Enrico Caruso: My Father and My Family

by Enrico Caruso, Jr., Jr. Caruso, Enrico, Andrew Farkas

Book Overview

Drawing on the personal recollections of the Caruso brothers, archival material preserved by the family, and extensive research, this book is a rare tribute to to the man and his vocal legacy. This abridged edition includes the full original text covering Caruso's life and death, plus a current discography.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0931340241
• ISBN13: 9780931340246
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Amadeus Press
• Length: 724 Pages
• Weight: 3.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 2.2" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

An exacting account

This book will please the in-depth researcher as well as the person who wants to know what kind was Mr. Caruso. It says much about origins. The Naples of Caruso's boyhood is well described. Singing is the one compass that always pointed North for Mr. Causo. Enricco's father wanted him to be a mechannic, but Enricco was drawn by greater force to be the singer he became. We see him develop from a callous young man in his relations with women, to a serious, kind adult. We see him struggle very hard to become the outstand singer and performer that he was. All the details are there. If anything unusual occured on the stage, or in every day life, I reccomend this book for scholarship as well as for the enjoyment of a ubique man.

great bio on Caruso

This was great bio about perhaps the most famous singer of modern time. The author strives to tell the truth and not gloss over rather unpleasant details of Caruso life. Recommend to anyone with a interest in opera.

Ultimate and intimate biography of possibly the most pleasant voice the world has ever known

This biography is an excellent nice surprise. There are three kinds of biographies: 1)written by a ghostwriter (who often did not know the person itimately or at all), 2) written by a close friend or relative, or 3)autobiography. After reading this one, and many others like Isadora, Rockefeller, Heisenberg, Newton, Einstein, Von Braun, Rembrandt, I opt for the second option. Biographies like this one, written by a close friend or relative simply give the best of both worlds: intimate information normally inaccessible to others, and still an objective but well informed and not too speculative view. This book is told by Caruso's second son, who was fortunately bestowed with an excellent memory and decided in the last years of his life, thank God, to put this story together before it would be too late. He was only 17 when his father died in 1921. His son said himself he was more a storyteller than a writer, and as for choosing the writer Andrew Farkas he also did an excellent job. The style is very readable and elegant. It is simply fascinating to read about a life in the Edwardian says, and especially such a famous one. Many biographies tend to become a bit tedious since in trying to be definitive they often sum up too many facts without paying attention to a general idea of the meaning of the biography itself, that is, why that person, in this case Caruso, is worth a written life story and why the reader should care to read on. This book shows how it should be done. Not only is it an intimate insight in Edwardian life, also it shows how it is to be the child of such a unique artist. Even more unique is that more than going into voice studies and the like, it is about the life of the great tenor at home, after the concerts (of which he did many). It shows Caruso the man, the character, the child, the tragedies (of loosing his wife to his chauffeur), the father, and last but not least Caruso the Italian. This is a definite great addition to the vast literature of Caruso. There are enough books and studies written on Caruso the voice, but none will ever surpass this one about Caruso's intimate, or as Proust would put it, 'real' life. Although seen through the eyes of his then young son, who was old when he told it to the world, it gets as close to the facts as we will probably ever be. His son is convincing in his objectivity by just telling what happened. This story is no idealisation of his father. As an example: many biographies were supposed to be hostile to his mother Ada after she left the family. This biography shows why she might have left while at the same time it also makes understandable why his son must indeed have loved his (dramatic) father so much. Caruso was a real Italian, having possibly many relationships, but still acting out when his wife left him for it. Apart from this, many other myths and errors in other biographies are corrected. So why read another biography when you can buy this one? His son was a Caruso as many Itali

Fantastic

The book is gorgeous. Without doubt the best book ever written about Caruso(and there are thousands). And it is exiting to read too... Go and get it! You'll love it! It's just a pitty (and I mean a real pitty) that this is the abridged version - the full one is even better (just in case you love to read ghost stories of how Caruso appeared to his son or you want to know what happened to all the people, Carusos belongings and his body after he died.)

Best book available on the greatest tenor of the century

Enrico Caruso is the greatest tenor of this century. I say "is" because every tenor is still compared to Caruso (not to one of "The Three"); his records, all predating the microphone, still sell 76 years after his death; and there are more books about the life and art of Caruso than any other singer. The original version of this book appeared seven years or so ago and was regarded as one of the best Caruso biographies ever written. The book has now been streamlined to remove chapters that were more about the family after Caruso's death than about the great tenor. Not only did Caruso's son have access to family photos, letters, etc denied other biographers but he also has the unique first-hand perspective. Caruso Jr and his co-author, Andrew Farkas, produced a balanced, admirable biography with a smootly flowing narrative. This book belongs on the shelf of every opera lover beside copies of Robinson's collection of Caruso photos and a collection of Caruso's caricatures. Even though I have copies of numerous other biographies of Caruso, this one is the best and the others can be put aside