San Francisco Opera Centennial -- September 20, 2022

The San Francisco Opera is celebrating its 100th season this year. I took the photo in November, 2017. 

Enrico Caruso Dies and World Grieves for Loss of Tenor -- August 2, 2021

Washington Evening Star, 02-August-1921

Neapolitan tenor Enrico Caruso died 100 years ago today, on 02-August-1921. My Italian grandfather was a great fan. Caruso is often mentioned in San Francisco because of his quick exit after the 1906 Earthquake and Fire.

ENRICO CARUSO DIES

AND WORLD GRIEVES

FOR LOSS OF TENOR

Noted Singer Suddenly

Passes Away at Home

in Naples.

"WILL SING IN HEAVEN,"

HIS HOPE AND PROMISE

Greatest of Operatic Stars and Idol

of Multitudes Had Triumphant

Career.

By the Associated Press.
NAPLES, August 2. -- Enrico Caruso, world famous tenor, died here today. The condition of the singer, which had been considered satisfactory until recently, became grave yesterday, peritonitis developing, and another operation being considered necessary. From the beginning of his relapse, however, there was serious concern over the outcome, and last night his life was despaired of. During the night the condition of the patient grew steadily worse, and the career of the great artist came to an end with his death at an early hour this morning.

In June, 1920, his country home was robbed of thousands of dollars in jewels, and in the same week a bomb was set in the National Theater at Havana just before his entrance in the second half of "Aida."

NEW YORK MOURNS DEATH.

Scene of His Greatest Triumphs

Shocked by News.

NEW YORK. August 2 -- The death of Enrico Caruso beneath the skies of his own Italy today caused sorrow on every highway and byway of New York.

Here he was loved by all -- the poor of East Side tenements, the wealthy of 5th Avenue's stately mansions, the countless numbers who filled the seats of the Metropolitan Opera House between the sparkling pit and the somber galleries whenever the incomparable tenor sang a role.

Street sweepers stopped their work to mumble a prayer for the departed tenor; the cultured lamented the loss to art of one of its most cherished possessions. They felt the loss was not only America's, but the world's. For Caruso's superb tones have enraptured audiences the world around.

Voice Missed During Illness.

The homage paid him was never better realized than when his voice was silenced during his long illness last winter.

When he lay stricken, gallantly fighting against a death that seemed only hours away, ever expressing the hope that he might be spared until he could return to the soil that gave him birth, the meek and the mighty of every land prayed that the great tenor would be spared to them and to art a little while longer.

Princes sent messages of sympathy and hope to his bedside from every country that knew a cable station or a wireless plant. In New York, push-cart peddlers, as well as business barons and leaders of society, eagerly bought newspapers hour by hour to learn how Caruso's courageous fight was progressing.

To the hotel suite where he was suffering from one operation after another there went exquisite bouquets from florists' shops and also simple garlands that expressed the love and admiration of the poor.

Cheerfulness Admired.

On the stage Caruso always was cheerful. His gayety in responding to curtain calls, his gracious bows and unexpected tricks, his inexhaustible energy, aroused an admiration that knew no boundaries, creeds or birth.

His joy was in singing.

"I promise you that when I go to heaven I shall sing forever," he told an audience at the Friars' Club five years ago.

Sometimes, the possession of a voice that thousands considered the most perfect ever given to a man, palled upon the great tenor, and he would express regret that he could not be just an ordinary somebody.

"The burdens of my gift are greater than the rewards," he would say.

Personal friends knew Caruso to be as cheerful in private life as on the stage. Trouble seemed ever to follow him, yet he kept cheerful and undismayed.

Last December a disheartening series of mishaps preceded the illness which led to his death. On the 8th he sprained his side when making an energetic exit after the aria "Vesti la Giubba." in "Pagliacci."

Three days later he burst a blood vessel in his throat during a performance of "L'Elisir d'Amore," in Brooklyn, but he bravely carried on.

Two days before Christmas he lay in bed, his chest under treatment for "Intercostal neuralgia," but the Christmas eve audience for "La Juiva" was not denied the joy of hearing him. for he left his sickroom and sang the role of Eleazar.

Heavens Mourn Loss.

Christmas he spent in bed, and the next day came word that pleurisy had attacked him.

Week after week he battled for life, undergoing several operations. When he was sufficiently strong he went to Atlantic City for a few weeks, and then, when the warm sun of early summer came to Italy, he left New York, emaciated but smiling, confident that he would return in the fall to the thousands of music lovers who awaited him.

To the superstitious it seemed as if the very heavens today mourned the tenor's loss, for scarcely had there appeared on the streets the first extras telling of his death than it became dark as night. Great clouds, heavy with rain, draped the skies and soon New York was working by artificial light.

The last word received here from Naples was that Enrico Caruso was improving nicely, and that his voice would not be permanently impaired by his illness. When the tenor sailed from New York for Italy on May 28 he appeared still to be very ill and weak, although his physicians insisted that he was on the road to rapid recovery and would soon regain his health abroad. Caruso's illness first began during last Christmas week, when he suffered an attack of pleurisy and was confined to his suite in the Hotel Vanderbilt. His condition growing worse, the singer a few days later underwent an operation to relieve him of an accumulation of pus in the pleural cavity, exudate having collected between the pleura and the lungs themselves. It was deemed advisable to operate again for a secondary abscess.

In Critical Condition.

After these operations Caruso continued in a serious condition for more than a week and was hovering between life and death.

Early in February there was another sudden turn for the worse and he suffered an attack of heart failure. His friends were called to his bedside and two priests visited him and one administered extreme unction, the belief being the singer was near death.

A group of specialists were constantly at the bedside of Caruso fighting to save his life. They were aided in their work by the use of oxygen, which was administered to the patient in an effort to carry him through the crisis.

During the latter part of February the condition of the famous singer improved slowly, but steadily, although it was necessary for him to undergo a third operation for another small abscess. A few weeks later he was removed to Atlantic City, where he rested up preparatory to his return to Italy.

Word of the first Illness of Caruso at the time he was stricken with pleurisy came as a shock to his many friends in this country and abroad, as he had been singing with the Metropolitan Opera Company during the present season, here and in Philadelphia, and was enjoying one of the best seasons of his life.

World-Wide Interest.

Messages from all parts of the world inquiring as to his illness were received at the Caruso apartment. They came from London, Paris, Mexico City, Rome, Milan, Buenos Aires, Havana and many other countries. They were sent not only by persons known in the world of music, but from many admirers who had sat in his audiences at some time in the twenty-five years of his career as an opera star.

Up to the time of his sailing for Italy reports were current that Caruso's voice had not withstood the ravages of his many weeks of illness. These were stoutly denied by his friends and to prove their untruth the tenor, just before sailing away on board the steamship President Wilson, burst into one of his golden notes -- a particularly high one -- and held it without apparent difficulty. Thousands of friends who were gathered at the pier cheered him in his gallant effort, but he gallantly declined to give an encore "until next season."

Caruso, looking pale and much thinner, doffed his hat in acknowledgment of the greetings of the crowd. Police reserves and dock guards had great difficulty in holding in check a great crowd of admirers as they greeted Caruso when he went aboard the steamship, where his most intimate friends bid him and Mrs. Caruso farewell.

Confident of Recovery.

When Caruso left for Italy he appeared confident that he would return to America next fall and again take his place with the Metropolitan Opera Company.

Shortly, however, after the tenor had arrived in Italy reports began to drift back to this country that he would not sing again before the American public in his old voice. Caruso, however, immediately cabled a denial of those reports, declaring that "when I want to show I have not lost my voice I will do so at the proper time and place."

Early this month word came from Italy that Caruso was not recovering as rapidly as had been expected and seemed depressed, but friends declared his voice was returning and that he sang a short time each day.

Reports reaching Rome at this time stated that Caruso would be able to sing in New York by next winter, though friends reluctantly admitted "It will never be quite the same again." Caruso was also reported to be living a secluded life in a hotel near Naples, never mixing with the other hotel guests and taking his meals in his private suite.

News Comes as Shock.

News of Caruso's death on the heels of continued reassuring reports from Italy came as a stunning shock to the music-loving world. Only last Sunday photographs of the singer in Italy were published here and they showed him cheerful and apparently in robust health.

His friends here recalled today that when he was seriously ill last winter he often expressed the wish that if he had to die he would prefer to die in his own sunny Italy, for which he always held a deep affection.

The breakdown in the tenor's health last winter followed a series of mishaps to Caruso, which culminated on December 11 in Brooklyn, when he burst a blood vessel while singing "Elisir d'Amore" at the Academy of Music.

His performance on that occasion was gallant; he struggled through the whole first act, although time an again blood choked his voice, and every now and then he was forced to change a reddened handkerchief for another deftly slipped to him by some member of the chorus.

Those in the front rows soon became aware of the singer's danger, and applauded the daring flights, in which, time after time, golden voice rose superior to the obstacle that threatened to muffle it. It was not until the combined demands of his wife, almost frantic in the wings and the pleas of his physician had been joined that Caruso finally consented to abandon the stage.

A few days before the mishap in Brooklyn Caruso slightly strained a muscle, when he stumbled and plunged into part of the stage settings at the Metropolitan Opera House during a performance of "I Pagliacci." There was a long delay between the first and second scenes, during which Caruso rested and regained composure.

After his accident in Brooklyn every effort was made to minimize that mishap and to assure the public that Caruso would soon sing again, He did sing again, his last public appearance being at the Metropolitan on Christmas eve last, in the role of Eleazar, in "La Juive." He was welcomed back with an ovation, such as only an enthusiastic Metropolitan audience could muster.

Opera-goers that night felt reassured that all was well with the glorious voice of their favorite, but on the day after Christmas came the announcement that Caruso had been stricken with pleurisy.

Jessye Norman 75 -- September 15, 2020

Soprano Jessye Norman was born 75 years ago today, on 15-September-1945.  She had a distinctive voice. She died in 2019. 

Jessye Norman, RIP -- October 1, 2019

I was sad to learn that soprano Jessye Norman has died.  She had a distinctive voice.

Girls of the Golden West -- November 26, 2017

Friday night we went to the second performance of John Adams' new opera The Girls of the Golden West. It was nice to have an evening out with my wife. I agreed with her that the first act was episodic, but the second act had a good dramatic arc about the gold miners degenerating into savagery on the Fourth of July and driving out all of the miners who weren't considered good Americans or Europeans.

It concluded with the lynching of Josefa Segovia, who stabbed a miner who tried to rape her.

The singing was excellent. Julia Bullock was Dame Shirley.  Most of her songs came directly from the letters.  Her husband, Fayette Clappe, did not sing.  Ned Peters, the former slave, had a large part in both acts.  Davone Tines had a solo based on Frederick Douglass' "What to a slave is the 4th of July?"  Hya Jung Lee as Ah Sing had a beautiful voice.  Her aria came from poems carved at the Angel Island Immigration Station. J'Nai Bridges had me crying as Josefa Segovia. Joe Cannon, who tried to rape Josefa, did not have a well developed character.  Sometimes it was hard to tell him from other characters.  Paul  Appleby had a good voice.  Ryan McKinney was the narrator/observer/occasional participant.

The prostitutes/dancing girls looked as if they were having a great time.

Lorena Feijóo, who did Lola Montez' Spider Dance used to be with the San Francisco Ballet.

I liked John Adams' music, which set many Gold Rush-era songs and poems to music.  The chorus of gold miners was powerful.  Peter Sellars had fun staging it.  I liked the panorama behind Dame Shirley's wagon ride with Ned Peters.  We could see the woman cranking the scene.  The image had a large, obvious seam in it.  I liked the neon beer signs in the Empire.

My wife didn't like the scene where Dame Shirley described her cabin.  The stage hands carried out each piece, stood there while she sang about it, then took it away.  We both liked the use of the huge stump and slice of redwood tree in the second act.

My wife said that there was a vigorous debate going on in the ladies' room during the intermission.  Some people hated the show.  Others defended it.  Some people, including the couple sitting next to my wife, left after the intermission.   We were happy that we went and we stayed.

Film Daily, 17-March-1938

And, of course, the opera is not to be confused with the David Belasco play The Girl of the Golden West, the Giacomo Puccini opera, La fanciulla del West, or the many movie adaptions.

Dinner at the Wharf -- July 6, 2014

Last night we were going to go see La Traviata simulcast at the ball park.  We parked at Daly City BART and took a train to the Embarcadero.  We got on a crowded T-Third.  Even though we had Friends and Family early entry, the line was down past the gate at Second Street.  Things were poorly organized.  After a while in an unmoving line, we decided to take our all-day transfers and get on train back to the Embarcadero.  We got on a hybrid bus running on the F-line tracks.  We got off at Pier 39 and poked around.  There were a lot of people.  The sea lions disappeared a few weeks ago.  We walked along the Embarcadero and Jefferson to Tarantino's.  We went upstairs and had a nice dinner.  I had an excellent piece of sole.  My wife had sautéed calamari.  I took this photo, which includes F-line PCC 1076 among the thick traffic on Jefferson Street.  After dinner, we walked over to the terminal and caught another PCC.  They were turning most runs back at Pier 39.  We took BART back to Daly City.  It was a nice adventure. 

Today we went to Noon mass at Good Shepherd.  Our new administrator (pastor), Father Lu (Luello N Palacpac) celebrated.  His family name means applause in Tagalog.  He seems like an active person with a good personality.  I enjoyed his homily on humility.  We'll miss Father Jess. 

Giuseppe Verdi 200 -- October 10, 2013

The greatest opera composer of them all, Giuseppe Verdi, was born on 10-October-1813 in Le Roncole in the Emilia-Romagna region.  The village is now called Roncole Verdi.  At the time the Parma region was controlled by the French.  Verdi studied composition and began to write operas.  He broke many rules, he wrote many beautiful melodies and he payed unusually close attention to the libretti.  Many of his works, including Rigoletto, Otello and Il Trovatore, are basic items in the repertory of almost every opera company.  His music is often thought of as the theme music of the Risorgimento, the Italian movement for freedom and unity.

Happy Saint Joseph's Day #5 -- March 19, 2013

With his 200th birthday coming up on 10-October-2013, I thought it was appropriate to mention Giuseppe Verdi, the greatest operatic composer. 

Slapstick #16 -- December 16, 2011

The Philadelphia Academy of Music is America's oldest active opera house.  This ad, from the Philadelphia Evening Public Ledger, 24-December-1921, describes a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Richard Strauss, a Metropolitan Opera performance of Richard Wagner's Lohengrin, starring soprano Maria Jeritza, and a program of three Charlie Chaplin shorts, "Shanghaied," "A Dog's Life," and "Shoulder Arms."  I like the prices, 11, 22 and 33 cents in the morning and 11, 22, 33, and 44 cents in the afternoon.

Tetrazzini 100 Years -- December 24, 2010

On 24-December-1910, opera singer Madam Luisa Tettrazini performed at the intersection of Geary, Market and Kearny, before an enormous crowd. "A conservative judges the crowd at 90,000. There were those who said 250,000 persons crowded to hear the incomparable Tetrazzini sing her love of San Francisco." The event was sponsored by the San Francisco Chronicle, which had its headquarters at the intersection, but other newspapers chose to describe the location as Lotta's Fountain. This image is from the 25-December-1910 San Francisco Call. She poses at the event with Mayor PH (Pin Head) McCarthy.

Catching Up #1 - September 12, 2007

I had a great time participating in the Slapstick Blog-a-Thon. Now I need to do a little catching-up.

1. Luciano Pavarotti passed on last week. He had a remarkable voice. My grandfather talked about Caruso; I'm sorry he didn't live to hear Pavarotti. Pavarotti's voice was not so dark, but he could do many things with it.

I went to see him in person once, at the Opera House, in a memorial to Mayor George Moscone. Unfortunately, Pavarotti did not show up. In his place, they had Frank Sinatra. That was all right ;0)

2. Yesterday was the sixth anniversary of 09/11/2001. I remembered a dream I had had the next night, of an airliner crashing into the Bank of America building.

3. Saturday, we went to the Cartoon Art Museum on Mission Street. The main exhibit was a show of political cartoons from around the world called "Why Do They Hate Us?" Many of them were not as harsh as what we do in this country. There was also a Peanuts exhibit, Edward Gorey's designs for Dracula, animation items, including two drawings by Winsor McKay, and a nice selection from the general collection. While the family visited the Gap store at Powell and Market, I watched two cable cars get towed away because the cable had stopped. I'll post videos on YouTube.

4. This may be the only time I ever mention football in this blog, but Monday I got off the SamTrans bus at the park and ride lot in Pacifica, and it was full of cars. And there were a bunch of people dressed in red. Then I realized that the Forty-Niners were playing Monday Night Football at Candlestick. I had never seen a Ballpark Express bus there on a weekday because Monday Night Football games usually start around 5pm. This game was starting at 7:15pm for some reason.

The bus, 118, an articulated, was signed for line 810.