The Great Enrico Caruso
The Great Tenor Enrico Caruso was born on February 25th, 1873 in Naples, Italy. Considered the greatest operatic tenor who ever lived, Caruso made his operatic debut in 1894 at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples and apprenticed in many small theaters singing a variety of roles. He achieved greater triumph when he made his American debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1903. Here he remained with the company for the next 18 seasons and achieved a record of 863 appearances. Caruso was also one of the first musicians to document his voice on gramophone recordings. He made more than 260 recordings for Victor Talking Machine Company within a 16 year span. "Vesti la giubba" from Pagliacci was the first recording to ever sell over one million copies. Caruso's achievements during his career made him the most celebrated tenor of his time. Besides being supremely gifted for opera, Caruso's passion for food and cooking was also well known. He sponsored the citizenship of more than a dozen chefs from his hometown of Naples and helped them open restaurants in Brooklyn. Not only did help them but when the tenor wasn't singing he could be found cooking in the kitchen preparing meals for his many friends. One dish named in his honor was "Spaghetti alla Caruso". This dish consisted of chicken livers, San Marzano tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and garlic. During the 1950's this dish appeared on menus all over the United States. Caruso always proudly said that his food was the sweetest, the simplest and the least expensive in the world. When Caruso passed away from chronic pleurisy on August 2, 1921 at the age of 48, he left a legacy of music that millions of us are still able to enjoy today. I found a great website that features many of Caruso's recordings. I listened to most of them while writing this. Visit www.enricocaruso.dk and you'll be able to hear "The Great Caruso". We salute Enrico Caruso! Enjoy!
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