Enrico Caruso sings "Qui Sotto Il Ciel" from Les Huguenots on a recording made by the Anglo-Italian Commerce Company.
1903
The opera, which is spelled Gli Ugonotti in its Italian form, is by Giancomo Meyerbeer. The aria we hear here is very early in Act I (basically the start of the opera).
The opening spoken announcement ends with "Anglo-Italian Commerce Company." Call it Pathe, which issued 3 titles recorded by the tenor.
It seems the singer does NOT do his own spoken announcements at the start of AICC recordings. It was once assumed that Caruso was speaking since Pathe advertisements said that Caruso did the introductions. But did the person writing Pathe ads know for sure?
One collector told me the same announcer's voice is heard on other AICC cylinders--that is, you'll hear that same voice at the opening of recordings made when Caruso was not in the studio.
So is it Caruso talking or not?
If this voice is the same as on Caruso's Zonophones, does that prove it is Caruso?
The pianist's identity is unknown.
Caruso made this for the Anglo-Italian Commerce Company in Milan. It was then issued by Pathé Frerés on cylinder and disc (both formats). To play the disc, the needle is placed near the disc's center, and the needle or arm of the phonograph travels to the outside rim as the record plays--not how we normally play discs.
The tenor had already made recordings in 1902 for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company (early EMI). Caruso's first recording session was in a hotel room in Milan on April 11, 1902. One month earlier (in March), Caruso enjoyed a triumph in the premiere of Franchetti’s opera Germania. This led to the tenor making records.
On April 11, 1902, Caruso was paid by the Gramophone & Typewriter Company’s Fred Gaisberg to sing ten numbers into a recording horn in a Milan hotel room. The fee was 100 pounds sterling.
The story about the company saying the fee was too high is apocryphal.
The tenor sang to piano accompaniment provided by Salvatore Cottone.
Gaisberg (either Fred or his brother Will) wrote “Carusso” on early wax blanks.
You could say this session as giving birth to a new era. Before 1902, opera recordings aroused little enthusiasm since voices on discs and cylinders were distant, often drowned out by surface noise. Early opera recordings gave little satisfaction.
Caruso helped make gramophones respected because his voice recorded well (in addition to the tenor being a master of interpretation and having a voice that thrilled audiences when he sang in opera houses). Before 1902, recording officials had difficulty convincing celebrities to make records since the final product was crude. Some celebrities did make recordings in 1902 (Plançon, Van Rooy, Calvé, Scotti, Bispham, Renaud)--partly to earn large fees for little work, partly to satisfy curiosity about how they sound. But Caruso’s success inspired many others.
1903
The opera, which is spelled Gli Ugonotti in its Italian form, is by Giancomo Meyerbeer. The aria we hear here is very early in Act I (basically the start of the opera).
The opening spoken announcement ends with "Anglo-Italian Commerce Company." Call it Pathe, which issued 3 titles recorded by the tenor.
It seems the singer does NOT do his own spoken announcements at the start of AICC recordings. It was once assumed that Caruso was speaking since Pathe advertisements said that Caruso did the introductions. But did the person writing Pathe ads know for sure?
One collector told me the same announcer's voice is heard on other AICC cylinders--that is, you'll hear that same voice at the opening of recordings made when Caruso was not in the studio.
So is it Caruso talking or not?
If this voice is the same as on Caruso's Zonophones, does that prove it is Caruso?
The pianist's identity is unknown.
Caruso made this for the Anglo-Italian Commerce Company in Milan. It was then issued by Pathé Frerés on cylinder and disc (both formats). To play the disc, the needle is placed near the disc's center, and the needle or arm of the phonograph travels to the outside rim as the record plays--not how we normally play discs.
The tenor had already made recordings in 1902 for the Gramophone and Typewriter Company (early EMI). Caruso's first recording session was in a hotel room in Milan on April 11, 1902. One month earlier (in March), Caruso enjoyed a triumph in the premiere of Franchetti’s opera Germania. This led to the tenor making records.
On April 11, 1902, Caruso was paid by the Gramophone & Typewriter Company’s Fred Gaisberg to sing ten numbers into a recording horn in a Milan hotel room. The fee was 100 pounds sterling.
The story about the company saying the fee was too high is apocryphal.
The tenor sang to piano accompaniment provided by Salvatore Cottone.
Gaisberg (either Fred or his brother Will) wrote “Carusso” on early wax blanks.
You could say this session as giving birth to a new era. Before 1902, opera recordings aroused little enthusiasm since voices on discs and cylinders were distant, often drowned out by surface noise. Early opera recordings gave little satisfaction.
Caruso helped make gramophones respected because his voice recorded well (in addition to the tenor being a master of interpretation and having a voice that thrilled audiences when he sang in opera houses). Before 1902, recording officials had difficulty convincing celebrities to make records since the final product was crude. Some celebrities did make recordings in 1902 (Plançon, Van Rooy, Calvé, Scotti, Bispham, Renaud)--partly to earn large fees for little work, partly to satisfy curiosity about how they sound. But Caruso’s success inspired many others.
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