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Enrico Caruso: biography, interesting facts, photos. Brief biography of Enrico Caruso Personal life of an opera artist

Enrico Caruso: biography, interesting facts, photos. Brief biography of Enrico Caruso Personal life of an opera artist

27.06.2019

"He had the Order of the Legion of Honor and the English Victorian Order, the German Order of the Red Eagle and a gold medal on the ribbon of Frederick the Great, the Order of an Officer of the Italian Crown, the Belgian and Spanish orders, even a soldier's icon in a silver salary, which was called the Russian "Order of St. Nicholas", diamond cufflinks - a gift from the Emperor of All Russia, a gold box from the Duke of Vendôme, rubies and diamonds from the English king ... - writes A. Filippov. - They still talk about his tricks. One of the singers lost her lace pantaloons right during the aria, but managed to stuff them foot under the bed. She did not rejoice for long. Caruso lifted his pants, straightened them and with a ceremonial bow brought the lady ... The auditorium exploded with laughter. For dinner, he came to the Spanish king with his pasta, assuring that they were much tastier, and invited the guests to taste. During a government reception, he congratulated the President of the United States with the words: "I am happy for you, Your Excellency, you are almost as famous as I am." In English, he knew only a few words, which was known to very few: thanks to his artistry and good pronunciation, he always easily got out of a difficult situation. Only once did ignorance of the language lead to a curiosity: the singer was informed of the sudden death of one of his acquaintances, to which Caruso beamed with a smile and joyfully exclaimed: “It’s great, when you see him, say hello from me!”

He left behind about seven million (for the beginning of the century this is insane money), estates in Italy and America, several houses in the United States and Europe, collections of the rarest coins and antiques, hundreds of expensive suits (each was accompanied by a pair of lacquered boots).

And here is what the Polish singer J. Vaida-Korolevich, who performed with a brilliant singer, writes: “Enrico Caruso, an Italian born and raised in magical Naples, surrounded by wondrous nature, the Italian sky and the scorching sun, was very impressionable, impulsive and quick-tempered. The strength of his talent was made up of three main features: the first is a bewitching hot, passionate voice that cannot be compared with any other. The beauty of his timbre was not in the evenness of the sound, but, on the contrary, in the richness and variety of colors. Caruso expressed all feelings and experiences with his voice - at times it seemed that the game and stage action were superfluous for him. The second feature of Caruso's talent is a palette of feelings, emotions, psychological nuances in singing, boundless in its richness; finally, the third feature is his huge, spontaneous and subconscious dramatic talent. I write “subconscious” because his stage images were not the result of careful, painstaking work, were not refined and finished to the smallest detail, but as if they were immediately born from his hot southern heart.

Enrico Caruso was born on February 24, 1873 on the outskirts of Naples, in the San Giovanello area, in a working class family. “From the age of nine, he began to sing, with his sonorous, beautiful contralto immediately attracted attention,” Caruso later recalled. His first performances took place close to home in the small church of San Giovanello. He graduated from Enrico only primary school. With regard to musical training, he received the minimum necessary knowledge in the field of music and singing, acquired from local teachers.

As a teenager, Enrico entered the factory where his father worked. But he continued to sing, which, however, is not surprising for Italy. Caruso even took part in a theatrical production - the musical farce "The Robbers in the Garden of Don Raffaele."

The further path of Caruso is described by A. Filippov:

“In Italy at that time, 360 tenors of the first class were registered, 44 of which were considered famous. Several hundred singers of lower rank breathed into the back of their heads. With such competition, Caruso had few prospects: it is quite possible that life in the slums with a bunch of half-starved children and the career of a street soloist, with a hat in his hand going around the listeners.But then, as is usually the case in novels, His Majesty Chance came to the rescue.

In the opera The Friend of Francesco, staged by the music lover Morelli at his own expense, Caruso had a chance to play an elderly father (a sixty-year-old tenor sang the part of his son). And everyone heard that the voice of the "dad" is much more beautiful than that of the "son". Enrico was immediately invited to the Italian troupe, going on tour to Cairo. There, Caruso went through a tough “baptism of fire” (he happened to sing without knowing the role, attaching a sheet with the text to the back of his partner) and for the first time earned decent money, famously skipping them with the dancers of the local variety show. Caruso returned to the hotel in the morning riding on a donkey, covered in mud: drunk, he fell into the Nile and miraculously escaped from a crocodile. A merry feast was only the beginning of a “long journey” - while touring in Sicily, he went on stage half-drunk, instead of “fate” he sang “gulba” (in Italian they are also consonant), and this almost cost him his career.

In Livorno, he sings Leoncavallo's "Clowns" - the first success, then an invitation to Milan and the role of a Russian count with a sonorous Slavic name Boris Ivanov in Giordano's opera "Fedora" ... "

The admiration of critics knew no bounds: "One of the finest tenors we have ever heard!" Milan welcomed the singer, who was not yet known in the operatic capital of Italy.

On January 15, 1899, Petersburg already heard Caruso for the first time in La Traviata. Caruso, embarrassed and touched by the warm reception, responding to the numerous praises of Russian listeners, said: “Oh, don’t thank me - thank Verdi!” “Caruso was a wonderful Radamès, who aroused everyone's attention with his beautiful voice, thanks to which one can assume that this artist will soon be in the first row of outstanding modern tenors,” critic N.F. wrote in his review. Solovyov.

From Russia, Caruso went overseas to Buenos Aires; then sings in Rome and Milan. After a stunning success at La Scala, where Caruso sang in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore, even Arturo Toscanini, who was very stingy with praise, conducted the opera, could not stand it and, embracing Caruso, said. "My God! If this Neapolitan continues to sing like that, he will make the whole world talk about him!”

On the evening of November 23, 1903, Caruso made his New York debut at the Metropolitan Theatre. He sang in Rigoletto. The famous singer conquers the American public immediately and forever. The director of the theater was then Enri Ebey, who immediately signed a contract with Caruso for a whole year.

When Giulio Gatti-Casazza from Ferrara later became the director of the Metropolitan Theater, Caruso's fee began to grow steadily every year. As a result, he received so much that other theaters in the world could no longer compete with New Yorkers.

Commander Giulio Gatti-Casazza directed the Metropolitan Theater for fifteen years. He was cunning and prudent. And if sometimes there were exclamations that a fee of forty, fifty thousand lire for one performance was excessive, that not a single artist in the world received such a fee, then the director only chuckled.

“Caruso,” he said, “is the impresario the least, so no fee can be excessive for him.”

And he was right. When Caruso participated in the performance, the directorate increased ticket prices at their discretion. Traders appeared who bought tickets at any price, and then resold them for three, four and even ten times more!

“In America, Caruso was always successful from the very beginning,” writes V. Tortorelli. - His influence on the public grew day by day. The chronicle of the Metropolitan Theater states that no other artist had such success here. The appearance of Caruso's name on posters was every time a big event in the city. It caused complications for the theater management: the large hall of the theater could not accommodate everyone. It was necessary to open the theater two, three, or even four hours before the start of the performance, so that the temperamental audience of the gallery would calmly take their seats. It ended with the fact that the theater for evening performances with the participation of Caruso began to open at ten o'clock in the morning. Spectators with handbags and baskets filled with provisions occupied the most convenient places. Almost twelve hours before, people came to hear the singer's magical, bewitching voice (the performances started then at nine o'clock in the evening).

Caruso was busy with the Met only during the season; at the end of it, he traveled to numerous other opera houses, which besieged him with invitations. Where only the singer did not perform: in Cuba, in Mexico City, in Rio de Janeiro and Buffalo.

For example, since October 1912, Caruso made a grandiose tour of the cities of Europe: he sang in Hungary, Spain, France, England and Holland. In these countries, as in North and South America, he was awaited by an enthusiastic reception of joyful and tremulous listeners.

Once Caruso sang in the opera "Carmen" on the stage of the theater "Colon" in Buenos Aires. At the end of Jose's arioso, false notes sounded in the orchestra. They remained unnoticed by the public, but did not escape the conductor. Leaving the console, he, beside himself with rage, went to the orchestra with the intention of reprimanding. However, the conductor noticed that many soloists of the orchestra were crying, and did not dare to say a word. Embarrassed, he returned to his seat. And here are the impressions of the impresario about this performance, published in the New York weekly Follia:

“Until now, I thought that the rate of 35 thousand lire, which Caruso requested for one evening performance, was excessive, but now I am convinced that for such a completely unattainable artist, no compensation would be excessive. Bring tears to the musicians! Think about it! It's Orpheus!

Success came to Caruso not only thanks to his magical voice. He knew the parties and his partners in the play well. This allowed him to better understand the work and intentions of the composer and to live organically on stage. “In the theater I’m just a singer and actor,” said Caruso, “but in order to show the public that I’m not one or the other, but a real character conceived by the composer, I have to think and feel exactly like the person I had in mind composer".

December 24, 1920 Caruso performed in the six hundred and seventh, and his last, opera performance at the Metropolitan. The singer felt very bad: during the whole performance he experienced excruciating, piercing pain in his side, he was very feverish. Calling on all his will to help, he sang the five acts of The Cardinal's Daughter. Despite the cruel illness, the great artist kept on stage firmly and confidently. The Americans sitting in the hall, not knowing about his tragedy, applauded furiously, shouted "encore", not suspecting that they had heard the last song of the conqueror of hearts.

Caruso went to Italy and courageously fought the disease, but on August 2, 1921, the singer died.

Enrico Caruso is a great singer, whose name, without a doubt, is known in all corners of our vast planet. His songs and charming vocals are an example of the highest musical art. That is why his compositions easily crossed the borders of countries and continents, glorifying the name of the great Italian for many decades.

But what was so unique about the work of this outstanding tenor? How did his fate develop, and how long was his path to the heights of musical art? Today we will try to reveal some secrets connected with the life and work of the great maestro. In our biographical review you will find all the most interesting facts from the life of the inimitable Italian classic.

The early years, childhood and family of Enrico Caruso

Enrico Caruso was born on the twenty-fifth of February 1873 in the family of the most ordinary auto mechanic. The parents of the future singer - Anna Maria and Marcello Caruso - lived rather poorly, but our today's hero always called them very kind, generous and open people.

They always wanted the best for their beloved son, and therefore fully supported him at the moment when he announced that he would like to study music.

From an early age, Enrico Caruso sang in the church choir. This hobby became a real obsession for the boy at a time when his mother began to get sick often and soon died. As the great tenor himself later recalled, for a long time he sincerely believed that only in the church would his deceased mother be able to hear his singing.

However, some time later, due to the plight of his family, the singer began to perform church compositions right on the central streets of Naples. Thus, he earned money for a long time.

During one of these "street concerts", our today's hero was noticed by one of the teachers of the vocal school, Guglielmo Vergine. The young singer was invited to audition, and very soon Enrico Caruso began to study music with the famous conductor and teacher Vincenzo Lombardi. It was he who organized the first concerts of the young performer in the bars and restaurants of the resort areas of Naples.

Some time later, Enrico felt popular for the first time. Many people always came to his concerts. Soon after the performances, well-known representatives of the Italian music industry began to approach him often, who offered certain contracts to the talented performer. Thus, our today's hero first appeared in Palermo.

Enrico Caruso - O Sole Mio

According to many researchers, it was after the legendary performance of the role of Enzo from the opera La Gioconda that the twenty-four-year-old Caruso was talked about as an established star of the Italian stage.

Star Trek by Enrico Caruso

After this triumphant success, Enrico went on his first foreign tour in his life. Oddly enough, the musician's route lay in distant and cold Russia. This was followed by performances in other countries and cities. And already in 1900, as a full-fledged celebrity, Caruso first performed on the stage of the legendary Milan theater "La Scala".

After that, our today's hero again went on tour. During this period, the great Italian performed in London's Covent Garden, and also gave concerts in Hamburg, Berlin and some other cities. The singer's performances were held with constant success, but the concerts of the Italian performer on the New York stage of the Metropolitan Opera became truly magical and inimitable. Having performed here for the first time in 1903, subsequently our today's hero became the leading soloist of this theater for almost twenty years.

dedicated to Enrico Caruso

Caruso's repertoire included both lyrical and dramatic parts. However, our today's hero has always coped with any operatic works with the same virtuosity. In addition, it is also worth noting the fact that throughout his career, Caruso always included traditional Neapolitan songs in his repertoire. Perhaps that is why today Enrico remains one of the most famous natives of Naples and all of Italy.

It is also noteworthy that it was Enrico Caruso who became one of the first opera performers on the world stage who decided to fix his repertoire on gramophone records. To a large extent, it was this circumstance that predetermined the world popularity of the tenor, and made his work accessible to the masses.

Already during his lifetime, Enrico Caruso was called a legend of vocal art. This outstanding tenor remains a role model for many contemporary performers as well.

Death of Caruso, cause of death

Enrico Caruso performed and toured extensively. That is why the news of his death was largely unexpected for his fans in different countries of the world.

At the age of 48, the great tenor died in his native Naples as a result of purulent pleurisy. After his death, a special huge wax candle was made in memory of the outstanding opera performer. It was promised that every year this candle would be lit before the face of the holy Madonna. According to some estimates, only after 500 years the gigantic candle should burn out.

Personal life of Enrico Caruso

It is known for certain that even in his youth, Enrico was in love with the opera singer Ada Giachetti for a long time, who for a long time was actually his common-law wife. Despite a passionate romance one day, the girl just ran away from the singer with a young driver.

After that, our today's hero was married to a girl named Dorothy, who until the end of her days bore his last name and always remained near Caruso. After the death of the legendary tenor, the artist's wife wrote several publications about his life.

Not only the greatest talent, but also a person with a unique character, the facets of which can be judged by the interesting cases that happened to the artist.

Joker and prankster

An amazing voice, a legendary personality - Enrico Caruso is known to the public as an unsurpassed genius, but the singer's contemporaries also knew him as a person with a great sense of humor. And he showed it sometimes right on stage. Until now, they remember the case: one of the singers accidentally lost her lace pantaloons during the performance of the party. But no one noticed this, because the girl managed to shove them under the table with her foot. Nobody but Caruso. He slowly walked up to the table, picked up his trousers and, with an air of importance, offered them to the singer.

His dismissive attitude towards politicians is also known. So, at a meeting with the Spanish king at his residence, Caruso came with his pasta, assuring that they were tastier than royal ones. Until now, his famous appeal to the American president is quoted - "Mr. President, you are almost as famous as I am."

Tenor Disaster

Enrico Caruso several times became a witness and sometimes a participant in disasters. Once in San Francisco, where Caruso was touring, there was an earthquake. The hotel where the singer lived was also damaged. But then Caruso escaped with only a fright and again found a place for humor. When the tenor's friends met him in a dilapidated hotel with a wet towel on his shoulder, he shrugged his shoulders and said: "I told you that the irreparable would happen if I hit the top note." A few more times, the singer’s life was in danger: once, right during the performance, there was an explosion in the theater, after which robbers entered Caruso’s mansion, and the singer was blackmailed by scammers, extorting a large amount of money.

Enrico Caruso. Photo: www.globallookpress.com

Electoral professional

Caruso was one of the first opera singers to start recording on gramophone records, and he did it on a large scale. So, the singer recorded about 500 albums, each of which sold a huge number of copies. The best-selling ones were "Laugh, clown!" and "Pack". It is also known that Caruso was extremely sensitive to the compositions and preferred to perform all parts in the original language. He believed that no translation could convey to the audience all the ideas of the composer.

bad actor

Despite the impeccable voice that the whole world admired, Caruso was often reproached for his lack of acting skills. The press and envious people especially tried. But the phrase that once said Fyodor Chaliapin silenced all the haters: "For those notes, that cantilena, that phrasing that a great singer possesses, you must forgive him everything."

Faithful to the profession

Enrico Caruso knew not only all his parts, but also the parts of all his partners in the performance: getting used to the character, he did not leave it until the last applause died down. “In the theater, I’m just a singer and actor, but in order to show the public that I’m not one or the other, but a real character conceived by the composer, I have to think and feel exactly like the person the composer had in mind,” said Caruso.

His last performance, the 607th in a row, Caruso played already seriously ill. He endured all the painful 5 acts of the opera, after which he finally fell ill. The audience shouted "Bis", not knowing that they had heard the famous tenor for the last time.

basic information Name at birth

Errico Caruso (in the Neapolitan style)

Date of Birth Date of death A country

Kingdom of Italy

Professions singing voice Collectives

Biography

He made his debut in Naples on March 15, 1895. Fame came to Caruso in 1897, when he performed the part of Enzo (La Gioconda by Ponchielli) in Palermo. In 1900, he made his first appearance on the stage of Milan's La Scala theater (Nemorino in Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore); in 1902 he made his debut at London's Covent Garden Theater (The Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto). The singer's greatest fame is associated with the New York Metropolitan Opera House, the leading soloist of which he was from to 1940s.

Caruso recorded a lot - one of the first opera singers to record the bulk of his repertoire on gramophone records. He had a voice of unique timbre, in which the natural baritone, velvety sound of the lower and middle registers was combined with brilliant tenor highs. Thanks to his exceptional mastery of breathing, impeccable intonation and, most importantly, high performing culture, he became a legend of the vocal art of the 20th century, a model for future generations of operatic tenors.

Caruso performed lyrical and dramatic parts with equal success, mainly in operas by Verdi (Duke, Manrico in Il trovatore, Richard in Un ballo in maschera, Radamès in Aida) and verist composers (Canio in Pagliacci by Leoncavallo and etc.). He was the first performer of the roles of Federico ("Arlesian" Cilea, 1897), Loris ("Fedora" Giordano, 1898), Johnson ("Girl from the West" Puccini, 1910). Caruso's concert repertoire was dominated by Neapolitan songs.

Enrico Caruso died on the morning of 3 August 1921 in Naples at the age of 48 from purulent pleurisy. After his death, a giant wax candle was made in his honor, at the expense of people grateful to him. This candle must be lit once a year in front of the Madonna. According to calculations, this candle should be lit for 500 years.

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Notes

Literature

In Russian

Bulygin A.K. Caruso M.: Young Guard, 2010. 438 p. (Life of Remarkable People: Ser. Biogr.; Issue 1264).
Ilyin Yu., Mikheev S. Great Caruso. St. Petersburg: Glagol, 1995. 264 p.
Tortorelli W. Enrico Caruso / Per. from Italian. N. V. Vishnevskaya; General edition of I. I. Martynov. - M .: Music, 1965. - 176, p. - 75,000 copies.
Fuchito S., Beyer B. J. The Art of Singing and the Vocal Method of Enrico Caruso / Per. with him. St. Petersburg: Composer, 2004. 56 p.
Enrico Caruso on stage and in life / Per. from English. M.: Agraf, 2002. 480 p. (Series "The Magic Flute").

in foreign languages

Bolig, J. R. Caruso records: a history and discography. Mainspring Press, 2002. 216 p.
Caruso, Dorothy. Enrico Caruso: His Life and Death, with discography by Jack Caidin. Grant Press, 2007. 316 p.
Caruso D., Goddard, T. Wings Of Song. New York, 1928. 220 p.
Caruso, Enrico, Jr. Caruso's Caricatures. Dover Publications, 1993. 214 p.
Caruso, Enrico, Jr. My Father and My Family (Opera Biography Series, No. 2). Amadeus Press, 2003. 488 p.
Fucito, Salvatore. Caruso and the Art of Singing. Dover Publications, 1995. 224 p.
Gara, Eugenio, Caruso: Storia di un emigrante. Milan: Rizzoli, 1947. 281 p.
Gargano, Pietro & Cesarini, Gianni. Caruso, Vita e arte di un grande cantante. Longanesi, 1990. 336 p.
Gargano, Peter. Una vita una leggenda. Editoriale Giorgio Mondadori, 1997. 159 p.
Greenfield, Howard S. Caruso: An Illustrated Life. Trafalgar Square Publishing, 1991. 192 p.
Jackson, Stanley. Caruso. Stein And Day Publishers. New York, 1972. 302 p.
Key P. V. R., Zirato B., Enrico Caruso: A Biography. Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1922. 459 p.
Michele, Mary di. Tenor of Love: A Novel. Penguin Canada, 2004. 336 p.
Mouchon, Jean-Pierre. Enrico Caruso: His Life and Voice. Gap, France: Editions Ophrys, 1974. 74 p.
Robinson, Francis. Caruso His Life in Pictures. With discography by John Secrist. N. York and London Studio Publications, inc., 1957. 159 p.
Scott, Michael. The Great Caruso. Northeastern University Press, 1989. 322 p.
Vaccaro, Riccardo. Caruso. Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, 1995. 466 p.
Ybarra, T. E. Caruso: the Man of Naples and the Voice of Gold. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1953. 315 p.

Enrico Caruso: a short biography

Enrico was born in 1873 in the San Giovanello area on the outskirts of Naples. His parents Marcello and Anna Maria Caruso were generous and open people, although quite poor. The boy grew up in an industrial area, lived in a two-story house and sang in the local church choir from childhood. His education was limited to elementary school only. Later, after the sudden death of his mother, his singing talent had to be used to earn money: Enrico performed on the streets of Naples with his compositions for quite a long time.

One of these concerts became fateful: the talented young man was noticed and invited to audition by the teacher of the vocal school Guglielmo Vergine. Soon, Enrico began to seriously study music with the famous teacher and conductor Vincenzo Lombardi, who later organized the debut concerts of the young performer in restaurants and bars of the resort towns of Naples. Gradually Enrico gained popularity. His concerts were always attended by a large number of people, and after the performances, well-known representatives of Italian culture came up and offered the singer cooperation.

Incredible takeoff

About Enrico Caruso, whose biography is similar to an incredible rise, as an accomplished star of the Italian stage, they started talking when he, a 24-year-old talent, performed O sole Mio - the part of Enzo from the opera Gioconda. Such a triumphant success served as the beginning of the first foreign tour in my life, and it took place in distant Russia.

Principal Soloist of the Metropolitan Opera

Performances with his participation were held with incredible success, but the truly inimitable and magical concerts of Enrico Caruso, whose biography is presented in the article, became at the Metropolitan Opera (New York City). Having performed here for the first time in 1903, the Italian tenor became the leading soloist of the famous New York theater for almost two decades. The artist's fee increased from the initial 15 lire to $2,500 per performance. The appearance on the posters of the name of Enrico Caruso each time became a grandiose event in the city. The large hall of the theater was not able to accommodate a huge number of people. It had to be opened 3-4 hours before the start of the performance, so that the temperamental audience could safely take their seats. When Caruso performed, the theater management significantly increased ticket prices, and the horse dealers, who bought them at any price, then resold them several times more expensive.

Demand for Caruso

Enrico Caruso, whose biography is being studied with interest by the modern generation, preferred to perform opera works only in the original language, because he believed that no translation could convey to the viewer all the ideas of the composer. He was very fond of operas by French authors.

Any operatic works, mostly of a dramatic and lyrical nature, were easy for Enrico, and throughout his life, traditional Neapolitan songs sounded in his repertoire. Many composers fought for the right to work with the singer, and Giacomo Puccini, hearing the voice of Caruso, considered him a messenger of God. Partners who happened to perform on stage with the Italian tenor were completely delighted with him. Curiosity is the fact that Enrico did not have acting skills at all, for which he was repeatedly reproached by envious people and pedants. But the singer was engaged in writing his own works: "Sweet torments", "Old times", "Serenade".

First gramophone recordings with Caruso's voice

What caused the worldwide popularity of Enrico Caruso? Biography, interesting facts confirm that the Italian was one of the first performers of the world stage who decided to record his performances on gramophone records: approximately 500 discs with more than 200 original works were released. Recordings with the operas "Pagliac" and "Laugh, clown!" sold out in millions of copies. Perhaps it was this circumstance that brought Caruso world fame and made his original work accessible to the masses.

Legend in life

Already during his lifetime, Caruso, who had the gift of a caricaturist and knew how to play many musical instruments, became a legend of vocal art and remains a role model for many modern performers to this day. He regularly worked on the absolute mastery of the vocal apparatus and the expansion of breathing control, he could beautifully take a high note and hold it for a long time, which was not possible in his younger years.

Caruso's success was not only in his magical voice. He perfectly knew the parts of his stage partners, which allowed the tenor to better understand the work and the composer's intention and feel organically on stage.

Enrico Caruso: biography, interesting facts from life

Caruso had a subtle sense of humor. There was such a case: one of the artists lost her lace pantaloons right during the performance and imperceptibly managed to shove them under the bed with her foot. Enrico, who saw her trick, picked up her pants, then carefully straightened them and handed them to the lady with a ceremonial bow, which caused an uncontrollable attack of laughter from the auditorium. The opera singer invited to the Spanish king for dinner came with his pasta, believing that they were much tastier, and offered the brought treat to the guests.

In English, Caruso knew only a few words, but this did not bother him at all. Thanks to his good pronunciation and artistry, he always easily got out of a difficult situation. Only once did poor knowledge of the language lead to a curious incident: Caruso was informed of the sudden death of one of his acquaintances, to which the singer joyfully exclaimed: “Great! Say hello for me when you meet him!”

Caruso's life was not cloudless, as it seemed at first glance. During one of the performances, there was an explosion in the theater, there was an attempt to rob his mansion, extorting 50,000 dollars. From the side of the press there were constant attacks in the form of devastating articles.

The personal life of an opera artist

In his youth, Enrico was in love with the singer Ada Giachetti for a long time, with whom he was in a civil marriage. Despite such a passionate romance, the girl one day exchanged Caruso for a young driver, with whom she ran away. Caruso's constant companion was the devoted Dorothy, who until the end of her days bore his last name and always remained near her beloved.

Caruso's last game

Caruso Enrico, whose biography was nearing completion, sang his last part in the Metropolitan on December 24, 1920. During the performance, he felt very unwell, he was in a fever, and his side hurt unbearably. The singer courageously performed his parts, holding on to the stage confidently and firmly. The audience shouted: "Bis", applauded furiously, not realizing that they were listening to the last performance of the great Italian tenor.

Enrico Caruso died on August 2, 1921; The cause of death was purulent pleurisy. They buried him in Naples, and in memory of him, for the remembrance of the soul, by order of American hospitals, shelters and boarding schools, to which the singer repeatedly provided assistance, a special candle of impressive size was made. Every year it is lit in front of the face of the holy Madonna, and only after 500 years (according to estimates) will this wax giant burn out to the end.

Caruso left behind about seven million (mad money at that time), estates in America and Italy, several houses in Europe and the United States, collections of antiques and rare coins, a large number of expensive suits, each of which was accompanied by a pair of patent leather shoes. But the most precious thing left after the departure of the world famous singer is the creative heritage that has become the standard for many generations. One of the modern performers - tenor Nicola Martinucci - said that after listening to Caruso's performance, you want to beat your head against the wall: "How can you even sing after it?"