The Napoli Library hosts an exhibition on Enrico Caruso. Tomorrow, at Gambrinus, the presentation of the Italian Heritage project in honor of the artist, which will also arrive in New York.

The “Enrico Caruso in the documents of Lucchesi Palli” exhibition will be presented at the Vittorio Emanuele III National Library in Naples, during the Paper Sunday 2023, with the opening of the “Borbone’s Party Apartments” on October 8th at 10:20 am. Caruso’s writings acquired by the historical institution will be exhibited by director Marta Iannotti and journalist Ermanno Corsi in the Reading Room, which was once a Bourbon ballroom, and will serve as a backdrop for period costume dances.

After a guided tour of the exhibition in the art and entertainment section, there will be a concert in the Rari Hall by soprano Olga De Maio and tenor Luca Lupoli, accompanied on the piano by Nataliya Apolenskaja. The artists will present their rendition of some of Caruso’s most famous arias and will alternate with Sasà Trapanese, who will offer some recited interludes.
The exhibition, curated by Laura Bourellis, Cristina Del Fiacco, and Attilio Laviano, is a collection of artifacts from the artist, including recently acquired personal letters from the National Library. These letters, originating from Caruso’s correspondence with his friend Giovanni Mascia (November 27th – December 13th, 1906) from New York, provide details about Caruso’s triumphs at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as the difficult moments related to accusations of harassment and the subsequent trial that marked the artist’s life. Despite the hardships, Caruso’s joyful character, unwilling to be defeated, emerges from the correspondence.

Naples, “miracle” of San Gennaro 2023: the blood of the Patron Saint melted at 10:02 am

Among the exhibited items is also a rare 1922 edition of “Caricatures by Enrico Caruso,” published by Follia in New York; an original ink drawing by Caruso that enriches the inside of the volume, and a handwritten dedication from the collection’s curator, Marziale Sisca, co-author of “Core ‘ngrato,” addressed to composer Ernesto De Curtis. The exhibition offers a comprehensive overview of Enrico Caruso’s life and art, from his early beginnings to his great successes, and all the way to his death and commemorations. The displayed material includes many writings such as letters, telegrams, postcards, photos with dedications, newspapers, magazines, booklets, records, and sheet music, tracing Caruso’s artistic career and clarifying his connection with the Lucchesi Palli Library: from the interpretation of Salvatore Di Giacomo’s opera “A San Francisco,” music by Carlo Sebastiani, to the performances of Neapolitan songs, and even a cartoon that the tenor dedicated to the count Lucchesi Palli’s granddaughter.

Library director Iannotti comments: The significant “Caruso” collection of Lucchesi Palli, which we are trying to expand, proves fundamental in reconstructing the singer’s biography in a rigorous manner and offers the opportunity to analyze his personality, also testifying to his skills as a caricaturist. Once again, the Library, drawing from the richness of its collections, offers a plurality of perspectives that help to intimately understand the man and the artist who spread Italian culture and Neapolitan songs worldwide. The exhibition paints a multifaceted and comprehensive portrait of Enrico Caruso, also highlighting his pastimes and abilities in other artistic disciplines. The exhibition reveals the modernity of a great singer who sets aside the heroic tenorism of the nineteenth century and opens up to more bourgeois and intimate representations. Caruso was an emblematic figure of his time, a sensitive and modern performer who marked the era with his pioneering recordings. In 1902, he recorded the first 78 rpm in Italy, becoming a discographic phenomenon in Italian and international music. The “Enrico Caruso in the documents of Lucchesi Palli” exhibition will be open to the public from October 8th, 2023, until January 19th, 2024.

Event at Gambrinus

Tomorrow, October 4th, at 11:30 am, at the Gran Caffè Gambrinus in Naples, in Piazza del Plebiscito, there will be a press conference to present the Italian Heritage project in honor of Caruso, which will be presented in New York from October 5th to 12th, on the occasion of Columbus Day. The initiative will be attended by excellences of Made in Italy, which will be revealed during the press conference. In New York, there will also be a representation of the Municipality of Naples with Councilor Gennaro Demetrio Paipais.

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