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• Personalities
• Classical
• Modern Era
• Singer

1873–1921 Italian tenor Caruso’s first great success was in L’elisir d’amore at La Scala in 1901, followed by his Covent Garden (1902) and Metropolitan Opera (1903) debuts in Rigoletto. He sang regularly at the Metropolitan thereafter, mainly in Verdi and Puccini, and also sang the French repertory including Faust, Manon and Samson et Dalila. He is considered ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

1873–1921, Italian Tenor Caruso’s first singing experiences came in local churches. Through mixed experiences of public performance, Caruso slowly came to master his voice and from his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in 1903, his fame was assured. Caruso’s voice mixed the burnished colour of a baritone with the sheen of a tenor. He developed ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

1890–1957, Italian Caruso’s successor at the Met, Gigli possessed a lighter but sweeter voice, and with the advent of recording he actually became more popular than his predecessor. Rodolfo in La bohème and Nemorino in Don Pasquale were perfect for his effortless tone. Gigli’s association with the Met began in 1920 but, due to a salary dispute ...

• Personalities
• Contemporary Era
• Jazz & Blues

acclaimed albums and a busy, international touring schedule. After attending Berklee School of Music, New England Conservatory and New York University, he studied with classical trumpeter Carmine Caruso and toured with Horace Silver. He has recorded for a variety of small labels, as well as BMG-RCA Victor, and is known for his Tin Hat Trio (jazzing ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

1866–1950, Italian It was the intention of Francesco Cilea’s father that his son should enter the legal profession. It was not to be, however, and under the tutelage of Paolo Serrao, Beniamino Cesi and Giuseppe Martucci at the Naples Conservatory, he quickly made a name for himself. His first opera, Gina (1889), was performed during ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Composer
• Late Romantic

repertory of every opera house today. Puccini’s Performers Puccini provided superb roles for his singers. Chevalier des Grieux, hero of Manon Lescaut, was sung by the young Enrico Caruso (1873­–1921) in 1895, two years after the premiere. The great tenor became a famous Rodolfo in La bohème and Cavaradossi in Tosca, before creating Dick Johnson in La ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

1885–1969, Italian Born in a small Italian village, Martinelli scaled the heights of operatic fame, becoming Caruso’s successor in verismo repertoire at the Met. After making his operatic debut in the title role of Verdi’s Ernani, he achieved his breakthrough when engaged by Puccini to sing Dick Johnson in the 1911 European premiere of La fanciulla del ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Modern Era
• Singer

an indelible impression as Bellini’s Norma, the part in which she made her London, Chicago and New York debuts. Introduction | Modern Era | Classical Personalities | Enrico Caruso | Modern Era | Classical ...

• Personalities
• Opera
• Turn of the Century

and edge that made him ideally suited to his most famous roles including Rigoletto, Germont and Eugene Onegin. Introduction | Turn of the Century | Opera Personalities | Enrico Caruso | Turn of the Century | Opera Techniques | Bel Canto | Early & Middle Baroque | Opera ...

• Personalities
• Classical
• Modern Era
• Singer

1897–1981 American soprano Ponselle’s first appearance on stage was opposite Caruso in Verdi’s La forza del destino at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918. She sang there regularly till 1937, mostly in nineteenth-century Italian opera; she did not sing Puccini. Her most celebrated role was Norma, with which she made her debut at Covent Garden in 1929. Introduction | Modern ...

• Personalities
• Modern Era
• Opera

1897–1981, American Soprano Ponselle’s auspicious debut took place in 1918 at the Met, as Leonore in La forza del destino with Enrico Caruso. That season, she sang 23 times, mainly in leading roles, and often with Caruso. Ponselle was soon the Met’s leading Italian dramatic soprano, with a dark, ringing, sonorous sound not ...

• The Voice
• Modern Era
• Opera

The advent of recordings certainly made opera accessible to many more people than ever before, and Enrico Caruso (1873–1921) was single-handedly responsible for the proliferation of his art via this medium. By the end of his life, he had made over 250 recordings. When the film world finally developed talkies, opera once again stepped to the fore, ...