him apart from the rest, and it is still not clear how he achieved this, although it had been addressed by expert voice production teachers and coaches since he arrived on the scene back in the late 1800s. Suffice it to say, he just found a way that worked for him, and it also produced a set of overtones in the voice that gave him incomparable interpretive capability and beauty at the same time. Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti rated Caruso in a class all his own, and Jan Pierce simply described him as an act of God, and doubted that the world would ever see his ilk again.

It is true that the acoustic recording technology which was in use at the time never really captured the true quality of his voice, but it did give an insight into the technique of the artist and his interpretive skill. To anyone who may be interested, there has been a reasonable reconstruction of what the Caruso voice would have sounded like, had it been recorded using electric microphone technology. You can sample this if you log into "youtube.com" and then key in "Enrico Caruso Live" and click on search. When the screen returns, select any of the video-clips uploaded by "lincolncar1". Prepare to be surprised!.

Answer: Rosa Ponselle

Rosa Ponselle (Jan 22, 1897- May 25, 1981) was born Rosa Ponzillo. Her operatic career began at the Metropolitan Opera house on Nov 15, 1918 in the role of "Leonora" in Verdi's "Forza del destino" with Enrico Caruso playing opposite her. She was an enormous success and went on to establish herself as one of the truly great sopranos that has graced the opera stage.

Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera was remarkable in itself, since it was largely Caruso who had orchestrated it, after hearing her sing at the request of a local voice teacher.

He was so impressed with the quality of her voice that he arranged an audition for her at the Metropolitan, where she was immediately offered a contract to sing later that month. She enjoyed many successes in the following Met seasons and went on to be regarded as the leading soprano in the world at the time.

She suffered terribly from stage fright, but managed to get past it. Her recording of "Casta Diva" from Bellini's "Norma" is arguably the best version of that famous aria by any soprano historically.

It is a haunting piece of music.

Answer: Vesti La Giubba

"Vesti La Giubba" from "Il Pagliacci" was recorded by Enrico Caruso in 1904 and was the first recording by any artist to sell a million copies or more. It is undoubtedly Caruso's most famous recording, and is sung by the clown Canio in the opera "Il Pagliacci".

The opera is about a touring troupe of entertainers, who stage shows from town to town but all things come awry when love and betrayal enter the cast. Canio's young wife is discovered to be unfaithful to him, and things become very dark from that point. Canio, the jilted husband and clown, sings the wonderfully sad aria "Vesti La Giubba" and then, being now totally demented by jealousy, proceeds with a murderous spree on stage in full view of the audience, who think its all part of the plot. I guess you could call this a classic case of life imitating art, and as far as opera plots go, this one is not too far off the mark. Such is opera.

The aria however is another story, and is a wonderful piece of music. Caruso will always be associated with "Vesti La Giubba".

Answer: Joan Baez

I just had to include this question. I was absolutely blown away when I came across this record in a second hand record sales store. Of course I bought it, and I simply smiled at what I heard. It was a tribute song to Enrico Caruso by Joan Baez. I don't think I need to elaborate on Joan Baez here. She is a legend in her own right. The song is simply a statement by Joan Baez of her recent discovery Of the art of Enrico Caruso. It's an up tempo tune. I include the lyrics here which explain it all, and in a sense, summaris the phenomenon that was Enrico Caruso.

"CARUSO"
(Words and Music by Joan Baez)

"Infinity gives me chills
So could the waters of Iceland
But there's a difference in finding diamonds in rust
And rhinestones in a dishpan
Miracles bowl me over
And often will they do so
Now I think I was asleep till I heard
The voice of the great Caruso

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
Or Caruso in his prime

A friend of mine gave me a tape
She'd copied from a record disc
It was made at the turn of the century
And found in a jacket labeled "misc."
And midst cellos, harps, and flugelhorns
With the precision of a hummingbird's heart
Was the lord of the monarch butterflies
One-time ruler of the world of art

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
or Caruso in his prime

Yes, the king of them all was Enrico
Whose singular chest could rival
A hundred fervent Baptists
Giving forth in a tent revival
True he was a vocal miracle
But that's only secondary
It's the soul of the monarch butterfly
That I find a little bit scary

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
Or Caruso in his prime

Perhaps he's just a vehicle
To bear us to the hills of Truth
That's Truth spelled with a great big T
And peddled in the mystic's booth
There are oh so many miracles
That the western sky exposes
Why go looking for lilacs
When you're lying in a bed of roses?

Bring infinity home
Let me embrace it one more time
Make it the lilies of the field
Or Caruso in his prime"

© 1976, 1977 Gabriel Earl Music (ASCAP)