13: Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) Outstanding Start Price EUR 13,000.00 Current Price EUR 13,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 1 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Wednesday, December 10, 2008 End Time Wednesday, December 10, 2008 Location Turin, Italy See more about '13: Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) Outstanding' Description Current Lot Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) Outstanding collection of documents comprising 57 signed autograph letters dating between 1902 and 1920, which were written by one of the greatest tenors of all times. Two letters contains original caricatures by Caruso in the text. Also included in this lot are two letters by Caruso's wife, Dorothy; fifteen telegrams; six letters by Caruso's secretary, Bruno Zirato; thirty franked envelopes with autograph addresses and a considerable amount of printed material. These records are extremely interesting as not only bearing witness to Caruso's friendship with 'Pippo' (the Italian painter and sculptor Filippo Catalani, who moved to Argentina long before the dates of these letters), but also to the Italian tenor 's extraordinary career, success and tours as well as his relationships with relatives and with Ada Giacchetti, his lover, collected success collected by through his career, especially during the tours. About his performances in the world's greatest theatres (in New York, London, Montevideo, Monte-Carlo, San Francisco, Newcastle, Milan, Florence and other), Caruso recounts: 'Solamente ti dico che fui scritturato per 20 rappresentazioni e ne faccio almeno 30 beninteso pagando le altre 10. Pel momento ho fotto Rigoletto, Bohème, Aida, Lucia, Covolleria, Traviata e tutte con un successo crescendo. lnoltre ho fatto tre concerti in case di Lord Rotschild, Lord Astor e Lady Coatz cantando due soli pezzetti e intascando molti quattrini, cosa che in nessuna parte del mondo si fa'. In a letter from London, Caruso tells about the terrible earthquake that damaged San Francisco in 1906:'Come avrai letto dai giornali, io sono scampato per miracolo dal terribile disastro di S. Francisco di California. Caro mio. Che brutta cosa. Credo che per anni non se ne vedrà di simile cosa, Dio ho voluto salvarmi ed io lo ringrazio con la faccia per terra. Ho già cantato qui con grande successo e pare che il terremoto mi ha fatto bene perché la voce è più bella'. Many are the words spent for Ada Giacchetti, who left Caruso for the chauffer, together with whom she tried to get some money out of him ('... son pieno di guai. L'Ada non la vuol smettere. Mi ha carpito 500 lire al mese promettendomi di vivere sola e tranquilla, invece vive col suo chauffeur e per di più mi ha dato uno falsa querela che mi ha costretto a dargliene a lei'). As already mentioned, included in this lot are two autograph letters signed by 'Dorothy Caruso' ( the tenor's wife, Dorothy Benjamin), one of which is dated '15 marzo 1922' (about one year after Caruso's death). Also part of this interesting series of documents is a signed autograph dedication to Rosina, Filippo Calante's wife, on printed musical quotation of Dreams of Long Ago: 'Especially composed by Enrico Caruso for Henry W. Savage's production "The Milion"'. This collection is an extraordinary, unpublished ensemble of interesting writings that shed new light on Enrico Caruso as a man and artist, and reveal some interesting details about the private and musical life of this unforgettable personality. Place a Bid!