During his career, Enrico Caruso made nearly 260 recordings and made millions of dollars from the sale of his 78 rpm records. While Caruso sang at many of the world's great opera houses including La Scala in Milan and Covent Garden in London, he is best known as the leading male singer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City for seventeen years. Conductor Arturo Toscanini, who conducted some of the operas that Caruso sang in at the Met, considered him one of the greatest artists he had ever worked with.
Caruso was baptized in the Church of San Giovanni e Paolo on February 26, 1873, having been born in Naples, Italy, one day earlier. He began his career in Naples in 1894. The first major role that he created was Loris in Giordano's Fedora, at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, on November 17, 1898. At that same theater, on November 6, 1902, he created the role of Maurizio in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur.
In 1903, with the help of his agent, the banker Pasquale Simonelli, he went to New York City, and, on November 23 of that year, he made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto. The following year Caruso began his lifelong association with the Victor Talking-Machine Company; his star relationships with both the Metropolitan and Victor would last until 1920. Caruso himself commissioned Tiffany & Co. to produce a 24 kt. gold medal with his profile, as a memento (PER RICORDO) for his friends of his Metropolitan performances.
Caruso was one of the first star vocalists to make numerous recordings. He and the disc phonograph did much to promote each other in the first two decades of the 20th century. His 1902 recording of Vesti la giubba from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci was the world's first gramophone record to sell a million copies. Many of Caruso's recordings have remained in print since their original issue a century ago.
On December 10, 1910, he starred at the Met as Dick Johnson in the world premiere of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West. His last performance at the Met was as Eléazar in Halévy's La Juive on December 24, 1920.
Caruso died in 1921, from what is thought to be complications of pleurisy, apparently not diagnosed in time to save him. He was 48. He is buried in Naples.
Caruso was portrayed by Mario Lanza in a highly fictionalized Hollywood motion picture, The Great Caruso, in 1951.
In 1987, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Santa Lucia
Enrico Caruso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
L'astro d'argento
Placida è l'onda
Prospero il vento;
Venite all'agile
Barchetta mia;
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Con questo zeffiro
Oh, come è bello
Star sulla nave.
Su passeggeri,
Venite via;
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
In' fra le tende
Bandir la cena,
In una sera
Così serena.
Chi non dimanda,
Chi non desia;
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Mare sì placido,
vento sì caro,
Scordar fa i triboli
Al marinaio.
E va gridando
Con allegria:
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
O dolce Napoli,
O suol beato,
Ove sorridere
Volle il creato,
Tu sei l'impero
Dell'armonia,
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Or che tardate?
Bella è la sera;
Spira un'auretta
Fresca e leggiera;
Venite all'agile
Barchetta mia;
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
The song Santa Lucia by Enrico Caruso is a beautiful ode to the sea and the town of Naples. The opening lines talk about the shimmering sea shining like silver under the light of the silver star, and how the calm waves and pleasant wind make it a perfect time for a boat ride. The singer invites his passengers to come aboard his nimble little boat and enjoy the beauty of the sea. The chorus of the song, "Santa Lucia!" emphasizes the joy experienced while sailing and the beauty of the surroundings. The second stanza talks about the joy experienced by sailors as they forget their troubles while at sea, and the singer exclaims how the land of Naples is blessed with the beauty of creation, emphasizing that Santa Lucia is the embodiment of harmony. The final stanza encourages passengers to take advantage of the beautiful evening and join him aboard the boat, calling out the name of the patron saint of sight, Saint Lucy.
Line by Line Meaning
Sul mare luccica
The sea is shining brightly
L'astro d'argento
The silver star shines
Placida è l'onda
The waves are calm
Prospero il vento
The wind is favorable
Venite all'agile Barchetta mia
Come aboard my swift little boat
Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Saint Lucy, patron saint of the blind, light my way
Con questo zeffiro Così soave,
With such a gentle breeze,
Oh, come è bello Star sulla nave.
Oh, how beautiful it is to be on a ship.
Su passeggeri Venite via;
Passengers, come aboard;
In' fra le tende Bandir la cena,
Let us spread a feast among the tents,
In una sera Così serena.
On an evening so peaceful.
Chi non dimanda, Chi non desia;
Who would not ask, who would not desire?
Mare sì placido, vento sì caro, Scordar fa i triboli Al marinaio.
The sea is so calm, the wind so dear, it makes sailors forget their hardships.
E va gridando Con allegria: Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
And so we cheer with joy, Saint Lucy, light our way!
O dolce Napoli, O suol beato, Ove sorridere Volle il creato,
O sweet Naples, blessed land, where the Creator wished to smile,
Tu sei l'impero Dell'armonia, Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
You are the empire of harmony, Saint Lucy, light our way!
Or che tardate? Bella è la sera; Spiro un'auretta Fresca e leggiera;
Why wait? The evening is beautiful; a fresh and light breeze blows;
Venite all'agile Barchetta mia; Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia!
Come aboard my swift little boat, Saint Lucy, light our way!
Contributed by Cameron A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@user-no2hv5so9c
オペラ史上最大の天才歌手で音楽家ですね。尊敬します。カルーソーの歌声は私が帰天するまで生涯忘れないでしょう。有難うございました。
@solegutierrez656
😢Maravillosa,me encanta.Un abrzo.Gracias.
@jodacious46
My dad had a 78 rpm record w/Caruso's greatest songs. This is certainly one of them....I miss you, Daddy!
@user-to2ly3ge7y
Неповторимый голос! Браво!
@GROWLEYMOLD
This voice is a gift from God .
@ldmax
My God, what a voice! Imagine hearing this live!
@francescogisabella4400
La canzone di Caruso È stata la più interessante ne sono felice per ciao. Grazie echiuso ciao. Adesso dove si trova S
STEFANO DI Castrozza.
@francescogisabella4400
8 Bhutan g u g
@francescogisabella4400
J
@Randomisticful
You could have. Pavarotti, close enough.