The Great Caruso
This film traces the life of tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921). He loves Musetta, in his home town of Naples, and then Dorothy, the daughter of one of the Metropolitan Opera's patrons. Caruso is unacceptable to both women's fathers: to Musetta's because he sings; to Dorothy's because he is a peasant. To New York patricians, Caruso is short, barrel-chested, loud, emotional, and unrefined. Their appreciation comes slowly. The film depicts Caruso's lament that 'the man does not have the voice, the voice has the man': he cannot be places he wants to be, because he must be elsewhere singing, including the day his mother dies. Throughout, Mario Lanza and stars from the Met sing.
May 14, 1905 in Texas, USA
7 January 1903, Birmingham, England, UK
31 August 1907, Buenos Aires, Federal District, Argentina
3 June 1901, Calabria, Italy
2 November 1921, New York City, New York, USA
August 31, 1882 in Città di Castello, Umbria, Italy
10 September 1882, Sandwich, Illinois, USA
February 6, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
August 21, 1891 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA
July 6, 1910 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA
10 March 1884, Chicago, Illinois, USA
