In 1903, Enrico Caruso, the legendary Italian tenor, made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in Manhattan in “Rigoletto” by composer Giuseppi Verdi.
His repertoire included more than 40 operas (chiefly Italian). He created roles in “Adriana Lecouvreur,” by composer Francesco Cilea, and “The Girl of the Golden West,” by composer Giacomo Puccini. He is best remembered, however, for the role of Canio in “I Pagliacci,” by composer Ruggiero Leoncavallo.
From his first appearance there in 1903, Caruso became the chief attraction of the Metropolitan Opera House, his voice being one of extraordinary beauty and power — robust yet warm and mellow. He sang 37 roles while with the Met — 626 performances in Manhattan and 235 on tour.
Caruso was no stranger to Brooklyn. His first appearance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) was in 1908 at the gala opening of its opera house in Fort Greene. He sang in Metropolitan Opera’s production of Gounod’s Faust. He made many subsequent appearances at BAM.
His last appearance at BAM was on Dec. 11, 1920. Just as he finished singing in the first act of “L’Elisir d’Amore” he began coughing up blood from a throat hemorrhage. Caruso managed to give one final appearance at the Metropolitan Opera House the following Dec. 24. He died in Naples, Italy on Aug. 2, 1921.
His native city in Italy was so proud of their celebrity that the citizens dedicated the world’s largest candle to his memory in 1924. The candle, measuring 18 feet in height and 7 feet in circumference, is lit once a year on his birth date and is expected to last 1,800 years.
For his time, Enrico Caruso made more recordings for Victor than any other singer.
Reissues of his recordings are popular to this day. He made many concert appearances, some for Liberty Bond promotions during World War I.
In 1951, MGM released a rather fictional biofilm, The Great Caruso, starring Mario Lanza as the legendary singer. Lanza sang 15 of his idol’s favorite arias in the film and it grossed $4.5 million.
— V. Parker
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© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009
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