ANONYMOUS
(Folk Song) Vieni
sul mar
Adolphe-Charles
ADAM (1803 – 1856) Cantique de
Noel
Fermin Maria ALVAREZ
(?-1898) A Granada; La Partida
Anton y MICHELENA
A la luz de la luna
Colombino ARONA
(b. 1885) La Campana di San Giusto
Richard BARTHELEMY
Trise ritorno
Richard BARTHELEMY
and Enrico
CARUSO Adorables tourments (Valse
Lente)
James Carroll
BARTLETT (1850 – 1929) A Dream
Vincenzo BILLI
(1869 – 1938) Campane a sera
Georges BIZET
(1838 – 1875) Agnus Dei; La fleur
que tu m’avais jetée (Carmen);
Parle-moi de ma mère (Carmen);
Au Fond du temple saint (Les
Pecheurs de Perles); Je crois entendre
(Les Pecheurs de Perles); De mon
amie, fleur endormie (Les Pecheurs
de Perles)
Arrigo BOITO
(1842 – 1918) Dai campi, dai
prati (Mefistofele); Giunto sul
passo estremo (Mefistofele).
C. A. BRACCO (fl.
1885) Serenata
Arturo BUZZI-PECCIA
(1856 – 1943) Lolita
Salvatore CARDILLO
(1874 – 1947) Core ’ngrato
Enrico CARUSO
(1873 – 1921) Dreams of Long
Ago; Tiempo antico;
Ruperto CHAPI
(1851 – 1909) Flores Purisimas
(El Milagro de la Virgen)
Vincenzo Legrenzio
CIAMPI (1719 – 1762) Nina
Francesco CILEA
(1866 – 1950) No, piu nobile
(Adriana Lecouvreur)
M. S. CIOCIANO
Cielo turchino
George M. COHAN
(1878 – 1942) Over There
Mario P. COSTA
Sei morta ne la vita mia
Guglielmo COTTRAU
Fenesta che lucive
Teodoro COTTRAU
(1827 – 1879) L’addio a Napoli;
Santa Lucia
Guy D’HARDELOT
(Mrs. W.I. Rhodes) (1838 – 1936)
Because
Vincenzo de CRESCENZO
(b. 1875) Guardanno a luna; Premiere
caresse; Tarantella sincera; Uocchie
celeste;
Ernesto de CURTIS
(1875 – 1937) Canta pe’me; Senza
nisciuno; Tu ca nun chiagne;
Luigi DENZA (1846
– 1922) Non t’amo piu; Si vous l’aviez
compris;
Eduardo di CAPUA
(1865 – 1917) O sole mio
Stefano DONAUDY
(1879 – 1925) Vaghissima sembianza
Gaetano DONIZETTI
(1797 – 1848) Com’e gentil
(Don Pasquale); Deserto in terra
(Don Sebastiano); Angelo casto e
bel (Il Duca d’Alba); Una furtiva
lagrima (L’Elisir d’Amore); Venti
Scudi! (L’Elisir d’Amore); Spirito
genril, ne’sogni miei (La Favorita);
Chi mi frena in tal momento? (Sextet)
(Lucia di Lamermoor)
Jean-Baptiste
FAURÉ (1830 – 1914) Crucifix;
Les rameaux; Sancta Maria;
Friedrich von
FLOTOW (1812 – 1883) Ma’appari
tutt’amor (Marta); Presto, presto
andiam (Marta); Solo profugo
reietto (Marta); Dormi Pur -
Goodnight Quartet (Marta)
Alberto FRANCHETTI
(1860 – 1942) Ah, vieni qui
(Germania); Studenti! Udite!
(Germania);
César FRANCK
(1822 – 1890) La procession
Salvatore FUCITO
(1875 – 1929) Scordame; Sultanto
a te;
Clarence G. GARTNER
Love is Mine; Trusting Eyes
Stanislao GASTALDON
(1861 – 1939) Musica proibita
Henry Ernest GEEHL
(1881 – 1961) For you Alone
Giuseppe GIOE
(1890 – 1957) L’m’arricordo ’e
Napule
Umberto GIORDANO
(1867 – 1948) Come un bel di
di maggio (Andrea Chenier); Improvviso
(Andrea Chenier); Amor ti vieta
(Feodora);
Benjamin GODARD
(1849 – 1895) Chanson de Juin
Karl GOLDMARK
(1830 – 1915) Magiche Note (Die
Königin von Saba)
Carlos GOMES
(1836 – 1896) Sento una forza
indomita (Il Guarany); Quando
nascesti tu (O Escravo); Mia
piccirella (Salvator Rosa)
Charles GOUNOD
(1818 – 1893) Eh! quoi! toujours
seule? (Faust); Eternelle! O
nuit d’amour (Faust); Alerte!
ou vous êtes perdues (Faust);
A moi les plaisirs (Faust); Salut
demeure chaste et pure (Faust);
Seigneur Dieu; que vois-je (Faust);
Inspirez mois, race divine (La
Reine de Saba);
Jules GRANIER
Hosanna
J.F. Fromental
HALÉVY (1799 – 1862) Rachel,
quand du Seigneur (La Juive)
George Frideric
HANDEL (1685 – 1759) Ombra mai
fu (Serse)
Percy B. KAHN
Ave Marie
Ruggero LEONCAVALLO
(1857 – 1919) No! Pagliaccio
non son (I Pagliacci); Vesti
la giubba (I Pagliacci); Io no
ho che una povera stanzetta (La
Boheme); Testa adorata (La Boheme);
Lasciati amar; Les Deus serenades;
Mattinata
Jean-Baptiste
LULLY (1632 – 1687) Bois epais
(Amadis de Gaule)
Pietro MASCAGNI
(1863 – 1945) Brindisi (Cavalleria
rusticana); Addio alla madre
(Cavalleria rusticana); Siciliana
(Cavalleria rusticana); Serenata
(Iris);
A MASCHERONI Eternamente
Jules MASSENET
(1842 – 1912) Elégie;
O Souverain, O Juge, O Père
(Le Cid); Chiudo gli occhi (Manon);
Ah, fuyez, douce image (Manon);
On l’appelle Manon (Manon)
Giacomo MEYERBEER
(1791 – 1864) Bianca al par di
neve (Les Huguenots); Qui sotto
il ciel (Les Huguenots); Deh
ch’io ritorni (L’Africaine);
O Paradiso (L’Africaine)
Louis Abraham
NIEDERMEYER (1802 – 1861) Pieta
Signore
Emanuele NUTILE
Mamma mi ache vo sape
Geoffrey O’HARA
(1882 – 1967) Your Eyes have
told me what I did not know
Alessio OLIVIERI
Inno di Garibaldi
Gaetano Enrico
PENNINO Pecche
Antonio PINI-CORSI
(1859 – 1918) Tu non mi vuoi
piu ben
Robert PLANQUETTE
(1848 – 1903) Le Régiment
de Sambre et Meuse
Amilcare PONCHIELLI
(1834 – 1886) Cielo e mar
(La Gioconda)
Guillermo POSADAS
Noche Feliz
Giacomo PUCCINI
(1858 – 1924) Addio, Dolce sveliare
all mattina (La Boheme); Che
gelida manina (La Boheme); O
Mimi, tu piu non torni (La Boheme);
O soave fanciulla (La Boheme);
Vecchi zimarra, senti (La Boheme);
Amore or grillo no saprei (Madama
Butterfly); Addio fiorito asil
(Madama Butterfly); O quanti occi
fisi (Madama Butterfly); Donna
non vidi mai (Manon Lescaut);
E lucevan le stele (Tosca); Recondita
armonia (Tosca);
V. RICCIARDI
Amor mio
Sir Landon RONALD
(1873 – 1938) Serenade espagnole
Gioachino ROSSINI
(1792 – 1868) La danza (Les
soirees musicales); Crucifixus
(La Petite Messe Solennelle); Domine
Deus (La Petite Messe Solennelle);
Cujus animam (Stabat Mater)
Augusto ROTLOI
(1847 – 1904) Mia sposa sara
la mia bandiera
Anton RUBINSTEIN
(1828 – 1894) Oh! Lumiere du
jour (Neron)
Camille SAINT-SAËNS
(1835 – 1921) Je viens celebrer
la victoire (Samson et Dalila);
Vois ma misere (Samson et Dalila)
Matteo SALVI Angelo
casto e bel
A. SECCHI
Love me not
Sir Arthur SULLIVAN
(1842 – 1900) The Lost Chord
Josef Zygmunt
SZULC (1875 – 1956) Hantise d’amour
Piotr Ilyich
TCHAIKOVSKY (1840 – 1893) Pour
mi ce jour est tout mystere (Evgeny
Onegin); Pimpinella; Pourquoi;
Serenade de Don Juan
Sir Francesco
Paolo TOSTI (1846 – 1912) A Vucchella;
Addio; Ideala; L’Alba separa dalla luce
l’ombra; La mia canzone; Luna d’estate;
Parted; Pour un baiser
Rocco TRIMARCHI
(1861 – 1936) Un bacio ancora
Vincenzo VALENTE
Manella mia
Giuseppe VERDI
(1813 – 1901) Celeste Aida
(Aida); Aide a me togliesti (Aida);
La fatal pietra (Aida); O
Terra addio (Aida); Dio, che
nell’alma infondere (Don Carlo);
Qual volutta trascorrere (I Lombardi);
Ah si, ben mio (Il Trovatore);
Di quella pira (Il Trovatore);
Mal reggendo all’aspro assalto (Il
Trovatore); Miserere (Il Trovatore)
Ai nostril monti (Il Trovatore);
O tu che in seno agl’angeli (La
forza del destino); Le minaccie,
I fieri accenti (La Forza del Destino);
Sleale! il segreto fu dunque violato?
(La Forza del Destino); Solenne in
quest’ora (La Forza del Destino);
Brindisi (La Traviata); Ah la
paterna mano (Macbeth); Ingemisco
(Messa da Requiem); Ora e per sempre
addio (Otello); Si, pel ciel
(Otello); Quartet (Rigoletto);
Parmi veder le lagrime (Rigoletto);
La donna e mobile (Rigoletto);
Questa o quella (Rigoletto);
La rivedra nell’estasi (Un ballo
in maschera); E’scherzo od e follia
(Un ballo in maschera); Di tu se
fedel (Un ballo in maschera);
Ma se m’e forza perderti (Un ballo
in maschera);
Redento ZARDO
Luna Fedel
ENRICO CARUSO (tenor)
Bessie Abott (soprano)
Francesca Alda (soprano)
Amelita Galli-Curci (soprano)
Emmy Destinn (soprano)
Geraldine Farrar (soprano)
Johanna Gadski (soprano)
Alma Gluck (soprano)
Frieda Hempel (soprano)
Dame Nellie Melba (soprano)
Marcella Sembrich (soprano)
Luisa Tetrazzini (soprano)
Louise Homer (mezzo-soprano)
Gina Ciaparelli-Viafora (mezzo-soprano)
Maria Duchene (mezzo-soprano)
Minnie Egener (mezzo-soprano)
Josephine Jacoby (mezzo-soprano)
Gabrielle Lejeune-Gilibert (mezzo-soprano)
Flora Perini (mezzo-soprano)
Ernestine Schumann-Heink
Gina Severina (mezzo-soprano)
Angelo Bada (tenor)
Pasquale Amato (baritone)
Mario Ancona (baritone)
Francesco Daddi (baritone)
Emilio de Gorgoza (baritone)
Giuseppe de Luca (baritone)
Titta Ruffo (baritone)
Antonio Scotti (baritone)
Marcel Journet (bass)
Leon Rothier (bass)
Andres de Segurola (bass)
Vincenzo Belleza (piano)
Francesco Cilea (piano)
Salvatore Cottone (piano)
Umberto Giordano (piano)
Percy B. Kahn (piano)
Ruggero Leoncavallo (piano)
Gaetano Scognamiglio (piano)
Mischa Elman (violin)
Francis J. Lapitino (harp)
A. Regis-Rossini (harp)
Bianculli (mandolin)
Rosario Bourdon (cello, celesta)
? Adams (oboe)
Metropolitan Opera Chorus
Metropolitan Orchestra
Josef Pasternack (conductor)
Walter B. Rogers (conductor)
Gaetano Scognamiglio (conductor)
Giulio Setti (conductor)
Recorded 1902-1920
RCA RED SEAL /BMG CLASSICS 82876-60396-2
[12 CDs: 71.58 + 70.07 + 69.08 +
69.00 + 72.44 + 71.12 + 71.44,71.55
+ 72.26,72.37 + 67.08 + 73.10]
First a few statistics:
this set comprises 12 CDs, 14 hours
12 minutes of recorded music, 239 items
with music by 81 different composers
ranging from Lully and Handel to Rubinstein
and Tchaikovsky, taking in a great deal
of music by Verdi, Puccini, Leoncavallo
and Mascagni. The interesting omissions
from this list are notably Mozart and
Beethoven. The most recorded composer
is Verdi (29 different items from ten
operas and the Requiem). The most recorded
aria is ‘Celeste Aida’, which Caruso
recorded seven times.
It is important, too,
to remember that all of these were recorded
without the benefit of a microphone;
Caruso never made an electrical recording,
all were acoustic.
RCA have repackaged
their Caruso re-masterings, putting
each CD into a cardboard slipcase and
including them all, plus a booklet,
in a (relatively) slim cardboard box.
The booklet is pared to the bone, just
CD listings, a composer/aria/opera index,
a short article on Caruso’s career and
a chronology. But here we hit a slight
problem: though the discs are organised
chronologically there is no date/time
information for individual tracks. This
means that I can only refer to individual
items by their disc and track number
in this set. This might prove annoying
for those knowledgeable about Caruso’s
recorded output. For this I apologise
but refer you to BMG-RCA.
Nor do RCA list dates
of birth/death for any of the composers
(those on this review are the results
of our own research). This is a particular
loss, as one of the fascinating things
about this set is the large amount of
music by contemporary composers that
Caruso recorded. Granted much of this
is in the popular ballad vein, but a
balanced view of his repertoire can
only really be achieved if we can have
a clearer idea of the composers that
he recorded.
The recordings are
important because Enrico Caruso was
the first opera singer to have his career
defined by the gramophone recording.
Unlike many later singers, in Caruso’s
case his relationship with the gramophone
record was a two way one – the gramophone
companies needed him almost more than
he needed them. Caruso would have been
a super-star tenor even without the
benefit of his recordings. But those
recordings helped make his career reach
a level almost unheard of previously.
The fledgling gramophone industry needed
Caruso to help transform their scientific
novelty into a genuinely musical mass
medium. It was Fred Gaisberg’s genius
to recognise that Caruso’s voice was
perfect for the medium. Thanks to Gaisberg
we have a substantial number of recordings
of Caruso captured in his prime.
Disc 1 - April 1902
to April 1903
This disc includes
the twenty items which Caruso recorded
in the Milan hotel. What strikes one
first, on encountering these arias with
their rather clangy piano accompaniment,
is the immediacy of the voice. Despite
the limited acoustic technology, Caruso’s
voice still has a remarkable vitality
and directness and a robustness of tone.
Even today you feel you are directly
in the presence of the singer, not just
hearing something through a veil as
can happen with some early singers.
The early recording technology seems
to have captured Caruso well, rather
better than some of his soprano contemporaries.
Imagine putting this disc on in 1902
and hearing someone, who you could never
hope to hear live, singing directly
to you.
But of course the recording
process means that not every item is
perfect; these are live recordings par
excellence. The first ‘Celeste Aida’
(Verdi: ‘Aida’) has an indifferent final
top note, the second one has no final
phrase at all. But there are compensations.
Despite his sometimes rather baritonal
timbre, ‘Una furtiva lagrima’ (Donizetti:
‘L’Elisir d’amore’) has a surprising
flexibility. ‘E lucevan le stelle’ (Puccini:
‘Tosca’) feels definitive, even if Caruso
does indulge in an outrageous sob. Some
of these items are interesting historical
documents, Francesco Cilea plays the
accompaniment for ‘No, piu nobile’ from
his ‘Adriana Lecouvreur’, Giordano plays
for ‘Amor ti vieta’ from his ‘Fedora’
and Leoncavallo plays for his song ‘Mattinata’.
(In fact the Cilea item is actually
a duet, Caruso never recorded the tenor
arias from the opera).
On the first two discs
we are hearing the singer directly with
no conductor to intervene. The result
can be highly histrionic with sobs,
long held top notes and rather too many
aspirates.
Disc 2 - October
1903 to February 1906.
From track 4 of this
disc ‘Questa o quella’ (Verdi: ‘Rigoletto’),
the recordings seem to improve, the
piano accompaniment starts almost to
sound like a piano. And ‘Questa o quella’
seems subtler than it did on disc 1.
Self-indulgence shows in the stunning
sounding, but very slow version ‘Una
furtiva lagrima’ (Donizetti: ‘L’elisir
d’amore’). Lightness and flexibility
are on display in ‘Mi par d’udir ancora’
(Bizet: ‘Les Pecheurs de perles’) and
in ‘Cielo e mar’ (Ponchielli: ‘La Gioconda’)
Caruso displays a stunning sense of
line.
On track 20 we encounter
an orchestra of sorts for the first
time. This is of great benefit in ‘Che
gelida manina’ (Puccini: ‘La Boheme’).
And on track 22, Caruso ventures outside
his native shores, singing ‘Salut demeure
chaste et pure’ (Gounod: ‘Faust’) in
its original French and giving us some
beautifully shaded high notes.
Disc 3 (February
1906 – March 1908)
This disc introduces
us to some of Caruso’s fellow singers
with rather varied results. The Quartet
from ‘Rigoletto’ with Bessie Abbott
and Louise Homer is pretty forgettable
and ‘O Soave Fanciulla’ (Puccini: ‘La
Boheme’) with Nellie Melba is very disappointing
with the two singers rather ill-balanced.
But ‘Addio, dolce svegliare alla mattina’
(Puccini: ‘La Boheme’) with Marcella
Sembrich, Gina Severina, and Antonio
Scotti is like a snapshot from a real
opera; entirely lacking the stiffness
which troubles some of these recordings,
you can get beyond the recording’s limitations.
These ensemble recordings often suffer
from strange balances, probably due
to the rather limited nature of the
acoustic process. But over and above
this, the technique does not seem to
have been kind to the women’s voices;
time and again I was struck how much
more vividly the men’s voices come over.
Also noticeable on
this disc is the way that Caruso’s voice
develops a new firmness; this is very
noticeable in the two recordings of
‘Deserto in terra’ (Donizetti: ‘Don
Sebastiano’).
Disc 4 (March 1908
to January 1910)
This opens with a vividly
sung pair of items from Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto’,
‘Questa o quella’ and ‘La donna e mobile’.
But the duet from ‘Il Trovatore’, ‘Ai
nostri monti’, which is sung with mezzo-soprano
Louise Homer, is rather dim and sounds
very careful. This disc sees the repertoire
of arias continuing to expand; besides
another ‘Celeste Aida’ (Verdi: ‘Aida’)
there are two further items from the
opera with Johanna Gadski (soprano),
‘O terra addio’ and ‘La fala pietra’.
Again they come over as rather careful,
but both singers exhibit fine control
in the quiet passages. A novelty for
us today is an aria from Goldmark’s
‘Die Königin von Saba’, sung in
Italian translation; at the end Caruso
inserts two remarkable high falsetto
notes, something he rarely seems to
do on disc. There are two versions of
the Miserere from Verdi’s ‘Il Trovatore’,
both recorded with soprano Frances Alda,
but one includes the chorus of the Metropolitan
Opera. Alda’s soprano voice is well
caught by the recording, particularly
her lower register and the resulting
duets are more vivid dramatically than
some of the earlier duets on this disc.
Disc 5 (January
1910 to December 1910)
This disc opens with
six tracks from Gounod’s ‘Faust’ sung
by Geraldine Farrar (soprano), Gabrielle
Lejeune-Gilibert (mezzo-soprano), Marcel
Journet (bass), Antonio Scotti (baritone),
conducted by Walter B. Rogers. Here
we have just over thirty minutes of
excerpts from the opera, with a group
of singers who managed to project the
drama even within the limits of the
recording technology. Whatever the limitations
of the performances, they give us a
magical window into what ‘Faust’ at
the Met might have been like.
Caruso sang in the
premiere of Franchetti’s ‘Germania’
in 1902, so it is not surprising that
he returned to the opera in his recordings.
Here we have another version of ‘Studenti!
Udite’ along with another aria from
the opera; I wish I could be more enthusiastic.
But Puccini’s ‘Madam Butterfly’ is another
thing entirely. In two items from the
opera, with Antonio Scotti (baritone),
Caruso gives us an impassioned Pinkerton.
But his tone is starting to sound a
little mature for the role, so it is
no surprise that he recorded ‘Ora e
per sempre addio’ (Verdi: ‘Otello’).
‘Otello’ was a role that he was constantly
considering doing; here we have just
a pale reflection of what might have
been. The disc concludes with a wonderfully
dramatic ‘No! Pagliaccio non son’ (Leoncavallo:
‘I Pagliacci’) and a slightly disappointing
pair of items from ‘Il Trovatore’, notable
mainly for Louise Homer’s mezzo-soprano
again.
Disc 6 (December
1910 to January 1912)
Homer re-appears on
the opening item of this disc, ‘Aida
a me togliesti’ (Verdi: ‘Aida’). Here
again one notes that Caruso’s voice
seems to be getting darker. His version
of ‘Una Furtiva Lagrima’ (Donizetti:
‘L’Elisir D’amore’) is notable for how
much lightness and grace he can bring
to a voice which has strengthened and
darkened since he first recorded the
piece. This dark, dramatic power is
noticeable in the duet, ‘Le minaccie,
I fieri accenti’ (Verdi: ‘La Forza del
Destino’) recorded with baritone Pasquale
Amato.
Two items of musicological
interest on the disc are a pair of arias
from Leoncavallo’s ‘La Boheme’, an opera
which has been all but eclipsed by Puccini’s
version. Another novelty is an aria
from ‘O Esclavo’ by Gomes, the Brazilian
composer who has undergone a small revival
recently thanks to Placido Domingo.
Caruso’s final version
of ‘Celeste Aida’ (Verdi: ‘Aida’) is
notable for the new power which he brings
to the aria, but the ending is louder
and rather less subtle than on some
of the earlier versions. In ‘Ah, fuyez,
douce image’ (Massenet: ‘Manon’) I was
rather surprised that he had recorded
the aria at this stage in his development
and not earlier when his voice was lighter.
Still, though Caruso does not give the
melodic line the Gallic elegance it
needs, he replaces it with a remarkable
verismo commitment.
Disc 7 (January
1912 to February 1913)
There are a significant
number of lighter items here, either
serious music requiring a lighter technique
or music from the lighter repertoire.
These range from the two charming ensemble’s
from Flotow’s ‘Marta’ recorded with
Frances Alda (soprano), Josephine Jacoby
(mezzo-soprano) and Marcel Journet (bass)
and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Pimpinella’ to real
parlour music such as Sullivan’s ‘The
Lost Chord’ (sung in pretty decent English)
and d’Hardelot’s ‘Because’ (sung in
French).
The disc features Caruso’s
second version of the sextet from Donizetti’s
‘Lucia di Lammermoor’, this time with
Tetrazzini. Unfortunately this suffers
because of the limited recording technology
of the day. The men’s voices come over
as very immediate, but Tetrazzini sounds
as if she is in a different room. Balance
is better in the Quartet from Verdi’s
‘Rigoletto’ with Luisa Tetrazzini (soprano),
Josephine Jacoby (mezzo-soprano) and
Pasquale Amato (baritone). It is a tad
careful at times, but is certainly stylish
and well balanced. Whereas in ‘On l’appelle
Manon’ (Massenet: ‘Manon’) Caruso and
Geraldine Farrar (soprano) have quite
differing approaches: he is quite thrilling
whereas Farrar is rather stylish. I
was not fond of Farrar’s rather white-toned
voice in ‘O Soave Fanciulla’ (Puccini:
‘La Boheme’), but the result is charming
if lacking in freedom.
With the duet ‘Dio
che nell’alma infondere’ (Verdi: ‘Don
Carlos’), recorded with Antonio Scotti,
we are securely back in the correct
style. This is a wonderful track and
displays the richer, darker tones that
have developed in Caruso’s voice. This
new depth is apparent in ‘Parmi veder
le lagrime’ (Verdi: ‘Rigoletto’), but
Caruso still manages to retain his admirable
flexibility.
Disc 8 (February
1913 to April 1914)
The items on this disc
continue to explore hitherto unrecorded
repertoire, though this means that again
there are a significant number of parlour
ballads and songs. In these one can
appreciate Caruso’s artistry and watch
his vocal development, even if the material
is not always something to which you
would choose to listen.
The more familiar items
include a rather laboured ‘Cujus animam’
(Rossini: ‘Stabat Mater’) and a fine
‘Donna no vidi mai’ (Puccini: ‘Manon
Lescaut’). More unfamiliar repertoire
is charted with a robust ‘Serenade de
Don Juan’ (Tchaikovsky) and Landon Ronald’s
charming ‘Sérénade Espagnole’.
A highlight is Caruso’s second recorded
excerpt from Verdi’s ‘Otello’; the duet
‘Si, pel ciel’, recorded with Tita Ruffo.
The two knock sparks off each other
and create a remarkable four minute
drama.
The disc concludes
with two ensembles from Verdi’s ‘Un
Ballo in Maschera’, ‘La rivedra nell’estasi’
and ‘E scherzo ed e follia’, recorded
with Frieda Hempel (soprano), Maria
Duchene (mezzo-soprano), Andres de Seguora
(bass), Leon Rothier (bass). Here the
record producers have managed to capture
the wonderful sense of ensemble generated
by the cast.
Disc 9 (April 1914
to February 1916)
The disc opens with
two items sung in Spanish, including
an aria from Chapi’s zarzuela ‘El Milagro
de la Virgen’.
In the Brindisi from
‘La Traviata’, soprano Alma Gluck is
vividly captured by the recording and
for once the soprano line successfully
balances Caruso’s tenor. This was his
first and only recording of an excerpt
from the opera and his contribution
is notable for the continued flexibility
of his voice.
These later discs all
display a similar mix of items, with
Caruso generally extending his repertoire,
mixing popular songs, Neapolitan songs
with arias and ensembles from familiar
operas with the occasional unfamiliar
opera. The number of popular and Neapolitan
songs on the discs often made me question
the general appeal of such a complete
edition as this. But then I would surprised
by an item; indeed some of the lighter
items on this disc, such as Tosti’s
‘La mia canzone’ receive beautifully
sung performances, with Caruso displaying
his fine vocal technique.
Unfortunately, in the
more familiar ‘Ingemisco’ from Verdi’s
‘Requiem’ he sounds a little laboured
and rather lacking in fire, but ‘Parle
moi de ma mère’ (Bizet: ‘Carmen’)
receives a touching reading with Frances
Alda (soprano).
Amongst the operatic
novelties on this disc are a fine version
of ‘O Souverain, O Juge, O père;
(Massenet: ‘Le Cid’) and ‘Inspirez moi,
race divine’ (Gounod: ‘La Reine de Saba’).
This latter is rather hackneyed but
in Caruso’s committed performance comes
over as immense fun.
Disc 10 (February
1916 to April 1917)
We start with two more
familiar novelties. First a lovely rendition
of ‘Ah, la paterna mano’ (Verdi: ‘Macbeth’)
and then a baritone aria, Colline’s
farewell to his overcoat from Puccini’s
‘La Boheme’. Here Caruso displays a
creditable baritone technique.
A version of Tchaikovsky’s
‘Pourquoi’, which captures the song’s
haunting melancholy, is followed by
Lensky’s aria (in French) from ‘Eugene
Onegin’. Caruso starts it at a remarkably
swift tempo; the result is shapely and
expressive without ever quite capturing
the essence of the aria.
Caruso is on more familiar
territory with ‘Come un bel di maggio’
(Giordano: ‘Andrea Chenier’) which receives
a beautifully melancholic performance.
Another new role is Samson in Saint-Saëns
eponymous opera, an assumption which
indicates the more dramatic roles that
Caruso was starting to perform. In ‘Voi
ma misere, hélas’ (Saint-Saëns:
‘Samson et Dalila’) Caruso brings out
the noble and tragic qualities without
every quite sounding sufficiently heroic.
In ‘De mon amie, fleur endormie’ (Bizet:
‘Les pecheurs de perles’) Caruso displays
an admirably good sense of line in an
aria which would nowadays be sung by
a lighter voice. This illustrates one
of the fascinating aspects of these
later CDs: singers in the early part
of the 20th century were
able to mix roles in a way which is
less common today; apparently retaining
an admirable flexibility of technique
when the voices darkened and deepened.
In the final version
of the quartet from ‘Rigoletto’, recorded
with Amelita Galli-Curci (soprano),
Flora Perini (mezzo-soprano) and Giuseppe
de Luca (baritone), Caruso’s opening
solo comes over as rather effortful.
But the Sextet from Donizetti’s ‘Lucia
di Lammermoor’ with Galli-Curci, Minne
Egener (mezzo-soprano), Angelo Bada
(tenor), Giuseppe de Luca (baritone)
and Marcel Journet (bass) is the most
satisfying version yet, even if it does
have a few rough edges.
Disc 11 (April 1917
– February 1919)
The 1st
World Ward now makes some impact; besides
a lively version of Cohan’s ‘Over There’,
sung in heavily accented English, there
is Olivieri’s bombastic ‘Inno di Garibaldi’
and Planquette’s ‘Le Régiment
de Sambre et Meuse’.
But there are also
some other more interesting novelties;
‘O lumière du jour’ from Rubinstein’s
‘Neron’ is a sighting of an opera which
has nowadays entirely fallen from sight.
‘Sleale! il segreto fu dunque violato?’
(Verdi: ‘La Forza del Destino’) finds
Caruso and Giuseppe de Luca in highly
dramatic form. A further excerpt from
‘Samson et Dalila’, ‘Je viens célébrer
la victoire’ has Caruso’s noble Samson
partnered by the fine Dalila of Louise
Homer.
The final item on the
disc is a return to lighter Donizetti,
‘Venti Scudi’ from ‘L’elisir d’amore’,
where Caruso duets with Giuseppe de
Luca. The baritone is inclined to be
untidy and the result is an impressive
achievement if a trifle more robust
than it would have been earlier in Caruso’s
career.
Disc 12 (September
1919 to September 1920)
This final disc contains
few mainstream items, an indicator perhaps
that Caruso was running out of arias
that he wanted to record. But the disc
does include some fascinating rarities
along with a single valuable testament.
The rarities include
some more Gomes, ‘Mia piccirella’ (Gomes:
‘Salvator Rosa’), ‘Ombra mai fu’ (Handel:
‘Serse’), ‘Bois epais’ (Lully: ‘Amadis
de Gaule’) and ‘Deh, chi’io ritorni’
(Meyerbeer: ‘L’Africaine’). The two
baroque items are performed in a manner
which would be thought stylistically
appropriate at the time. The Lully aria
is sung with some care but sounds too
careful. The Handel aria Caruso seems
to imbue with a sort of Italian operatic
swagger. But the notable item on this
disc is ‘Rachel, quand du Seigneur’
(Halévy: ‘La Juive’) a powerful
performance which is a notable witness
to Caruso’s final new role. The disc
is completed by two items from Rossini’s
‘Petite Messe Solonelle’, ‘Domine Deus’
and ‘Crucifixus’; Caruso performs them
powerfully, but in a manner which seems
to overlook the pieces’ charm and irony.
In Conclusion
Caruso’s recorded legacy
does chart the gradual development of
his voice, but its coverage of his repertoire
is distinctly patchy. We have nothing
of his early triumph in Bellini’s ‘Il
Pirata’, the opera he used to help develop
his bel canto style, nor do we have
anything from his early triumph in Cilea’s
‘Arlesiana’. Nor, thanks to Ricordi,
do we have anything relating to the
premiere of Puccini’s ‘La Fanciulla
del West’ at the Met. Not surprisingly,
we have no hint of his short brush with
Wagner (a ‘Lohengrin’ in South America).
But we have, thankfully, records of
the other more dramatic roles (Samson,
Eleazar in ‘La Juive’) which he was
starting to take on, though unfortunately
we have no record of his singing in
the title role in Meyerbeer’s ‘La Prophète’.
Besides the items by
well known operatic composers, each
of the discs also contains songs and
arias by composers now forgotten; the
most notable of these is perhaps Tosti
who wrote a number of ballads for the
English court. They are often sung with
great affection, but I did find that
their faded charms palled after a while.
But before we get too sniffy about them,
it is worth bearing in mind that many
of these were the popular music of their
day; in fact it is remarkable how much
music by living composers Caruso recorded.
We must also add to this the rather
special place that Neapolitan song played
in his repertoire; born in Naples to
a poor family, these were the songs
of his youth so it was only natural
that he would want to record them. Just
think how different the lighter repertoire
for an Italian tenor might be if Caruso
had been born a Venetian!
In the end, I am not
sure that I would be tempted to invest
in a complete Caruso edition; for me
many of the tracks are not essential
listening and I would probably be content
with potted highlights on 2 or 3 CDs.
And even these would be something to
dip into, rather then listen to continuously.
If I was going to go
for a complete Caruso edition then cost
would come into it. Naxos’s recent edition,
in Ward Marston’s excellent transfers,
seems to come in at around £20 to £25
cheaper than the RCA set, which seems
excellent value. (On the web-sites that
I consulted the Naxos box came in at
£44 or £50 and the RCA box at £72 or
£70). The issue of the transfers from
78rpm records might also sway people
towards the Naxos box. After all, Marston’s
transfers for Naxos were done more recently
than those on the RCA set and they are
Marston’s second go; he had previously
done the transfers for Pearl. I found
that the Naxos versions of the arias
had an immediacy and clarity that was
sometimes lacking in the RCA disc; the
orchestra also seemed to come over a
little better. But to me the difference
is not huge, though opinions will always
differ.
I must confess that
I would be quite tempted by just 2 or
3 of the Naxos discs bought singly.
What I would really like, though, would
be a Caruso download site where we could
select our own tracks and have them
burned onto CD for us; how about that
anyone?
Robert Hugill
