Today, on 25 February, we mark the 150th birth anniversary of the legendary singer Enrico Caruso, who was a prominent singer, whose name is without a doubt known throughout the world. Enrico Caruso was one of the foremost representatives of Italian bel canto and an opera artist. He had an exceptionally beautiful voice and a virtuoso vocal mastery. He expressed human passions deeply and powerfully, and created dramatically intense tragic images, achieving high expressiveness and poignancy in his role.

Having already earned the worldwide fame, Caruso became a soloist at New York's Metropolitan Opera in 1903 and continued giving tours in the best theatres of America and Europe. His repertoire included more than 80 operas, and he generally turned to Italian authors (Gaetano Donizetti, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini and Pietro Mascagni). Neapolitan songs were the highlight of the concert programmes by Caruso. Caruso appeared twice in the famous Guinness Book of Records -- as the highest-paid opera singer in the world and as the first performer in the history of recording, whose records were sold in million copies.

Musical selection comprised of the songs performed by Enrico Caruso is posted in the museum Sound Library to commemorate the 150th birth jubilee of the singer.

One of the "Museum Stories" series features little-known details about the singer's life and creative work.

The sculptural portrait of Enrico Caruso as Dick Johnson in the opera “La Fanciulla del West" (The Girl from the West) by Giacomo Puccini is stored in the museum Collection section “Sculptures”. The opera premiered on December 10, 1910 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Arturo Toscanini conducted it. Caruso performed the role of Dick Johnson (Ramerres). The sculpture was created in 1912.

On the cover: Sculptural portrait by Paolo Troubetzkoy "Enrico Caruso as Dick Johnson.

The sculpture was made at a time when both masters - Enrico Caruso as a tenor and Paolo Trubetskoy as a sculptor - were at the height of their careers.