Enrico Caruso - The Artist and The Man

"When people thought he had reached the climax, he would just continue and make the voice even broader". A witness to Caruso's art of singing at the Metropolitan Opera.

Another great contemporary tenor, Irish John McCormack (see also under links) met Caruso by chance on the street in Bosten and asked: "How is the Greatest Tenor in the world doing?" 

Caruso answered: "Since when did you, John, become a baritone?"  - Caruso and McCormack had great admiration for each other.

In his memoires McCormack later wrote about the first time he heard Caruso in Covent Garden 1904: "36 years later that voice still rings in my ears, the memory of it will never die."

Extract from Dorothy Caruso's book "Enrico Caruso - His Life and Death.":

"One morning after Caruso's death the secretary brought me a box of Enrico's papers and among them we found a list of people in Italy whom he had supported for years. Besides the scores of relatives, the list included a hundred and twenty men and women who had shown him some small kindness in the past which he had never forgotten.

He had never mentioned these gifts, any more than he had ever spoken of the other countless good deeds which were a natural part of his daily life."

HIS VOICE

Why did Caruso have succes? His own answer: ""A big chest, a big mouth, 90 percent memory, 10 percent intelligence, lots of hard work, and something in the heart."

Caruso's voice was very unique and incredible versatile (see sidebox).
During a performance of La Boheme in Philadelphia, Segurola, the basso, who was about to sing the "Coat Song" ("Vecchia Zimarra" from La Boheme), turned to Caruso and whispered "I’ve lost my voice". Caruso replied, "You just stand still and move your lips and I’ll sing it for you". And so, with his back turned to the audience, Caruso sang the aria for Segurola. Segurola then acknowledged the cheers from the audience, who didn’t realize that it was Caruso who had done the singing.
Caruso later recorded the aria - you can hear it here.

In my opinion Caruso's great asset was his ability to identify completely with a role and sing as that person - with all emotions connected to that person and situation.

The soprano Geraldine Farrar writes in her biography that she, the first time she stood on stage with Caruso, forgot to sing as she had broken into tears from the beauty of Caruso's voice.

"I have seen him sob for five minutes in his dressing room after the first act [of Pagliacci]; I have seen him fall on the stage, faint from emotion; and I have also seen him come off whistling gaily and joking with the chorus. Whatever his own emotions were, his audience was invariably overwhelmed. I asked him to explain the secret of this power. He said, "I suffer so much in this life, Doro. That is what they feeling when I sing, that is why they cry. People who felt nothing in this life cannot sing."

From "Enrico Caruso - His Life and Death" by Dorothy Caruso.

CARICATURIST

Caruso was a skilled caricaturist.

THE ACTOR

If Caruso hadn't been a singer, he might taken up acting as a career. In the clip below from "The Cousin" , 1918 he plays two roles: the rich singer and the poor Italian cousin.

Here is another short film sequence (Windows Media Player format): click to view/download.

PERSONALITY

Here are some of the character traits which Dorothy Caruso mentions in her book "Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death": 

• Charisma. When he spoke with people, he gave them his full attention.
  He tried to avoid parties, but when he couldn't, he inevitably became the life and soul of the party with his high spirits and intense presence.
• Generous. Almost daily he would receive requests for money from people and he was not known to have turned any of them down. His wife asked him if he was sure that all these people were in need. He answered: "No, but how do I know who is and who isn't?"
• Non-judgemental. Caruso always avoided critique of other singers. If he had sung duet with another person and was asked to comment on the performance of the other, he would say: "I don't know - I didn't hear it." When he performed he was so engrossed with the expression that he did not even hear his own voice.
• Perfectionist and a stickler for order. Stamps, clippings and other items he collected were meticulously put in order. His daily routines were planned to the last detail.
• Honesty. Once he was attending a Red Cross benefit at the Manhattan Opera House, given for soldiers and sailors. As soon as Caruso was recognized in the box the audience began to cheer and to shout to him to sing "Over There." His contract with the Metropolitan did not allow him to sing in public except at concerts specified in his agreement. But the huge audience knowing nothing of this continued to yell and shout for him to sing to them. A delegation of soldiers and sailors came to beg him to sing to the boys, and the committee in charge of the concert also added their persuasions. It was more than human endurance could stand. Enrico yielded at last and going on the stage, sang "Over There" with the immense crowd of men joining enthusiastically in the chorus. As soon as the song was finished he took his wife back to the hotel; he then at once went to Mr. Gatti-Casazza (of the MET) and told him he had broken his contract. He of course was promptly forgiven.
• Exaggerated cleanliness. He took baths and changed his clothes several times a day.
• Hot-tempered. But he would usually quickly regret his bursts of anger.

ANECDOTES

There are many anecdotes told about Caruso. In the books you'll find many of them - see under Downloads. I have picked one that illustrates Caruso's respect for his audience.

The scene is Berlin (before the First World War) and Martino, Caruso's valet (whom the stickler for order Caruso had spontaniously hired because "he [as a porter] carried my suitcases with the utmost care"), tells the story to Dorothy Caruso (from her book "Wings of Song"):

"Once in Berlin the students bought standing room to hear Caruso sing. Oh ! Madonna mia! What crowds there were that night ! Even up to the dressing-room door they roll like waves, and when the house is full they overflow into the streets and nothing can pass by the opera house.

While the Commendatore was singing, there came for him an immense horseshoe of flowers that took up all the dressing room, and I think to myself I must put it in the hall, which was already full of bouquets. At the moment I was moving it Caruso came from the stage, tired and excited as always after a performance, and he stopped to look at the card attached to the flowers, which read: "To the Greatest Singer, From the Students"

"Let it stay", he say, and begin to change his costume.
So to help him I have to jump around that mountain of flowers wherever I move. Some gentleman come in at that moment and look at the card and say, "Too bad, because the students did not hear you sing after all."

The Commendatore stop smoking a cigarette. "Why not?", he asks. "Don't I sing loud enough?" - "They didn't get into the opera house." answered the gentleman.

Caruso's dressing room opened on the street, and there sounded so much noise out there that I went to push down the window, thinking he might be disturbed; but he stopped me, saying, "Martino, what is the noise?" Listening, I hear a sound like humming and people calling, so I raised the window and look out again, and there all the students are in the street. "Those are the students", I say, "and I think they wait for you to come out."

Caruso looks at the big horseshoe of flowers and comes over to the open window. When the students see him they roar and howl and throw their caps in the air. Such a demonstration and such a terrible noise, signora, you never hear in all this world ! For even now it makes my ears ache to think of it.

Then Caruso puts up his hand and begins to sing the aria from Marta [hear it here], and from those boys comes not a sound, not a breath till it is over, and then - Martino shut his eyes and pressed his hands over his ears - they shout, they roar like lions, they howl terrible terrible.

When the Commendatore comes out to mount into his carriage, they take away the horses and put themselves in the harness and pull him to the hotel !

ANOTHER ANECDOTE

       "Gramophone Concert" in Heaton Park September 1909 in Manchester.

The following is an extract from an article from 2005 written on the homepage of the BBC Manchester (you can read the full article here).

40,000 in Heaton Park

If you took your stereo down to Heaton Park, how many people would turn up to listen? Almost a century before the BBC Proms in The Park, a Manchester gramophone salesman drew a crowd of 40,000 - playing his record collection!

The tradition [the BBC Proms] was started early last century by William Grimshaw from Prestwich. Grimshaw originally sold bicycles from his shop on Bury New Rd but expanded his trade to include the new invention of the day – the gramophone.

In 1909, William Grimshaw listened to the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso perform at the Free Trade Hall. He wanted to share this experience with the ordinary people of Manchester so, a few days later, he took his gramophone to Heaton Park and played recordings of Caruso to an assembled crowd of 40,000 people!

Local papers such as the Manchester Evening Chronicle and the Crumpsall Guardian reported that the trams from Manchester and Bury were unable to cope with the huge numbers of concert-goers.

An extract from the Sound Wave and Talking Machine Record, printed in December 1909 reports the occasion as follows:

“In the course of his tour of the provinces, Signor Caruso’s engagements took him to Manchester on September 13 and with his usual enterprise, Mr Grimshaw gave a Gramophone concert in Heaton Park on the following Sunday embracing all the items sung by Caruso… A vast crowd, estimated to number at least 40,000 assembled to hear the Gramophone.”

Caruso himself wrote to Mr Grimshaw expressing his thanks and appreciation of the way his voice had been reproduced. He even sent Grimshaw a signed cartoon of himself!

Photographs show crowds dressed formally in Edwardian suits and dresses, wearing caps and hats all listening attentively. Indeed, in the words of the Prestwich and Heaton Park Guardian…

“… they remained as if spellbound from the moment of arrival to the close of the programme, which, it is hardly necessary to say, was intensely enjoyed.”

QUOTES

A lovely comment posted by Candy on YouTube
"Enrico Caruso could take a menu from an Italian restaurant, sing a description of a rigatoni dish, and make it sound like a timeless love song! To hear the words and emotions resonate in his unique voice with its rich, golden sound and vibrant texture is captivating beyond words. His phrasing is unlike any other singer and the sincerity and courageous vulnerability of his singing makes for an ecstatic listening experience."

Arturo Toscanini in 1898
"By Heaven! If this Neapolitan continues to sing like this, he will make the whole world talk about him."

Beniamino Gigli
"I wonder what would have become of me if, like him, I had been born in a city slum; for I did not have the gifts of personality that enabled Caruso to create life and warmth around him wherever he went."

Bruno Walter, conductor
"I loved his voice, his talent, the sense of beauty expressed in his nuances of timbre, his portamento and rubato, his great musicality and naturalness, and we got along so well."

Caruso about his first teacher
"It was he [Guglielmo Vergine] who impressed, time and again, the necessity of singing as nature intended, and - I remember - he constantly warned, don't let the public know that you work. So I went slowly. I never forced the voice."

Caruso about his performance
"I know that I shall sing only a certain number of times. So I think to myself, "Tonight I will hold back my voice. I will save it a little and that will mean I may be able to sing a few more times." But when I go before the audience, when I hear the music and begin to sing, I cannot hold back. I give the best there is in me - I give all."

Caruso about his singing
"I suffer so much in this life. That is what they [the audience] are feeling when I sing, that is why they cry. People who felt nothing in this life cannot sing."

Caruso about his success
"A big chest, a big mouth, 90 percent memory, 10 percent intelligence, lots of hard work, and something in the heart."

Caruso about Jewish cantors
“Jewish cantors employ a peculiar art and method of singing in their delivery. They are unexcelled in the art of covering the voice, picking up a new key, in the treatment of the ritual chant, and overcoming vocal difficulties that lie in the words rather than in the music.”

Caruso about Nellie Melba and Melba about Caruso
Not a quote but an action. The Australian soprano Nellie Melba was notorius for her ruthlessness and coldness. Performing with her in La Bohème Caruso, as a joke, pressed a hot sausage into her hand that he'd hidden in his pocket as he sang "Che gelida manina, se la lasci riscaldar."("What a cold little hand, let me warm it"). She had considered Caruso coarse and uncultivated and this, of course, only confirmed that ...
Melba, however, was impressed with Caruso's voice and wrote in her autobiography (Melodies and Memories): "As a voice - pure and simple - his was the most wonderful tenor I ever heard."

Caruso about watermelons...
"Watermelon - it's a good fruit. You eat, you drink, you wash your face."

Caruso on Babe Ruth
A group of reporters once asked him what he thought of *Babe Ruth. Caruso, who was unfailingly polite and amiable, replied that he didn't know because unfortunately he had never heard her sing ! *Legendary American baseball player

Caruso on SF earthquake 1906
Caruso was caught in the great 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. He swore he would never again go back to such a city, "where disorders like that are permitted."

Caruso struck with stage fright
“The Little Me would like to strangle the important Me within! Move out Little Me, the Big Me would like to sing through me! Escape, escape, the important Me could sing!” Back stage talking to himself before performing. Probably not in English....

Dr. P. Mario Marafioti in the book "Caruso's Method of Voice Production"
"Caruso was a born singer, and a perfect one, by almost divine and superhuman will. He obeyed the call of his heart rather than technical influences, his sentiment being his only guide in singing. Everything in him was instinctive and intuitive."

Geraldine Farrar
“There are two singers you must put aside, one is Enrico Caruso, the other is Rosa Ponselle. Then you may begin to discuss all the others!”

Giacomo Puccini when Caruso auditioned for La Bohéme
"Who sent you to me? God Himself?"

Giovanni Martinelli about Caruso
At a party an overdressed flamboyant woman persisted in demanding answers from Giovanni Martinelli to questions in a loud voice to attract attention. Finally she said, “Come now, Mr. Martinelli, tell us the truth – Caruso was never as good as his press made him to be, is that not the truth.” Martinelli swung around and faced his tormentor. “Madame”, he declared in his accented, but thoroughly accurate English, “Put Gigli, Lauri-Volpi and me together – make us one tenor – and we would not be fit to kiss Caruso’s shoe tops”. “Does that answer you?”

Guglielmo Vergine about Caruso's voice in 1892
"You can't sing. You haven't any voice at all. It sounds like the wind in the shutters." "It's like gold at the bottom of the Tiber ... not worth digging for."

Guilio Gatti-Casazza (director of the Metropolitan Opera)
"I heard all the great tenors of my time over and over again. Many of them were wonderful artists and had extraordinary voices. But in my opinion, not a single one of them ever sang an entire role with such vocal and artistic consistency as Caruso."

Henry Pleasants (renowned American music critic)
2 centuries ago, Tosi wrote; "Oh, how great a master is the heart! Confess it my beloved singers, and gratefully own that you would not have arrived at the highest rank if you had not been its scholars. Own that in a few lessons from it, you learned the most beautiful expressions. Own, that heart corrects the defects of nature, - softens a harsh voice, betters an indifferent one, and perfects a good one! When the heart sings you cannot dissemble. Nor has truth a greater power of persuading.."
With Caruso's voice, his heart was little burdened with correcting the defects of nature, softening harshness or bettering indifference. It could concentrate on the perfection of the good. Since his heart was big, and the voice nearly perfect to begin with, the lyrical communication was an unexampled combination of excitement and warmth'. The public was his partner in the fulfillment of a mission, and his role was to give the best, and all of the best that was in him...'

Italian teenager commenting on YouTube
"I've tried to listen to other tenors and THEY are really feeling the songs ..... Caruso is different, he's something special because he makes YOU feel the song."

Jan de Turovski
"I am by now 72 years old. My grandfather told me about Caruso. That he heard him live in the Metropolitan Opera as Radames. That he could not sleep after that for some nights. That he decided to see and hear him again in that role because he thought to have dreamt. So he went to hear him once more. And that overwhelming experience lasted all his life."

John McCormack about Caruso's voice
"36 years later that voice still rings in my ears, the memory of it will never die."

Richard Strauss in excitement after hearing Caruso the first time
"He is singing the soul (spirit) of the melody!"

Richard Tauber
"I treasure Caruso's records as the greatest and finest lesson any singer could possibly have. None of us living tenors could possibly stand any comparison with that voice. It makes me realise how little I have achieved." [From Richard Tauber, by Diana Napier Tauber, London 1949, page 61-2] On 28 May 1938, the eve of sailing from Naples for his Australian tour, Tauber visited Caruso's Mausoleum to pay his respects to the great tenor.

Rosa Ponselle
"When you speak of tenors, you have to divide them into two groups. Caruso in the first group. All the others are in the second."

Tullio Serafin
“I have encountered three miracles - Enrico Caruso, Tita Ruffo and Rosa Ponselle.”