Video: Paradoxes of Enrico Caruso: What the legendary tenor was reproached with, and what he could not forgive his native Naples
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The name of the legendary Italian opera singer Enrico Caruso is known all over the world - he had a voice of a rare timbre, sang the leading parts in more than 80 operas, released about 260 recordings and got into the Guinness Book of Records as the first performer in the history of the record, whose record was sold in a million copies. It is surprising that in his hometown he vowed never to perform and in Naples he received recognition only after his death …
Enrico Caruso was originally from Naples, but for many years he erased this city from his memory. He was born into a poor family with many children. Enrico received 3 classes of primary education in a parish school, where chants were given more attention than sciences. By the age of 14, Caruso had already become the first viola in the church choir, but his father, who worked as a mechanic and foundryman, wanted his son to continue his profession, and from the age of 11 he was apprenticed to an engineer who built city fountains.
However, music from a young age became the meaning of his life. Enrique worked as a street singer, gave concerts in Italian resorts, learned opera arias on his own and dreamed of a big stage. Caruso's debut in the Neapolitan theater ended in complete failure - he was booed. This was the first blow that his hometown inflicted on him.
However, failures did not stop him - he continued to take vocal lessons, performed in provincial theaters, and at the age of 27 he signed a contract with the famous Italian opera house La Scala. In European and American capitals, an enthusiastic audience applauded him. Milan music critics have written about him as "". In popularity, only Fedor Chaliapin could compete with him then, who not only performed with him on the same stage, but also became his friend.
Caruso planned to return to Naples as a triumphant, world-renowned singer. He even agreed to perform at home for free. However, he was again awaited by severe disappointment - the local aristocrats received him very coolly, because he did not consider it necessary to bow to them before the performance. He was booed at the very beginning of the performance. After that, Caruso vowed not to perform at home. But this was not the last and not the greatest misfortune that Naples brought him.
His timbre was so unique that many legends about his performances appeared during the singer's lifetime. They said that once Caruso struck such a high note that he broke a chandelier hanging next to him. This would sound absolutely incredible if it were not for the observations of one American researcher who recorded as many vibrations per second in the singer's voice as, in principle, is enough for a window glass to burst. His voice of 2, 5 octaves amazed listeners all over the world. In Europe he was called the greatest singer, "the king of bel canto", "golden-voiced Orpheus", "the knight of the opera stage."
Even as a recognized opera star, Caruso often heard reproaches and ridicule in his address. They concerned primarily his external data - small stature, "the appearance of an innkeeper", "funny mustache", "hands of a blacksmith", etc. Most of all he was not spared by the Neapolitans, who said about him: "". Other reproaches concerned his acting talent. Some critics called him direct and expressive, while others accused him of a complete lack of acting skills. Probably the best answer to this was the words of Fyodor Chaliapin about Caruso: "".
Opera singers today call the Italian audience the most sophisticated, demanding and capricious. However, to criticism Caruso, as a true Neapolitan, was able to react with humor. Once, during his performance, one of the dissatisfied listeners threw a head of cabbage at the singer. "" - Caruso retorted. He never suffered from star fever. His second wife, American Dorothy, wrote about him: "".
In the first half of his life, he really was open, good-natured and cheerful. But when he achieved everything in the profession, the singer experienced a disaster in his personal life: his first wife, the opera singer Ada Giachetti, left him, and Caruso began to change. Although he himself did not remain faithful to her, his wife's betrayal was a heavy blow for him. After breaking up with Ada, Caruso was often depressed. And when he fell into despondency, he closed himself in his room and quietly hummed the songs of his native Naples. He ended each of his concerts with precisely these songs, which forever became a part of his soul.
After that, the singer began to have problems with his voice: a knot formed on the ligaments, then the voice disappeared for a short time. In addition, all his life he loved strong cigars and was not going to part with his bad habit. He was advised to return to Italy so that the Neapolitan sea air would restore his respiratory system. Enrico came to Naples, where the very air made him sing in the streets, but he did not perform at the opera house anymore. Unfortunately, the health problems were already irreversible - he underwent several lung operations in America, and then returned to Naples. The legendary singer passed away 2 weeks later. He was only 48 years old. He kept his promise - he did not return to his hometown to sing, but came there to die. Naples accepted him only after his death.
When one day Enrico Caruso was asked what qualities are necessary to become a great singer, he replied: "". Probably, this heart contained a lot, because Caruso's voice makes millions of hearts tremble even 98 years after the singer's departure …
Throughout the twentieth century. opera singers were equal to him and dedicated songs to him: "Caruso" by Luciano Pavarotti.
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