Enrico Caruso - Musica Proibita. Digitally remastered.

[31operafan]

Some singers (opera or other genres of music) don't put as much emotion into the songs they sing as much as they used to. Domingo is an exception; in fact, some say he puts more emotion into whatever he sings more than he ever did! Listen to him, at age 70, sing "Niun mi tema" from Othello at the 40th anniversary of his Royal Opera House debut.

[31operafan]

Happy belated birthday to Enrico! :) This is one of my favorite versions of Musica Proibita. I think he captures the feeling of this song very well. There's a hint of Gigli-like tenderness in his voice here.

[little5819]

Bravo!! Most of the Caruso remasters I have heard, just did not blend the stereo orchestra well with the acoustic vocal, but this one is superb.

[TheEricprince]

What a beautiful song, and celestially sung by this superb human being. I have always been a Gigli afficianado. I can see where Beniamino is coming from. Beautiful bel-canto singing.

[GravitasEntoForte]

Great Music! In years of music appreciation, I have found myself to be very fortunate in hearing recordings of Enrico Caruso. An addicted fan of all Caruso's work, I have selfishly concluded his vocal abilities could not be rivalled, nor should they be ! His uniqueness was surely a gift from the heavens ''divine vocal lineage'', every vocal sound he ever interpreted was like some new music ,emoted lyrics animated a staged setting and gave more than just humane purpose to any charactor role. =)

[victorio1940]

If I understand properly their meaning, these sad words imply that Caruso undrstood that the magic of his voice, as well as his earthly existence, was coming to an end.They fill my heart with a sadness I cannot explain or express. Thank you, tomfroekjaer, for this priceless insight into the soul of a mortal chosen to create immortal beauty!....

[federic017]

Impressionante per bellezza di canto ed espressione...forze la più bella interpretazione in assoluto...unico---saluti 

[seponvi]

amazing remasterization !!!!! cheers

[MrGer2295]

Enrico Caruso(1873-1921)

was an Italian operatic tenor with has beautiful and tender voice.

Impressionante!!! Thank you tomfroekjaer for sharing this video.

[oceanfields59]

Thank you now I undersatnd

[tomfroekjaer]

@oceanfields59 Great - it's sort of hidden ....

[oceanfields59]

Why was it musica proibita?

[tomfroekjaer]

@oceanfields59 It's in the text:

Underneath my balcony every evening

I hear a love-song,

Repeated several times by a handsome young man

And it makes my heart beat faster.

O how sweet is that melody!

O how pretty, how I love to hear it!

*My mother will not let me sing it,*

Though why she would forbid me, I don't know.

[mowipikre]

I just woke up and started to listen to it for the first time in my life !!!

It seems to me I will never ever give up listening to this music

Epic!!

[paulostroff99]

Awesome! TY tf for posting.

[paulostroff99]

Absolutely stunning. TY t,f. for posting

[CanadaPisces]

A musical gem! One of my most favourite recordings of Caruso! Thank you Tom for the posting.

[MsRuthes]

tomfoekjaer: To be honest, everything CARUSO sang he sang with his full heart; I don't think he knew any other way.

[tomfroekjaer]

@MsRuthes I think you are right about that.

"I know that I shall sing only a certain number of times. So I think to myself, "Tonight I will hold back my voice. I will save it a little and that will mean I may be able to sing a few more times."

But when I go before the audience, when I hear the music and begin to sing, I cannot hold back. I give the best there is in me - I give all."

[MsRuthes]

tomfroekjaer: Sorry, but I believe I was mistaken in saying that "Musical Probita" was the song that "Doro" said sounded most as though he were singing in the next room: it was "A Vucchella." I remember my father telling me that story and he is no longer alive to verify.

[tomfroekjaer]

@MsRuthes Thanks. "A Vucchella" is another great canzone that Caruso sang with his full heart.- Could well be the one Doro meant.

Best regards, Tom

[dimapero]

Me encanta Caruso. Me gustaría haberlo conocido y asistido a sus conciertos de aquella época que era más pura en todo.

[MsRuthes]

I believe this is the recording Mrs. Caruso said sounded most like he was singing in the next room. I believe this was one of her most favorite recordings. It is absolutely gorgeous!

[tomfroekjaer]

@MsRuthes Thanks, very interesting that "Doro" felt that way. Didn't know that.

... Some say that one hears the "REAL" Caruso in the Italian/Neapolitan canzoni.

[Marsbar17]

This is wonderful

[pgricchi]

This is like putting a Rembrandt in a chrome frame, Caruso is singing from the men's room and the orchestra is in the studio. The original recording has been vandalized.

[cubanbach]

@pgricchi mmm...no.

[MsRuthes]

There is Caruso and then ALL the others. 

[56Yeya]

Thank you so much for your comment on Gastaldon and the beautiful Musica Proibita, I really appreciate it!  56Yeya

[tomfroekjaer]

@56Yeya You are very welcome !

[56Yeya]

Hello Tom! I just can't stop listening to this one. But are you sure that Stanislao Gastaldon is the composer? I read quite recently that Gastaldon wrote the lyrics, and Ettore Campogalliani is the composer. 56Yeya

[tomfroekjaer]

@56Yeya Hi 56Yeya! Not 100% sure, but it appears to be an aria from Gastaldon's long forgotten opera “Mala Pasqua!” (Underworld Easter) based on Giovanni Verga’s short story “Cavalleria Rusticana” (1890).

Cheers, Tom

[klokheten]

@56Yeya

It is for sure Gastaldon 1861-1939 that composed the famous romance Musica Proibita. It was so popular that he composed a "follow-up" to the song with the title Ti Vorrei Rapire, where he quotes himself. Pavarotti and Freni´s teacher Ettore Campogalliani composed the original music for a film called Musica Proibita. The title was borrowed from the immortal song and the film was directed by Carlo Campogalliani.

[MsRuthes]

Absolutely gorgeous!!!!!!

Thanks for posting.

[Gennarokravitz]

WOW!!!!!!! I've played this song (sung by Caruso) thousands of times, trying to figure out the libretto. Thank you for....... the libretto. The voice, the song, and the whole package is wonderful. This singer is most grateful to you for your posting this video. check out my channels; ikravitz and Gennarokravitz.....enjoy. gk.

[tomfroekjaer]

@Gennarokravitz: you are most welcome. Checked out your Gennarokravitz channel and really enjoyed it !

[56Yeya]

As an opera-lover since the age of 5, I'm so thrilled to be able to listen to all this wonderful music. Thank you so much, Tom, for sharing Caruso with us, I can't have enough of him! Thanks and greetings from Norway. 56Yeya

[tomfroekjaer]

@56Yeya: you are very welcome and greetings from Denmark !

[paulostroff99]

Superb! TY James for sharing and Tom for posting.

[CanadaPisces]

A beautiful recording! Thank you Tom for the posting.

[Herur22]

@CanadaPisces Oh, how beautiful! Thank you, James and Tom.

[tomfroekjaer]

@CanadaPisces. thanks James. You are just such a positive, sharing person. You hear/view something aesthetic, you like and then immediately share it with as many other people as possible. If our world was populated with people of your qualities, we'd have Heaven on Earth ! Thanks for being there.

[ailtonpo]

Belíssimo!!! SBC-SP 22-01-11

[jfs78]

Now it has been 40 years since I first heard the voice of Caruso. I met many who heard him and now they are all gone. We are now at an age where many of his recordings have passed well over the 100 year mark. I for one as I grow older marvel even more than I did in 1971 when I first heard him and thought "My God". Now 40 years later I am just as awestruck. Now we have entered into the 2nd decade of the 21st century and it is our turn to watch the young say the same thing as we did so long ago.

[sugarbist]

THIS SONG IS A TESTAMONY OF WHY CARUSO WAS THE BEST TENOR EVER ALSO ACKNOWLEDGED BY MANY GREAT TENORS THAT FOLLOWED HIM AS WELL AS MANY OTHER SINGERS.THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RENDITION OF THIS SONG I HAVE EVER HEARD.NO WONDER WHY SOME OF THE RECENT GREATS ONLY YIELDED TO CARUSO. I THINK THEY NEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING

[irina4447]

luxury !!!!

[RodTenor]

This is Caruso with - again - in a beautiful interpretation of this song. To me, his talent lies in being able to reproduce the same line with totally different feelings. Note how he sings «Vorrei bacciar...» at 2:14, like he's lightly flirting with the girl in a garden full of flowers, then at 3:05, he revisits the same line with utter passion and almost darkness in the voice leading to the A and the finish with «l'ebbrezza del amor!» (the intoxication - like drunkenness - of love).

[tomfroekjaer]

@RodTenor: great comment. Caruso may have been uneducated as far as formal schooling is concerned, but he was an intuive genious with extraordinary empathetic abilities - wonderfully expressed here and in almost all of his recordings.

[31operafan]

@RodTenor What a great and helpful comment! Caruso puts the proper emotion in every song he sings. :) That helps me at least get a hint of what he's singing about, even though I understand a little Italian.

[31operafan]

This is a beautiful recording. :) There's a hint of the Gigli-like softness in the beginning.

[matrice911]

Simply unbelievable ! Breathtaking, stunning ! Marvelous ! Unique Oo Flawless, God's Voice ^^

[quantoseibellaroma1]

la canzone però e del grande Tosti.

[enricoponti]

@quantoseibellaroma1 No, è di Stanislao Gastaldon , Torino1869-Firenze1939.

[quantoseibellaroma1]

@enricoponti Ops! Hai ragione. Mi ha fatto confondere il fatto che Bocelli l'avesse inserita in CD dedicato prevalentemente a Tosti. Fra l'altro ho visto che su ebay è in vendita lo spartito d'epoca. Ciao.

[kingVesuvius]

capolavoro..e che cosa curiosa leggere più commenti in inglese che in italiano!

[pollodisossato]

@kingVesuvius già...non sappiamo apprezzare neanche i nostri cantanti!

[irina4447]

Best of the best !!!!!

[Rosamariaherlo]

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this wonderful job.

My father listened to Caruso alive in Mexico City back in the 1920's and he said that he sang without a microphone and could be heard in the whole bullfight ring where he performed. Now my father has passed away, but I am certain that he enjoys this music as much as I do, wherever he is.

Once again, THANK YOU.

[irina4447]

LUXURY !!!!

[irina4447]

love love love!!!

[Kievest]

All those luscious golden tones are sheer sensuous pleasure! But it is the soul-

ful singing, the expression of the emotions behind the words, the heartstopping,

open hearted singing by that uniquely beautiful and flexible voice that makes this

rendition so rapturous and unforgettable! Thank you tomfroekjaer for posing and

AnryK2690 for sharing! A treasure beyond compare!

[tomfroekjaer]

@Kievest: thanks, Candace. Your analysis/comment is a joy to read - I fully agree ....

And I thank you for your command of the English language and your ability to clearly express your mind and feelings.

[alber6161]

Whenever i Hear or read the word ''Caruso'', my antennas start blinking....my great love lasting since almost 70 years..God bless him!!

[tomfroekjaer]

@alber6161: that was a wonderful comment ! Thank you !

Tom

[65attila]

@alber6161

Your sentence " Whenever i Hear or read the word ''Caruso'', my antennas start blinking...." is priceless.

I am a younin as I have only knowm Rico for 58 years.

Many more years of listening and regards-John

[irina4447]

Best of the best!!!

[AnryK2690]

This is so wonderful! Miracle! I cant find words to describe.

Thank you very much for all your uploads.

Tell me please if possible, who makes those arrangements and remasterings how they do it?

[tomfroekjaer]

@AnryK2690: you very welcome ! For more info on the remasterings google "Enrico Caruso: the Digital Comeback"

[tomfroekjaer]

@AnryK2690: you are very welcome. For more info on the remasterings, google "Enrico Caruso: The Digital Comeback"

[Paladino774]

I would come home from playing music at NJ niteclubs, at 3 am, put my Caruso 78's and LP's. His multi-dimensional voice and technique was overwhelming! My mother (97 yrs.) heard him at the old Met with her Italian father in 1918. My wish is to hear him in heaven on his best day, and confirm what I always suspected, he was and is truly the best ever!

[jfs78]

I first heard Caruso in 1971. Now near 40 years later I can still feel the thrill when first I heard him on a Victor record. I asked every person I could find who had heard him to tell me all about it. I was lucky that way, to at least hear from those who heard him live. He has brought more joy into my life than I can mention. In the year 2237 they will be talking about Caruso, He is not of the past, present, or future. He just is and will always be like a natural wonder of life itself.

[tomfroekjaer]

@jfs78: thanks, Jack. I also heard the golden voice and experienced the beauty of Enrico Caruso the first time around 1971. I didn't have the fortune of talking to anyone who heard him sing live, but I also think that Caruso rank amongst the "eternals" - like Mozart, Bach, Beethoven...

[jfs78]

@tomfroekjaer I was lucky that way. I got to talk to a number of people and i will go on about that another time. But yes Caruso is a part of us. I am always walking on 42nd Street and Broadway in NYC ..That is where I work. i always walk past the old Knickerbocker where Caruso used to live and where he sang from on Nov 9, 1918. I always make it a point to say hello as I go by. I know that is where a number of great performers lived. It is 3 blocks from where the old Met was located.

[kimdenise200]

Oops! One of my tears hit the keyboard....

[cocapinar]

caruso 5 stars

[tomfroekjaer]

Thanks, cocapinar. My YT uploads are all about keeping the memory of this unique singer alive. Thanks for your contribution to that !

[oistrakh19081974]

listen to 1944 di stefano´s rendition

[tomfroekjaer]

Sorry, didn't find it. If you think it is is better than Caruso's version, no problem - for me! All great singers enrich us with their contribution to what Mankind can be PROUD of.

[badocan78]

after listening to a lot of recordings in youtube, I asked to myself " why I am coming to the same point everytime? " That point is ENRICO CARUSO!!!!

[robertwbecker]

@badocan78 Yes, I agree also, I have been listening to him for almost 50 years and I keep coming back again and again!

[HenRisHently]

Enrico ''s voice was the best ever....

a good person , and a good heart ..

[HenRisHently]

The best voice I ever heard

Good job , Thank you

[jd1906sf]

Thank you, Tom, for your continuously intelligent comments about the great opera singers, and for posting this marvelous re-mastering of Caruso's work. This is a classic example of how to use technology to enhance, rather than diminish, great music. Caruso will always be the standard by which great operatic music is judged. Great stuff.

[tomfroekjaer]

I thank you, jd1906sf ! Caruso's art is timeless and communicates just as powerfully as 100 years ago.

And along with it goes the touching story of how the kid from the slums of Naples, who went to school for just two years, rose to become probably the greatest tenor all times. His talent, hard work, charisma and not least his heart made him the standard for all to come.

[robertwbecker]

@tomfroekjaer For me, Heart is probably Caruso Greatest attribute!!!!!!!!! It is what speaks to people over the decades and century, it is his Great Heart that we all listen to. God Bless Him wherever He May Be at This Time!!!!!!!

[tomfroekjaer]

@robertwbecker: I fully agree with you, Robert.

"He sing the soul of the melody" (Richard Strauss).

Best, Tom

[robertwbecker]

@tomfroekjaer This man can bring tears to my eyes, with his incredible dedication and Love for singing, what a Gift to the world! Here we are 100 years later and he is still a topic of conversation, still affecting my life everytime I hear him again! Thanks Again!

[tomfroekjaer]

@robertwbecker: For me Enrico Caruso was an empathtic genious. He had almost no formal schooling (troubles reading) and very little voice training. Yet his vocal charisma (Greek "kharisma, meaning "gift," "of/from/favored by God/the divine") is so evident for sensible souls like yourself (... and me) that we cannot help but cry when we hear and experience the beauty of his voice and heart.

[robertwbecker]

@tomfroekjaer Thank You for Your Great Love and Dedication to preserving this Great Man's Legacy!!!

[tomfroekjaer]

@robertwbecker: you are most welcome. I'm pleased to be able to share it with you!

[gianlar]

Caruso's voice is ageless, than and now.

[josemuso1]

many of us are happy to hear some of our heroes, led by Caruso in technically improved recordings, Bravo to technology.JRT

[aidirolf]

Mi da i brividi!!!!! E Come!!!!!

[j72050]

..I have heard the original versions for 47 years....since I was 9..... and also like the new stereo versions......

[shatros]

While I agree there is a purity of essence in the old recordings that technology cannot truly capture, one cannot fault people for yearning for and wishing Caruso was still alive for them to listen to. He is not. All they have left are the recordings and perhaps a lucky few yet alive who can still remember. So they grasp at what they cannot have, they attempt to extract some additional life from the old recordings. It is not desecration they do but reverence, in their own way. Let them be.

[cocoloco707]

perfecto! el mujer musica prohibita de todosssssssssssss!! GRANDE POR SIEMPRE CARUSO

[schlusnus]

Dear Tom , thanks plus. Caruso singing Mozart would be like

Schipa singing Wagner... admire joseph Schmidt and have

his old 78's on CD's.

There's never been another tenor to equal Caruso, never.

[tomfroekjaer]

Yes, schlusnus, I believe you're right. Caruso's voice was not for Mozart....

Joseph Schmidt was great too !

[joluc11]

A God!!!

[caramonmajere780817]

thanks for the post . and thanks to mister caruso, the voice of god,for shows how the art sounds

[Corrie121]

Magical!!

Thank you for all you are doing to bring these treasures to the notice of such as I.

[tomfroekjaer]

All my pleasure, Corrie121.

[Kentoo48]

Tom,thank you for this remastering. Your efforts are greatly appreciated!

[tomfroekjaer]

Thanks, Kentoo48,

I was looking for a Wunderlich version of this aria, but didn't find any. I guess he never sang it - a shame... But then Caruso never did Mozart either. Also a shame! (I did find a nice Josef Schmidt version, though).

[tomfroekjaer]

I admit it !

There are non-audible hypnotic commands imbedded in the singing - stemming from a you know who Neapolitan ...

[toronstganymede]

... froekjaer - you are a cult leader with this hypnotic stuff - don't try to act innocent !! ...

[tomfroekjaer]

On a somewhat more genuine - personal - note, toronstganymede: I am just trying to communicate the greatness of Caruso to others.

For me Caruso was one of these rare whims of nature. He could hardly read (less than 2 years of formal schooling), he had very little education as a singer, but when he sings even the Gods have to weep...

[llatsnut]

What is all this talk of hypnotic commands about? Can you explane?

[tomfroekjaer]

Sorry about the delay in answering...

The hypnotic commands part is just a joke.