Tom O'Brien
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7/16/2024 12:36:30 AM
Enrico Caruso!
I'd always heard of the guy - famous Italian Tenor of the early 19th Century - but I'd never actually heard any of his recordings. I knew my Italian grandpa idolized him, and had some of his 78s. So, I went to Spotify and just listened to everything they had. The recordings are old and scratchy, and the orchestra is pared down to a handful of instruments, because they all had to play simultaneously in the same tiny room with this large man singing into some kind of cone.
But, Oh my God! This man's voice was so powerful, even in these old recordings, that it practically blew me off my chair. There was one fermata that he held for a good long time and it felt like this amazingly loud sound was just going to keep coming forever. When the note finally ended, I let out an audible F-word, which I never do. But, it was so overwhelming. And I'm not really an opera fan, despite having sung in a few in college. Caruso had an amazing instrument. It had to be the voice of the 20th Century.
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