Name: Enrico Caruso & Pasquale Amato - Invano, Alvaro (Victor, 1911) | Videos | Gan Jing World
Uploaded: 2023-03-21T06:55:10.444Z
Duration: 8 min 1 s
Description: Last month…August…Dead Tenors’ Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the death of Enrico Caruso, who passed away at Naples’ Vesuvio Hotel on August 2, 192... | Videos | Gan Jing World

Enrico Caruso

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Last month…August…Dead Tenors’ Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the death of Enrico Caruso, who passed away at Naples’ Vesuvio Hotel on August 2, 1921, at the age of 48. I must admit that, after an entire month of Caruso, it has been difficult to even think of another tenor for this month’s episodes. The question arose, “What could possibly follow an entire month of Caruso?”

The answer is obvious…MORE CARUSO!!!

To be honest, I am doing my best to make up for an egregious oversight. In my zeal to showcase the art of Enrico Caruso, I only featured his solo recordings and completely ignored the many magnificent duets and ensembles he recorded with his colleagues. To remedy this situation, I will be featuring some of my favorite duets recorded by the tenor over the years. If I happen to exclude your own favorites, please don’t be cross with me. Just let me know and I will try to include your favorite recording on a future installment.

Caruso’s duet recordings are a marvel to listen to. The great tenor had an uncanny ability to change the color of his voice (without actually changing the voice itself) to match whatever colleague he was singing with. I am hard pressed to think of another artist who had not only the ability to do this, but who possessed the same sense of generosity toward his colleagues to make such a gesture. By doing this, Caruso elevates his singing partner, the music, the drama of the piece and, of course, his own performance by creating the perfect vocal blend. This is just one of the many things that combined to make Enrico Caruso the unparalleled vocal artist he was.

Caruso joined fellow Neapolitan Pasquale Amato (1878-1942) for an epic recording of the duet from Act IV of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, “Invano, Alvaro”. It seems that Victor technicians knew they were making history here, for they devoted two 12 inch discs to this performance in order to capture the complete duet. Both singers are in remarkable form in this recording from November 21, 1911, with Amato really giving the tenor a run for his money. With a single notable exception, it is hard to find another singer who matches Caruso so well in a recorded duet. Amato and Caruso made only one other recording together, the vengeance duet from Act II of Verdi’s Otello. This recording, which was made during the same session as the Forza duet, was never issued and the matrix is listed as “missing” in the Victor logbooks. Although chances are practically nil that this elusive title will ever come to light, one can always remain hopeful that someday it will turn up in a private collection.