Enrico Caruso

Enrico Caruso died an untimely death at 48 while he was vacationing in Europe. His death was brought on by an attack of pleurisy in the winter of 1920, from which he never recovered. My book looks closely at his family and recounts in detail some of the fascinating events of his life. One detail that newspapers of his era make clear is that he was an especially diligent worker. He stressed in many interviews with reporters how important it is to make sacrifices to achieve greatness in art, and especially music. Although he died in 1921, Caruso's legend and his accomplishments have stood the test of time in the operatic world. In writing about him I have been impressed at how meaningful his advice for parents of musical students is today. Enrico was especially perturbed when a pupil was rushed along and introduced professionally before he/she had fully honed his/her craft.