Caruso, Carmen and The San Francisco Earthquake 1906

Caruso created the role of Don José in Bizet's Carmen in San Francisco the night before the earthquake of 1906 (5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18). The recording here of the aria "Il fior che avevi a me tu dato" is from the November 7, 1909.

From the Opera House program, San Francisco, April 1906:

"Enrico Caruso is the son of a mechanic, resident in Naples. His age is thirty-three, and for many years he adopted his father's calling, earning commendation for industry and application. His vocal powers and possibilities were divined by one Vergine, Italian singing master, who at once took in hand their development, until a successful debut was recorded in "Traviata," year 1896, place Naples. Two years later Caruso appeared in "La Scala" at Milan and then in succession at other important cities in Italy, in South America, Russia, and finally at Convent Garden, London.

In the fall of 1903 he made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York. Caruso is the most charming and lovable of characters, never shirking rehearsal duties, and by this very adaptability and amiableness. When he is not singing, his chief delight lies in sketching caricatures of himself and his acquaintances."

CARUSO'S EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE CATASTROPHE (the first part only):

"You ask me to say what I saw and what I did during the terrible days which witnessed the destruction of San Francisco? Well, there have been many accounts of my so-called adventures published in the American papers, and most of them have not been quite correct. Some of the papers said that I was terribly frightened, that I went half crazy with fear, that I dragged my valise out of the hotel into the square and sat upon it and wept; but all this is untrue. I was frightened, as many others were, but I did not lose my head. I was stopping at the [Palace] Hotel, where many of my fellow-artists were staying, and very comfortable it was. I had a room on the fifth floor, and on Tuesday evening, the night before the great catastrophe, I went to bed feeling very contented. I had sung in Carmen that night, and the opera had one with fine eclat. We were all pleased, and, as I said before, I went to bed that night feeling happy and contented.

But what an awakening! You must know that I am not a very heavy sleeper—I always wake early, and when I feel restless I get up and go for a walk. So on the Wednesday morning early I wake up about 5 o'clock, feeling my bed rocking as though I am in a ship on the ocean, and for a moment I think I am dreaming that I am crossing the water on my way to my beautiful country. And so I take no notice for the moment, and then, as the rocking continues, I get up and go to the window, raise the shade and look out. And what I see makes me tremble with fear. I see the buildings toppling over, big pieces of masonry falling, and from the street below I hear the cries and screams of men and women and children."

Read the rest of Caruso's story here: http://sfmuseum.org/1906/ew19.html

Category:

Music

Tags:

• enrico
• caruso
• san
• francisco
• earthquake
• 1906
• carmen
• bizet

[GermanOperaSinger]

Caruso recorded 3 renditions of the 'flower song', one in 1905 and two (in French and Italian) on the same day in 1909. This Italian rendition is better than his French one, in my opinion. He had a signed photo of Teddy Roosevelt which he used as a boarding pass to get on the ship that took him off the island!

[tomfroekjaer]

Yes, you are right about the recordings, Theo. Both French and Italian was recorded on the same day .

So it wasn't that he wasn't comfortable with his French... And yes! The signed photo of Roosevelt was his boarding pass !

I was fascinated by the wording of the program description. A different world! The credibility of the performers was apparently very important - decent, character, etc. They gracefully skipped the fact that his father aside from being a mechanic also was an alcoholic :-)

[GermanOperaSinger]

His French, although not as good as it would be compared to a native French tenor, was incredible if you consider his Italian tenor 'successors'. Gigli, Schipa, Martinelli almost sang exclusively in Italian and used translated librettos when singing French repertoire. Lauri Vopli may be an exception as he was highly educated, but Caruso, he was a Neapolitan peasant! Not bad, eh? =) I still prefer Caruso's Italian renditions to his French; he is able to convey more feeling in his native language.

[tomfroekjaer]

Yes, Caruso was a "Neapolitan peasant" - by modern standards almost illiterate (less than two years of formal schooling). His mother taught him Italian (the Neapolitan dialect being quite different from Italian). Yet, he ended up speaking/singing at least 5 other languages - including Russian. - And how !

[LordMgls]

I love the other original version in French.

But this is still very nice -- it is Caruso!

Thank you for the nice info. Just by curiosity, where did you find it?

[tomfroekjaer]

My comment about him not being comfortable with the French language was not correct ....

He recorded both an Italian and a French version on the same day (pointed out by GermanOperaSinger). - So tomorrow is THE day, eh? This time I'm sure you want Denmark to win over Sweden !

[31operafan]

I'm glad he escaped that earthquake. It must've been really scary for him, especially since he didn't understand much English (I think he had just started learning it). The photo of T.R. was a good alternative to asking for help, since he did not yet have the right words to communicate his situation with English speakers. :) Although he didn't have much education, he was pretty smart and clever when it comes to solving problems like that.

[alber6161]

Stunning his final '' io t'amo''

[ShawDAMAN]

Great recording of course and I liked the description excerpts, very enjoyable, thanks =)

[tomfroekjaer]

... Overlooked that one :-)

[tomfroekjaer]

I guess he didn't think his French was good enough at the time (1909). There's link under More info to the website where I found most of the information. Cheers, Tom