Great Caruso (Paperback)

by Michael Scott (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Important less for its new biographical details than for the balance and thoroughness of its coverage, this is a comprehensive critical account of Enrico Caruso's amazing career, from his first engagements at 22 in 1895 until his tragic death at 48 in 1921, when he was the world's most famous singer. Scott, author of the noted The Record of Singing, dispels some of the Caruso myths and adds to our understanding of his significance by explaining musical developments that influenced the singer and those that he influenced in turn. Stressing the importance of the phonograph in making Caruso's voice familiar throughout the world, Scott is particularly successful in showing the tenor's constant change and development in singing technique and style. With its complete chronology of Caruso's appearances (by Thomas G. Kaufman) and detailed discography (by John R. Bolig), this authoritative study will bring much pleasure and reference information to the legions of music lovers who still thrill to Caruso's voice.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Scott, author of The Record of Singing ( LJ 7/78), here turns his energies to an exhaustive and thoroughly documented biography of celebrated tenor Enrico Caruso. The result is a superb appreciation of the singer from his humble birth and his early studies to his success as the greatest singer of his time. Extensive quotations from contemporary accounts and reviews flesh out the legend, though one would have liked more on his relations with contemporary singers. A thorough chronology of Caruso appearances, with notes on local and world premieres; documentation for 498 recordings, of which 245 are known to exist; and a bibliography listing monographs, but not the very significant periodical literature about Caruso, complete the work. An excellent study. William Shank, CUNY Graduate Sch.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Northeastern; Reprint edition (December 15, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1555530613
• ISBN-13: 978-1555530617
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,852,115 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars made good research, January 20, 2001

By	"floria11" (Dresden, Sachsen Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Caruso (Hardcover)

This biography about the best tenor of them all, Enrico Caruso,is very well written and - what is already much in the collection of the hundreds of Caruso biographies - the facts are well researched. The best is the discography at the end, if you are a collector or just a fan -that's the one to get! If you look for an even more comprehensive biography, get yourself "my father and my family" in the unabridged version by Enrico Caruso jr.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive research?, August 12, 2006

By	BookAddict44 "BookAddict44" (Chicao) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Great Caruso (Hardcover)

I was given this book by a friend who knows of my love for Caruso's music. The industry reviews on this page talk about the "exhaustive research" done by the author. I had to put the book down after page one: within three paragraphs, the author repeats one of the most preposterous lies about Caruso's life, that his mother had 17 previous children who died within a year of their birth. Then I flipped back to the dust flap, where it claims that Caruso performed "an astonishing 37 major roles each year" at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Newsflash: Caruso's mother did not lose 17 children: Enrico (Errico) was the third of seven children. And no tenor every performed 37 different roles in one year, let alone EVERY year. To accomplish the latter, the Met would have had to run performances 52 weeks a year, with Caruso changing roles every 10 days for 17 years. How can one trust a book that makes mistakes like that before you even get to page 2?