When asked what the props are of a great singer, Enrico Caruso once replied, "A big chest, a big mouth, ninety percent memory, ten percent intelligence, a lot of hard work and something in the heart." And however sentimental it may sound. That 'something in the heart' had the legendary tenor in abundance. It is the memory of the warmth in his voice that makes me decide every now and then to put on
… one of his hopelessly ramshackle recordings full of nostalgia. Although? They are no longer hopelessly ramshackle. Thanks to technology. In the Digital Recordings series the original (lousy sounding) accompaniment has disappeared. Conductor Gottfried Rabl and today's Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra now accompany Caruso's voice and, given the unusual circumstances, they do it very well. For this part of the series, Caruso's earliest recordings from 1902-1910 are used, including arias from Fedora, Tosca, Rigoletto and Mefistofele. Magnificent! (CP)more
