Description

CARLO CAFFETTO (VERONA, 1869 – LONDON, 1909)

 

 

 

 

Carlo Caffetto made his debut at a very young age around 1890 and immediately sang important roles.

He is described by the Veronese historian Gajoni-Berti as “a dramatic tenor who, alongside the greatest extension, combined a strength and elasticity of the vocal cords that gave him the resonant breadth of a baritone. In the last years of his career, in fact, he gave numerous concerts singing in the baritone clef, but he was the classic powerful tenor who sang with all his capital, not merely with the interests. He was Otello, he was Raoul, he was Manrico, he was Arnoldo, he was Alvaro, he was Pollione, he was Radamès.
His intensity of sound reached the utmost level of dramatic expression, and those characters which even then were the greatest challenge for tenors, Caffetto had so thoroughly assimilated that he was regarded as one of their most sought-after and highly esteemed interpreters.
Tall and imposing in person, he knew how to command the attention of audiences with stagecraft worthy of the highest regard, which made him a truly excellent artist whom critics could only admire with respect.
In addition to the mentioned operas, he also stood out in Samson et Dalila and other works from the great repertoire.”

Another historian, Lenotti, reports:

“It is said that, when he performed Bellini’s Norma in 1902 at the Ristori Theatre in Verona, the public’s fanaticism to hear him was extraordinary; and one evening, an armed guard had to rush in to control the crowd that was thronging around the theatre to get inside. He had also sung in 1891 in Halévy’s La Juive, with Navarrini.”

After taking his first steps in Veneto and Lombardy, he soon took flight towards the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and England, where he achieved remarkable popularity with a vast repertoire.

He also ventured into Wagner’s music, though only on a few occasions. In Italy, in that repertoire, he could be heard only in Genoa, in 1900, as Siegmund in Die Walküre, alongside Emma Zilli and Angelica Pandolfini.

His career, unfortunately, was brief, as it was cut short suddenly. Nevertheless, his records are still sought after today, especially in English-speaking countries.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

24 Feb 1900 Genova, Italy (Carlo Felice) Walkiria

16 Jan 1902 Genova, Italy (Politeama Genovese) Norma

4 mar 1904 Trieste (Teatro Verdi) Samson et Dalila

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Africaine (Meyerbeer) O Paradiso 52541 710a(510) Berliner, Milano 1900-06-26/28
2. Aida (Verdi) Se quel guerrier io fossi… Celeste Aida 52362 1644b G&T, Milano 1902-03
3. Traviata (Verdi) Un dì felice (1900-07-26) 52463 891a Berliner, Milano 1900-07
4. Aida (Verdi) Nel fiero anelito 52277 4270a Berliner, Milano 1900-06-26
5. Aida (Verdi) Nel fiero anelito 52340 1651b G&T, Milano 1902-03
6. Andrea Chenier (Giordano) Un di all’azzurro spazio 52518 762a Berliner, Milano 1900-06-26/28
7. Ballo in maschera (Verdi) La rivedrò 52486 882a Berliner, Milano 1900-07
8. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) O Lola (Siciliana) 52495 918a Berliner, Milano 1900-08
9. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) O Lola 52376 1686b G&T, Milano 1902-03
10. Ernani (Verdi) Mercè diletti amici (1900-07-24) 52462 874a Berliner, Milano 1900-07
11. Faust (Gounod) Tardi si fa (w. Grippa) (1900-08-17) 54084 943a Berliner, Milano 1900-08
12. Favorita (Donizetti) Spirto gentil 52464x 795a(595) Berliner, Milano 1900-06-26/28
13. Gioconda (Ponchielli) Cielo e mar 52538 711a Berliner, Milano 1900-08
14. Gioconda (Ponchielli) Già ti veggo 52515 766a(566) Berliner, Milano 1900-06-26/28
15. Lohengrin (Wagner) Da voi lontan (1900-06-26) 52540 708a(508) Berliner, Milano 1900-06-26/28
16. Lohengrin (Wagner) Da voi lontan 37296 Xm646 Odeon, Milano 1905/1906
17. Lohengrin (Wagner) Merce, merce 52337 1638b G&T, Milano 1902-03
18. Lucia di lammermoor (Donizetti) Fra poco a me ricovero 52474 871a Berliner, Milano 1900-07
19. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Tu che a Dio (1900-08-01) 52475 917a Berliner, Milano 1900-08