Puccini and Caruso, a combination of art and bohemian life
An oft-storied union emerges and takes shape from family papers and musicological studies by Laura Valente
2' min read
2' min read
Much has been mythologised about the relationship between Giacomo Puccini and Enrico Caruso, whether for the bohemian lifestyle led by both or for the shared passion for rural Tuscany where they made jaunts as viveurs. The undoubted similarity in lifestyle choices is now reinforced by family papers in the possession of the great tenor's descendants that remove any remaining doubts about their actual and elective meeting.
Testifying to this are the papers kept in the family archive from which the relationship between the two is confirmed. Not even extemporaneous as reported by famous anecdotes, but constant and assiduous; it all began on the initiative of the tenor's companion Ada Giachetti, soprano, who introduced him to Puccini's home at Torre del Lago in the summer of 1897. She had all the qualifications to convince him, coming from a much higher social class than his beloved and knowing her way around that world. Family documents not only confirm the truthfulness of the astonished phrase 'But who sent you God?' addressed by the Maestro to the tenor, but also attest to the frequentation between the two. It was a lively friendship, characterised by the peculiarities of the two characters, both vital as well as irascible: Puccini often went to Lastra a Signa to see Caruso given a certain complicity and being 'always ready... not to miss an opportunity'.
La Bohème
Therefore, the title of the bilingual book 'Puccini and/or Caruso' edited by Laura Valente, the creator of the permanent museum dedicated to the tenor inaugurated in Naples two years ago on the anniversary of his birth (1873) could not be more apt. The book emphasises and highlights the close bond between the two by making up for the lack of extensive direct documentation on their personal relationship.
Although there is no concrete evidence of a meeting between the two during the first performance of La Bohème (1896), as is often reported, it is certain that their paths crossed shortly afterwards and for a long time. The young Caruso's debut at La Scala took place in 1900 in the very same Puccini opera, replacing another tenor at the last moment. This event marked the beginning of an artistic collaboration that would last for years and lead to some of the most famous interpretations of Puccini's arias as Caruso's voice, powerful and versatile, was perfectly suited to the parts written by Puccini. In addition to the artistic affinity, there is that of the life lived by Caruso in Puccini's footsteps in the Tuscany travelled far and wide by car by the composer born in Lucca.
An oft-told union that is slowly becoming more and more real from the papers of family members and musicological studies by Laura Valente, subtracting much from the often-abused anecdotal to give more historical and biographical depth.
