Enrico Caruso

Even today, Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) is considered the epitome of the Italian tenor. His name is synonymous with consummate vocal artistry. Born and raised as a working-class child from Naples, Caruso rose to become a world-renowned artist whose fame and posthumous recognition were significantly influenced by records, the press, and later by film. As a young singer, Enrico Caruso was one of the important protagonists of the young generation of composers after Verdi. During this phase of his career, Caruso showcased the extraordinary beauty of his voice and the almost existential passion of his singing in service of music. The Metropolitan Opera in New York became the center of his activity. There, from 1903 to 1920, he sang mainly in operas of the older repertoire, but in a modern style that singers of following generations understood as exemplary. As an artist whose singing continues to fascinate today, Caruso is a phenomenon of the century. The book combines a description of Caruso's life with reflections on the contemporary historical, socio-political, and interpretive contexts that shaped his life and artistry. The series 'SOLO - Portraits and Profiles' invites you to get to know the artists of classical music. For the first time on the German-language book market, the focus here is on international interpreters of the 20th and 21st centuries. Each book portrays a musical personality in an easily accessible and compact form: conductors, soloists, and singers. Biography and career are presented, as well as essential characteristics of individual music-making. A classification of the artistic profile rounds off the well-founded descriptions. The authors of the series are experts in their respective fields and come from research and practice.