Evening star., 1953-11-15
News Of Music

ELL lCU AdI UoOs pei I4ldJO CIlC
greatest tenor the world has
ever known, who made his
Metropolitan Opera debut so
years ago on November %, has
come to life again. Through
the medium of T. r. Ybarra,
whose "Caruso, The Man of
Naples and the Voice of Gold,"
was recently released by Har-
court, Brace and Company.
this colorful personality and
fabulous career is made as
alive and vivid as in the be-
ginning of the century. The
author knew him, and followed
his successes with unbounded
admiration. The biography is
truly a labor of love.
To understand what that
career amounted to can be
summed up by quoting the first
paragraphs of Chapter "a.
Date: 1891. Scene: The
church at the village of Maiori,
near Naples. Occasion: A festi-
val of church music. Singer:
Enrico CarouSo. Attendance:
200 cat a guess). Audience re-
action: Unknown, nobody
bothered to record it. Singers
fee: $500.
Date: 1920. Scene: Bull
Ring, Mexico City. Occasion:
Outdoor operatic concert.
Singer: Enrico Caruso. At
tendance: $4,000. Audience re-
action: Delirious enthusiasm.
Singers fee: $4,000.
Writing CLOVIS
In between, Ybarra has re-
corded step by step Caruso's
climb up the ladder of fame.
In so doing, he has kept the
atmosphere that surrounded
the artist not only with fldel-
ity but with rare sympathy.
The volatile Italian tempera-
ment, fiery, generous and fun
loving in the case of the Neo-
politan Caruso, excitable, de-
voted and adoring on the part
Of other Italians, gives con-
slant glow to the writing. All
sides of the singers character
and temperament are brought
out impartially. And the re-
suit is the picture of a great
man, simple, hardworking, and
possessor of superb gift.
The outlines of the CaruSo
story are familiar to many.
But Ybarra writes from his
heart and with a nostalgia he
is not ashamed to admit. "Ah,
those days. How I reveled in
their rich operate fare" The
telling may fall strangely on
modern minds accustomed to
less glamorous operate figures
and less glamorous times. 1t
will awaken regret in oldsters
for a warm, glowing, colorful
past, gone never to return.
There is much for present.
day artists to learn from
Ybarra'S book. They will learn
that personality, especially
that developed in the heart,
counts for much, that a great
gift alone is not sufficient. that
work, work, is the artists life
with no by-passing of the
fundamentals. This can be
seen in the portions dealing
with CaruSo'S idea of technique
and his attitude toward the
roles he sang. And they will
learn that when a singer of
Caruso's type appears he is
never forgotten.
The book makes absorbing
reading: Ybarra has covered
every angle and faced every
rumor of the singers career
with loving but open minded
concern. It is a must for
those who hear the repressing
of Caruso records for the first
time and a must for those who
cherish memories of the "Voice
of Gold"
Souso Scores Displayed
Autographed scores of John
Philip Sousa. presented to the
Library of Congress last spring
by the Sousa family will be on
exhibition for the first time
tomorrow afternoon. The
opening ceremony will be at
4 o'clock when the March
Kings daughters, Helen Sousa
Albert of New York, and Jane
Priscilla SouSa of Port Wash
ington. N. Y, will head the list
of distinguished participants.
They will be honor guests
also at the concert to be given
Tuesday at 8 pm. by the Junior
Optimist Band of the Boys
Club of Washington in the
Sousa Junior High School.
Under the direction of Andrew
G. Bodnar, the band presents
its 18th annual John Philip
Sousa memorial concert.
The 80-piece Marine Band,
directed by 1t. Col. William F.
Santelmann, is scheduled to
play a number of SouSa's COM
positions from the more than
SO musical manuscripts donated
to the Library. Among these,
and a recent addition, is the
full band score of 1.-The Stars
and Stripes Forever"
OF this famous composition,
Mrs. Albert wrote, II recall the
Frenchman who once told
father in halting English that
the march to him portrayed
the American eagle shooting
nAArr1WAIN