Milano

Milano

On this CD:

1. Germania, opera Studenti, udite
Composed by Alberto Franchetti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

2. Rigoletto, opera Questa o quella
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

3. Aida, opera Celeste Aida
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

4. Manon, opera Chiudo gli occhi (Il sogno)
Composed by Jules Massenet
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

5. L'elisir d'amore, opera Una furtiva lagrima
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

6. Mefistofele, opera giunto sul passo estremo
Composed by Arrigo Boito
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

7. Germania, opera No, non chiuder gli occhi vaghi
Composed by Alberto Franchetti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

8. Mefistofele, opera dai campi, dai prati
Composed by Arrigo Boito
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

9. Tosca, opera E lucevan le stelle
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

10. Iris, opera in 3 acts Apri la tua finestra (Serenata di Jor)
Composed by Pietro Mascagni
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

11. Fedora, opera Amor ti vieta
Composed by Umberto Giordano
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Umberto Giordano

12. La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts Cielo e mar
Composed by Amilcare Ponchielli
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

13. Pagliacci, opera Vesti la giubba
Composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

14. Cavalleria rusticana, opera in 1 act O Lola (Siciliana)
Composed by Pietro Mascagni
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

15. Non t'amo più, for voice & piano
Composed by Luigi Denza
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

16. La Mia canzone, for voice & piano/orchestra
Composed by Francesco Paolo Tosti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

17. Adriana Lecouvreur, opera No, più nobile
Composed by Francesco Cilea
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Francesco Cilea

18. Luna fedel, for voice & piano
Composed by Redento Zardo
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

19. Un Bacio ancora, for voice & piano
Composed by Rocco Trimarchi
Performed by Enrico Caruso

20. Les Pêcheurs de perles, opera in 3 acts Mi par d'udir ancora
Composed by Georges Bizet
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Salvatore Cottone

21. Mattinata, song for voice & piano (or orchestra)
Composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo
Performed by Enrico Caruso

22. Les Huguenots, grand opera in 5 acts Qui sotto il ciel
Composed by Giacomo Meyerbeer
Performed by Enrico Caruso

23. Tu non mi vuoi più ben, for voice & piano
Composed by Antonio Pini-Corsi
Performed by Enrico Caruso

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
History was made--and the future of the newfangled technology of the phonograph secured--one spring afternoon in Milan in 1902 when Enrico Caruso spent two hours in a hotel room registering his voice on wax for the first time. You can relive that occasion by listening to the first 10 arias on this disc, which include examples of some of the tenor's famous Verdi roles in Rigoletto and Aïda as well as two selections from the now-forgotten opera Germania (then recently introduced at La Scala by Caruso) and the still-fresh "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca. Spontaneity is an understatement for a process that didn't yet allow for editing and thus preserved some awkward missteps between the singer and his piano accompanist Salvatore Cottone, but the unforced beauty of the voice cuts through like a shaft of light. Other selections on the disc (most of which are also available in EMI's remastering on The Legendary Caruso) further document Caruso's authority in contemporary verismo style (as in his signature "Vesti la giubba")--including one accompanied by Leoncavallo himself. There's also a taste of his repertory's expansion into the areas of bel canto (in "Una furtiva lagrima") and French opera. One standout is a deeply affecting aria from Bizet's Pearl Fishers in which the singer's legendary breath control and use of ritards shape a statement of deeply affecting pathos. Though the voice would later deepen and gain a more assured mastery--there are several ventures into head voice to cope with Caruso's still precarious upper tessitura--these early recordings convey a stunning profile of this artistic phenomenon. --Thomas May