Hats off to the anonymous recording engineer who managed the primitive acoustic equipment of 1912 in such a manner that the singers have a "presence" and depth you would only expect to hear in an electric recording. Bravo!
To my ear, this recording is actually better balanced than the later version Caruso made with Galli-Curci. Amato is better balanced in the aural framework, and if Jacoby is fractionally less prominent than Perini, it might be due only to their vocal characteristics.
Every time I listen to this recording, I get goose bumps. Someone once asked Pavarotti who was the best operatic tenor, and he said "There's Caruso - and then there are all the rest." To that I would add TETRAZZINI!
@GermanOperaSinger To me it's just that he enjoys so much the notes , he sings with no rush or concern, anytime I listen to Caruso it feels like there is a sweet and magic patriarch...his interpretations are saying: this the way to do it: music life and soul all together at once, it's more than a carrier, it's just who you are.
Scontro fra titani dell'opera! Questa versione fu pubblicata solo in Germania nella sua prima stampa perché la Tetrazzini secondo i produttori brillava troppo! Malignità a parte è un disco storico non solo perché é del 1912 ma perché sono tutti perfetti!
@jd1906sf Agree! and one more thing if you notice basically opera librettos are kind of simplistic the music with the other paraphernalia brings the catharsis, for the ones who loves opera, it's just a detail. However last night I was at the Met seeing their production of "Il trovatore " direct by David Mc Vicars and Verdi's libretto are conceptually well done, there is an authentic net that builds real drama, his operas contains a lot of the human being concern, the noble and the misery..
Caruso was and remains famous because he was the first modern tenor and was associated with many of the new verismo opera roles. He was like Babe Ruth or Wilt Chamberlain. They built stadiums differently after Ruth and they changed the court after Chamberlain. Before Caruso the Met played a lot of French opera. It was called the "Faustspielhaus" because they mounted Gounod's Faust so often. Caruso made the Met a home for Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo. Bel canto tenors in the nineteenth century sang their high notes in falsetto. Gradually tenors who carried the big sound up to the top like Donzelli and Duprez sang those top notes from the chest . Caruso's rivals generally had lighter voices and those voices didn't record as well as the darker fuller tenor sound of Caruso. He came along at just the right time. Today the best tenors tend to be Koreans.
In the aria, only an A flat is written as main alternative, ,but another alternative ("oppure")is also written above,with the high C. At the end of the duett, however, there is no high C contemplated for the tenor(for the soprano,yes), but soon it became a practise, like in Rigoletto's La Donna?s B, or in Trovatore's La Pira?s high Cs, not contemplated in the script but the public always expects. In the case of Boheme (or in Butterfly's duet),the two alternatives are accepted.
I think Caruso is slightly better here than in the 1917 recording but that version has Galli-Curci which makes it my favorite . Interesting fact about this Tetrazzini version is that Victor never officially released it. I believe it first appeared on a Collector's label in the 1940s. RCA Victor finally issued it on an LP in the 1970s.
True. In fact, I don't even think he had a high C. Remember Puccini's well known annecdote: when Caruso sang the final duet of Boheme's first act and did not go up to high C, Puccini said: no problem,is much more important to sing the rest of the opera as you do, than just a single note.. By the way, Domingo also practically did not have a hich C(do di petto), and that's why some people call him "Placi Mingo" (no "do").The important thing is to sing well, not just the spectacular high notes.
The 1st harmonic on Caruso's "consolar" just before Maddalena's entry is so strong it sounds like he's singing an octave higher in falsetto. Or maybe it's an artifact of the recording / remastering process?
I also love Schipa very, very.His voice is grandios and a little more softly. Schipa and Toti Dal Monte the ideal singerpair. I also love most Toti Dal Monte. For me she is the Queen of sungart. But we must remake that her audiorecording was later then Tetrazzini, Patti, Melba etc. so it is not correct to worth this Voices together. Sorry thats unimpossible to hear the voice of Malibran, it was too early for recording . This voices are all so grandios that we only cane be thankfull therefor!
hahaha!! Caruso's voice was much bigger than Bjorling's voice, more squillante, more beautiful, more dark, more cuore than Bjorling. Even though, Bjorling was a great singer, probably in the top ten tenors of the last century.
Giorgio Armato Im saying this as a huge fan of Del Monaco, Caruso, and Bjorling. Del Monaco might have had a bigger voice than Caruso but Caruso's voice was practically flawless and he had great control of his voice. Del Monaco only had one dynamic: fortissimo. We also cannot accurately judge the size of Caruso's voice based on these recordings vs live recordings of Del Monaco in the 50's. People who heard Caruso live said he had a huge voice that was very loud.
Loud is a silly value. Obviously you have to be heard. But Nilsson was the loudest singer of her era--and never moved me in the least. Del Monaco was very fine before pushing robbed his voice of suppleness.
Well,since you mentioned it, I checked his duet with Farrar and also with Melba, and in both Caruso does NOT go up to the high C, he stays down, and only the soprano goes up to the high C, but there is nothing wrong with this: it's exactly how is written in the script. I guess is true that Caruso did not reach a high C, although this is no demerit for the great tenor that Caruso was, he had other beautiful qualities.
This was made in 1917 against a Terrible World War that was to end at 11 am. on Monday, Novemb'er 11th, 1918, and it was such a shame that Enrico Caruso was to die on Tuesday, August 2nd, 1921
It is frightfully uncanny how much Jussi Bjorling's voice and Caruso's voice sound almost identical . If one did not know this was Caruso i think most would say this is Jussi Bjorling. The Big difference between the 2 voices was Caruso had twice the volume and power but the quality was absolutely the same.
Etnalleb -Bjirling has a ringing bell like quality in his voice that is instantly recognisable .Some voices are so "particular "you recognise them almost instantly like Caruso Schipa Tauber McCormack Ponselle Callas di Stefano Ferrier for example .
Jussi Bjorling had an absolutely beautiful voice and he remains my favourite, but it is a well known fact that he admired Caruso and tried to imitate him. The thing is every voice is different. His voice was lighter, a lyric tenor. With age his voice darkened, but he never had the power that Caruso had. Still IMHO Jussi Bjorling had the most beautiful voice ever.
Adriano 104 - that proves my point. High c's and MUSICAL SENSITIVITY is a contraddition in terms. At the end of the day only an italian singer can sing italian arias properly. How can a non italian gets its tonge around ... parmi veder le lacrime... or for the matter only a german can sing Wagner properly...
Caruso was and is the greatist Tenor of all times ! I also prefer this ensemble (Caruso/Tetrazzini). Tetrazzinis voice is mutch better than Amelitta Gali Curcis voice. Tetrazzinnis voice is direct, strong and exactly. Amelittas voice is more soft, charming and not so even. May be in this roll, Gilda as more childly, Amelitta is more suitable
Sorry, there is no "high c" in Nessun dorma. The final high note is a b. And by the way, Carrera in his good old times sang this piece much better than Pavarotti, in my opinion. His expression is more authentic and has more musical sensitivity
Due to remarkable improvement of recording technique, the 1917 version with Galli-Curci, Flora Perini and Giuseppe De Luca sounds to me better than this one... 5 years make the difference, after all. Also, deepness in Caruso voice. Penetrating resonance. This is what other tenors lack. But, it is the matter of personal taste.
Don't feel sorry for Carrera, I like his Nessun dorma version much better than Pavarotti (Alain Lombard,1978), the expression is much more authentic among other things. Also, there are MANY tenors who have sung Turandot, Pavarotti has no exclusivity on this script!. And by the way, there is no HIGH C in Nessun Dorma: it's a natural B!
Caruso the greatest tenor.... - yes and no. Do some reserch and see what Puccini thaught of him. When Caruso came out the cognoscenty considered him rather vulgar. It is thank to him that every tenor now got to kill himself trying to belt out those high c's (nessun dorma). Every time I see Carrera in Nessun dorma , trying to do a Pavarotti I feel sorry for him. BY the way, Caruso was booed in Napoli.
Carreras never should have sung Nessun Dorma. He ruined what was a beautiful LIGHT spin to tenor singing roles far too heavy for him. Corelli was the finest Calaf of all, but Pavarotti for the aria and Bjoerling for commercial recordings were his equal
eine grandiose aufnähme die besten Sänger der damaligen zeit sind hier versammelt.wunderbar
It is a wonder that these voices can still thrill you and warm your heart, more than one hundred years later.
I bet they never imagined that people would still be listening to them over one hundred years later.
Бессмертные голоса можно слушать и наслаждаться бесконечно!
Caruso divino, Tetrazzini divina e mezzo soprano precisa, barítono fantástico! Enfim gênios intérpretes!
La Tetrazini e incredibile. Due fenomeni.
Unbelievably perfect ensemble. What a blend. No one scoops. Attacks and sense of pulse are as one. Wowowow
Hats off to the anonymous recording engineer who managed the primitive acoustic equipment of 1912 in such a manner that the singers have a "presence" and depth you would only expect to hear in an electric recording. Bravo!
To my ear, this recording is actually better balanced than the later version Caruso made with Galli-Curci. Amato is better balanced in the aural framework, and if Jacoby is fractionally less prominent than Perini, it might be due only to their vocal characteristics.
Amato was a great baritone. I enjoy his 1911 performance of "Cortigiani vil razza" and 1950 Leonard Warren's more than all others.
tikibarman5 This recording has artificial reverb added. The original untouched recording sounds much better than it does here.
Of course the singers are legendary. But also the recording sounds fantastic !
Non credo che apprezzeremo in futuro un'esecuzione così ben fatta!
Бриллиантовые голоса!
I,ve heard a recording of this, that clearly demonstrates that caruso was the most powerful tenor, to date.
!! years later I firmly agree with you!
Pob Hwyl Nos da.
Meravigliosa melodia e loro eccelsi !!! Dei titani dell'opera 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😍
she amazlingly slides up to the last note... she doesn't even have to set it up!!!! wow
I don't like the slide.
Oh, so this heaven?!
Il re bemolle finale e da mozzafiato!
I love the ornamentation and the sweetness in Caruso's voice. Sounds like they're all singing into a tin trash can but a great historical recording.
Every time I listen to this recording, I get goose bumps. Someone once asked Pavarotti who was the best operatic tenor, and he said "There's Caruso - and then there are all the rest." To that I would add TETRAZZINI!
Caruso was the best voice of all time.
WHAT SHEER PERFECTIONS!
Sublime! Divino! Arte canora che purtroppo oggi è andata persa...
Si ai raggione Romeo !
@@marcelpopa8018 "raggione" ???
Il massimo della bellezza è qui !!
@GermanOperaSinger To me it's just that he enjoys so much the notes , he sings with no rush or concern, anytime I listen to Caruso it feels like there is a sweet and magic patriarch...his interpretations are saying: this the way to do it: music life and soul all together at once, it's more than a carrier, it's just who you are.
Wonderful. Thank you.
Glorious!
Brawississimo ! Wunderschone interpretation !
Scontro fra titani dell'opera! Questa versione fu pubblicata solo in Germania nella sua prima stampa perché la Tetrazzini secondo i produttori brillava troppo! Malignità a parte è un disco storico non solo perché é del 1912 ma perché sono tutti perfetti!
옛날1900대초가수들기량이빼어났다현대가수들은질이떨어지고있다
It was said that Enrico Caruso could shatter wine glasses with his voice......imagine?
Legend, that's all...
@jd1906sf Agree! and one more thing if you notice basically opera librettos are kind of simplistic the music with the other paraphernalia brings the catharsis, for the ones who loves opera, it's just a detail. However last night I was at the Met seeing their production of "Il trovatore " direct by David Mc Vicars and Verdi's libretto are conceptually well done, there is an authentic net that builds real drama, his operas contains a lot of the human being concern, the noble and the misery..
Superb! TY baritono for posting.
Tetrazzini was so incedible as was Caruso. Perhaps primitive recording techniques, but a just timeless performance. Here age means nothing.
Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!
Splendido
Caruso was and remains famous because he was the first modern tenor and was associated with many of the new verismo opera roles. He was like Babe Ruth or Wilt Chamberlain. They built stadiums differently after Ruth and they changed the court after Chamberlain. Before Caruso the Met played a lot of French opera. It was called the "Faustspielhaus" because they mounted Gounod's Faust so often. Caruso made the Met a home for Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo.
Bel canto tenors in the nineteenth century sang their high notes in falsetto. Gradually tenors who carried the big sound up to the top like Donzelli and Duprez sang those top notes from the chest . Caruso's rivals generally had lighter voices and those voices didn't record as well as the darker fuller tenor sound of Caruso. He came along at just the right time.
Today the best tenors tend to be Koreans.
In the aria, only an A flat is written as main alternative, ,but another alternative ("oppure")is also written above,with the high C. At the end of the duett, however, there is no high C contemplated for the tenor(for the soprano,yes), but soon it became a practise, like in Rigoletto's La Donna?s B, or in Trovatore's La Pira?s high Cs, not contemplated in the script but the public always expects. In the case of Boheme (or in Butterfly's duet),the two alternatives are accepted.
I've always thought this was his best version. Other opinions?
1917 version with Galli-Curci, Flora Perini and Giuseppe De Luca, is good too...
I think Caruso is slightly better here than in the 1917 recording but that version has Galli-Curci which makes it my favorite . Interesting fact about this Tetrazzini version is that Victor never officially released it. I believe it first appeared on a Collector's label in the 1940s. RCA Victor finally issued it on an LP in the 1970s.
@@eblackadder3 Heavier breathing by Caruso in the 1917 recording. And I agree about the presence of Galli-Curci.
True. In fact, I don't even think he had a high C. Remember Puccini's well known annecdote: when Caruso sang the final duet of Boheme's first act and did not go up to high C, Puccini said: no problem,is much more important to sing the rest of the opera as you do, than just a single note.. By the way, Domingo also practically did not have a hich C(do di petto), and that's why some people call him "Placi Mingo" (no "do").The important thing is to sing well, not just the spectacular high notes.
The 1st harmonic on Caruso's "consolar" just before Maddalena's entry is so strong it sounds like he's singing an octave higher in falsetto. Or maybe it's an artifact of the recording / remastering process?
כמובן הזמרים הם אגדיים. אבל גם ההקלטה נשמעת מעולה !
There are photos now online of Josephine Jacoby. secondhandsongs.com/artist/139413
The clarity of the voices in this recording is quite remarkable.
I also love Schipa very, very.His voice is grandios and a little more softly. Schipa and Toti Dal Monte the ideal singerpair.
I also love most Toti Dal Monte. For me she is the Queen of sungart. But we must remake that her audiorecording was later then Tetrazzini, Patti, Melba etc. so it is not
correct to worth this Voices together. Sorry thats unimpossible to hear the voice of Malibran, it was too early for recording . This voices are all so grandios
that we only cane be thankfull therefor!
I love Bjorling and Sutherland but nobody sings it like Caruso
By the fortune, that in the past singers knew to sing, if It had not been?
In case you didn't know, Tetrazzini was the fat lady referred to in the famous "it's not over till the fat lady sings."
she was who turkey/chicken tetrazzini was named after (really!)
Averne di Tetrazzini oggi... Con le galline che cantano nei teatri odierni lei volerebbe come aquila...
Tetrazzini had a voice is so pure her high notes nearly obliterate the others. A greater singer than Caruso any day
And it is not just the high notes... she can be heard throughout her range and her chest register is awesome.
hahaha!! Caruso's voice was much bigger than Bjorling's voice, more squillante, more beautiful, more dark, more cuore than Bjorling. Even though, Bjorling was a great singer, probably in the top ten tenors of the last century.
it was. But it wasn't bigger and brighter than Del Monaco's.
Giorgio Armato Im saying this as a huge fan of Del Monaco, Caruso, and Bjorling. Del Monaco might have had a bigger voice than Caruso but Caruso's voice was practically flawless and he had great control of his voice. Del Monaco only had one dynamic: fortissimo. We also cannot accurately judge the size of Caruso's voice based on these recordings vs live recordings of Del Monaco in the 50's. People who heard Caruso live said he had a huge voice that was very loud.
But a lot more warmth and soul.
Loud is a silly value. Obviously you have to be heard. But Nilsson was the loudest singer of her era--and never moved me in the least. Del Monaco was very fine before pushing robbed his voice of suppleness.
Sei un idiota costa diabolo
Well,since you mentioned it, I checked his duet with Farrar and also with Melba, and in both Caruso does NOT go up to the high C, he stays down, and only the soprano goes up to the high C, but there is nothing wrong with this: it's exactly how is written in the script. I guess is true that Caruso did not reach a high C, although this is no demerit for the great tenor that Caruso was, he had other beautiful qualities.
There's portamento and then there's....rising portamento well bove high C. Wow.....
@bachboy111 Not at all. This recording will be 100 yrs old next year
Oh my goodness! Nobody's shouting!!!
This was made in 1917 against a Terrible World War that was to end at 11 am. on Monday, Novemb'er 11th, 1918, and it was such a shame that Enrico Caruso was to die on Tuesday, August 2nd, 1921
For a completely different sound, try McCormack with Bori and Werrenrath, a little more bel canto
It is frightfully uncanny how much Jussi Bjorling's voice and Caruso's voice sound almost identical . If one did not know this was Caruso i think most would say this is Jussi Bjorling. The Big difference between the 2 voices was Caruso had twice the volume and power but the quality was absolutely the same.
Etnalleb -Bjirling has a ringing bell like quality in his voice that is instantly recognisable .Some voices are so "particular "you recognise them almost instantly like Caruso Schipa Tauber McCormack Ponselle Callas di Stefano Ferrier for example .
Yea a bit similar. I think Bergonzi also imitated Caruso well in his style of singing.
Jussi Bjorling had an absolutely beautiful voice and he remains my favourite, but it is a well known fact that he admired Caruso and tried to imitate him. The thing is every voice is different. His voice was lighter, a lyric tenor. With age his voice darkened, but he never had the power that Caruso had. Still IMHO Jussi Bjorling had the most beautiful voice ever.
Not a very good transfer with added fake resonance. Also, it sounds slightly faster than normal.
If I am correct there was no C' written in the aria in Boheme?
It's marked as an ossia
Adriano 104 - that proves my point. High c's and MUSICAL SENSITIVITY is a contraddition in terms. At the end of the day only an italian singer can sing italian arias properly. How can a non italian gets its tonge around ... parmi veder le lacrime... or for the matter only a german can sing Wagner properly...
Caruso was and is the greatist Tenor of all times ! I also prefer this ensemble (Caruso/Tetrazzini). Tetrazzinis voice is mutch better than Amelitta Gali Curcis voice. Tetrazzinnis voice is direct, strong and exactly. Amelittas voice is more soft, charming and not so even. May be in this roll, Gilda as more childly, Amelitta is more suitable
@GermanOperaSinger What do you mean "was"? LOL.
Sorry, there is no "high c" in Nessun dorma. The final high note is a b. And by the way, Carrera in his good old times sang this piece much better than Pavarotti, in my opinion. His expression is more authentic and has more musical sensitivity
Francisco Chacón Marín.
Who is the conductor???
Due to remarkable improvement of recording technique, the 1917 version with Galli-Curci, Flora Perini and Giuseppe De Luca sounds to me better than this one... 5 years make the difference, after all. Also, deepness in Caruso voice. Penetrating resonance. This is what other tenors lack. But, it is the matter of personal taste.
Don't feel sorry for Carrera, I like his Nessun dorma version much better than Pavarotti (Alain Lombard,1978), the expression is much more authentic among other things. Also, there are MANY tenors who have sung Turandot, Pavarotti has no exclusivity on this script!. And by the way, there is no HIGH C in Nessun Dorma: it's a natural B!
Caruso the greatest tenor.... - yes and no. Do some reserch and see what Puccini thaught of him. When Caruso came out the cognoscenty considered him rather vulgar. It is thank to him that every tenor now got to kill himself trying to belt out those high c's (nessun dorma). Every time I see Carrera in Nessun dorma , trying to do a Pavarotti I feel sorry for him.
BY the way, Caruso was booed in Napoli.
Carreras never should have sung Nessun Dorma. He ruined what was a beautiful LIGHT spin to tenor singing roles far too heavy for him. Corelli was the finest Calaf of all, but Pavarotti for the aria and Bjoerling for commercial recordings were his equal