Enrico Caruso & Frances Alda - Miserere (Victor, 1910)

Last month…August…Dead Tenors’ Society celebrated the 100th anniversary of the death of Enrico Caruso, who passed away on August 2, 1921, at the age of 48. I must admit that, after an entire month of Caruso, it has been difficult to even think of another tenor for this month’s episodes. The question arose, “What could possibly follow an entire month of Caruso?” The answer is obvious…MORE CARUSO!!! Last week’s episodes were devoted to the duet recordings made by Caruso with his illustrious colleagues. This week will cover many of the duets that I missed last week. Based on your comments and suggestions, I was able to infer that nobody would object to yet another week of Caruso. Anyone who DOES object is probably looking at the wrong YouTube channel… Caruso’s duet recordings are a marvel to listen to. The great tenor had an uncanny ability to change the color of his voice (without actually changing the voice itself) to match whatever colleague he was singing with. I am hard pressed to think of another artist who had not only the ability to do this, but who possessed the same sense of generosity toward his colleagues to make such a gesture. By doing this, Caruso elevates his singing partner, the music, the drama of the piece and, of course, his own performance by creating the perfect vocal blend. This is just one of the many things that combined to make Enrico Caruso the unparalleled vocal artist he was. Caruso and soprano Frances Alda (1879-1952) join the Metropolitan Opera Chorus for a slightly truncated version of the Miserere from Verdi’s Il Trovatore. This performance showcases a fine pair of artists who record well together. Alda is in excellent form and Caruso makes the most of his part, including an exciting crescendo on the top Bb in the second verse. Still, there seems to be something missing from this version of the duet, recorded for the Victor label on January 6, 1910. An alternate take, made a week and a half earlier, gives a much better account of both singers, but is missing the chorus. Perhaps Victor executives felt that the version with chorus was more complete and decided to release it instead. Whatever the reason, the unreleased version (which I will also be showcasing this week) slightly edges out the commercially released version heard here.