Caruso Duets & Ensembles

On this CD:

1. Lucia di Lammermoor, opera Act II: Chi mi frena in tal momento?
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Pasquale Amato, Angelo Bada, Marcel Journet, Luisa Tetrazzini
Conducted by Walter B. Rogers

2. L'elisir d'amore, opera Act II: Venti scudi!
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Giuseppe de Luca
Conducted by Josef A. Pasternack

3. La forza del destino, opera Act II: Ne gustare m'e dato/Sleale! il segreto fu dunque violato?
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Giuseppe de Luca
Conducted by Josef A. Pasternack

4. Il Guarany, opera Act I: Sento una forza indomita
Composed by Carlos Gomes
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Emmy Destinn
Conducted by Walter B. Rogers

5. La Luz de la Luna, for 2 voices & orchestra
Composed by Anton y Michelena
Performed by Enrico Caruso
Conducted by Josef A. Pasternack

6. Un ballo in maschera, opera Act I: Cosi scritto e lassu/E scherzo od e follia
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Frieda Hempel, Leon Rothier, Andres Perello de Segurola
Conducted by Gaetano Scognamiglio

7. Le Crucifix
Composed by Jean-Baptiste [baritone/composer] Faure
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Marcel Journet
Conducted by Walter B. Rogers

8. La bohème, opera Act I: O soave fanciulla
Composed by Giacomo Puccini
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Geraldine Farrar
Conducted by Walter B. Rogers

9. Martha, opera Act II: Siam giunti o giovinette/Questa camera e per vio!/Che vuol dir cio?/Presto presto andiam
Composed by Friedrich von Flotow
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Frances Alda, Marcel Journet
Conducted by Walter B. Rogers

10. Aida, opera Act IV: O terra addio
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Johanna Gadski
Conducted by Walter B. Rogers

11. Rigoletto, opera Act IV: Bella figlia d'amore
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Antonio Scotti, Marcella Sembrich

12. Aida, opera Act IV: Gia i sacredoti adunansi/Misero appien mi festi
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso

13. La forza del destino, opera Act IV: Ivano Alvaro/Le minaccie i fieri accenti
Composed by Giuseppe Verdi
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Pasquale Amato

14. Lucia di Lammermoor, opera Act II: Chi mi frena in tal momento?
Composed by Gaetano Donizetti
Performed by Enrico Caruso, Angelo Bada, Amelita Galli-Curci, Marcel Journet, Giuseppe de Luca
Conducted by Josef A. Pasternack

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
A key element of the Caruso legend was the enormously charismatic presence that the tenor brought to the stage. All the more tantalizing, given the absence of any complete opera recording from Caruso's discography, to page through old production photos and read contemporary accounts of how he "sang like the rising sun." This potpourri of Caruso in digitally remastered duets and ensembles will tempt you to reconstruct--in the theater of your imagination--how electric the experience of Caruso's voice in a given dramatic context must have been. Simply to list the cast of fellow singers here--Luisa Tetrazzini, Marcel Journet, Frieda Hempel, and Paquale Amato among others--is to review a mythic golden age of vocalism. And there's the paradigmatic pairing of Caruso and Geraldine Ferrar in an Act I duet from La Bohème that bursts out of the technical limitations of its recording with a sincerely moving directness. Some of the other treats include the quartet from Rigoletto (one of four versions recorded by the tenor), the opera with which Caruso made his Met debut, as well as a couple of duets from La Forza del destino and a relatively lengthy number from the once-popular Marta. Compare the two takes of the Lucia sextet that bookend this disc--from 1912 and 1917, respectively--and notice the darker timbre that Caruso's voice took on toward the end of his career. Both are exemplary for the limpid shape and expressive ritards of Caruso's freely flowing lines, which gloriously interweave with the other voices in the ensemble. --Thomas May

Tracks:

Lucia Di Lammermoor: Act II. Sextet: Chi Mi Frena In Tal Momento? - Enrico Caruso/Luisa Tetrazzini/Josephine Jacoby/Angelo Bada/Pasquale Amato/Marcel Journet
L'Elisir D'Amore: Act II: Venti Scudi! - Enrico Caruso/Giuseppe De Luca
La Forza Del Destino: Act III: Ne Gustare M'E Dato; Sleale! Il Segreto Fu Dunque Violato? - Enrico CarusoGiuseppe De Luca
Il Guarany: Act I: Sento Una Forza Indomita - Enrico Caruso/Emmy Destinn
A La Luz De La Luna - Enrico Caruso/Emilio De Gogorza
Un Ballo In Maschera: Act I: Cosi Scritto E Lassu; E Scherzo Od E Follia - Enrico Caruso/Frieda Hempel/Maria Duchene/Leon Rothier/Andres de Segurola
Crucifix - Enrico Caruso/Marcel Journet
La Boheme: Act I: O Soave Fanciulla - Enrico Caruso/Geraldine Farrar
Marta: Act II: SIam Giunti, O Giovinette; Questa Camera E Per Voi!; Che Vuol Dir Cio?; Presto... - Enrico Caruso/Frances Alda/Josephine Jacoby/Marcel Journet
Aida: Act IV: O Terra Addio - Enrico Caruso/Johanna Gadski
Rigoletto: Act IV: Bella Figlia D'amore - Enrico Caruso/Marcella Sembrich/Gina Severina/Antonio Scotti
Aida: Act IV: Gia I Sacredoti Adunansi; Misero Appien Mi Festi - Enrico Caruso/Louise Homer
La Forza Del Destino: Act IV: Invano, Alvaro; Le Minaccie I Fieri Accenti - Enrico Caruso/Pasquale Amato
Carmen: Act I: Parle-Moi De Ma Mere - Enrico Caruso/Frances Alda
Lucia Di Lammermoor: Act II. Sextet: Chi Mi Frena In Tal Momento? - Enrico Caruso/Amelita Galli-Curci/Minnie Egener/Angelo Bada/Giuseppe De Luca/Marcel Journet

Amazon.com essential recording

A key element of the Caruso legend was the enormously charismatic presence that the tenor brought to the stage. All the more tantalizing, given the absence of any complete opera recording from Caruso's discography, to page through old production photos and read contemporary accounts of how he "sang like the rising sun." This potpourri of Caruso in digitally remastered duets and ensembles will tempt you to reconstruct--in the theater of your imagination--how electric the experience of Caruso's voice in a given dramatic context must have been. Simply to list the cast of fellow singers here--Luisa Tetrazzini, Marcel Journet, Frieda Hempel, and Paquale Amato among others--is to review a mythic golden age of vocalism. And there's the paradigmatic pairing of Caruso and Geraldine Ferrar in an Act I duet from La Bohème that bursts out of the technical limitations of its recording with a sincerely moving directness. Some of the other treats include the quartet from Rigoletto (one of four versions recorded by the tenor), the opera with which Caruso made his Met debut, as well as a couple of duets from La Forza del destino and a relatively lengthy number from the once-popular Marta. Compare the two takes of the Lucia sextet that bookend this disc--from 1912 and 1917, respectively--and notice the darker timbre that Caruso's voice took on toward the end of his career. Both are exemplary for the limpid shape and expressive ritards of Caruso's freely flowing lines, which gloriously interweave with the other voices in the ensemble. --Thomas May