Track Listing

1. Manon: Il Sogno ('En Fermant Les Yeux')
2. Tosca: E Lucevan Le Stelle
3. l'elisir D'amore: Una Furtiva Lagrima
4. Il Trovatore: Di Qquella Pira
5. L'africana: Mi Batti Il Cor .... O Paradiso
6. Pagliacci: Recitar .. Vesti La Giubba
7. Don Sebastiano: Deserto In Terra Solo
8. Rigoletto: Questa O Quella
9. La Forza Del Destino: Della Natal Sua Terra ....
10. La Regina Di Saba: Magiche Note
11. PagliacciI: No! Pagliaccio Non Son
12. Aida: Se Quel Guerrier Io Fossi .. Celeste Aida
13. Manaon: Je Suis Seul ...Ah! Fuyez Douce Image
14. Un Ballo In Maschera: Di Tu Sse Fedele
15. Un Ballo In Maschera: Forse La Soglia ...Ma Se M'e Forza
16. Lo Schiavo: Qui Fortuna Insistenza ...Quando Nascesti Tu
17. Rigoletto: Ella Mi Fu Rapita ...Parmi Veder Le Lagrime
18. Manon Lescaut: Donna Non Vidi Mai
19. Il Duca D'alba: Angelo Casto E Bel
20. La Juive: Rachel, Quand Du Seigneur

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135887 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-23
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 75 minutes

Customer Reviews

timeless beauty
When one hears the richness of Caruso's voice, and the depth of the emotion he expresses, it's hard to fathom that some of these recordings date back 100 years. The tracks are in chronological order, from February 1904 to September 1920.
The first three selections from 1904 are exquisite, and have only a solo piano accompaniment. The "Una Furtiva Lagrima" (track # 3) has a grace and luminosity that is breathtaking.
There are many arias that have remarkable aspects to them, like "Magiche note" from Goldmark's "La Regina di Saba", where he does a series of pianissimos, and of course, his most famous role was as Canio, in Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci", and this CD has both "Vesti la giubba" from 1907, and "No ! Pagliacco non son" from 1910. The latter is phenomenal, and has a deep, dark quality, sounding more like a baritone than a tenor.

There are some rarely heard pieces here, like the Goldmark aria, and "Deserto in terra solo" from Donizetti's "Don Sebastiano", and only occasionally heard is the beautiful "Rachel, quand du Seigneur" from Halevy's "La Juive", and no one can equal Caruso's interpretation of it.
What stands out most about his singing aside from the glorious sound is his phrasing, which is dramatic as well as supremely musical...one of the many reasons the name Caruso has become synonymous with "Italian operatic tenor".

The booklet insert has liner notes on Caruso's career, and a brief synopses for each aria.
The sound considering the age is a marvel, re-mastered from 78 RPM recordings, and states "A breakthrough in archive sound reproduction, Nimbus Natural Ambisonic Transfer technology preserves the immediacy and fidelity of the original performance". Thank goodness Caruso's emergence as a singer and the gramophone came into existence at the same time, so that recordings like this can still be heard.
Total playing time is 74'58.