Enrico Caruso was an Italian operatic first lyric tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles that ranged from the lyric to the dramatic. One of the first major singing talents to be commercially recorded, Caruso made 247 commercially released recordings from 1902 to 1920, which made him an internationally popular entertainment star.
Luigia "Gina" LollobrigidaOMRI was an Italian actress, model, and photojournalist. She was one of the highest-profile European actresses of the 1950s and 1960s, a period in which she was an international sex symbol. Dubbed "the most beautiful woman in the world", at the time of her death she was among the last surviving high-profile international actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
The Great Caruso is a 1951 biographical film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Mario Lanza as famous operatic tenor Enrico Caruso. The movie was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Joe Pasternak with Jesse L. Lasky as associate producer. The screenplay, by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig, was suggested by the biography Enrico Caruso His Life and Death by Dorothy Caruso, the tenor's widow. The original music was composed and arranged by Johnny Green and the cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg. Costume design was by Helen Rose and Gile Steele.
Mario Lanza was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at the age of 16. After appearing at the Hollywood Bowl in 1947, Lanza signed a seven-year film contract with Louis B. Mayer, the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who saw his performance and was impressed by his singing. Prior to that, the adult Lanza sang only two performances of an opera. The following year (1948), however, he sang the role of Pinkerton in Puccini's Madama Butterfly in New Orleans.
"Because" is a song with music and lyrics by Guy d'Hardelot and English lyrics by Edward Teschemacher, originally published in 1902.
"Santa Lucia" is a traditional Neapolitan song. It was translated by Teodoro Cottrau (1827–1879) into Italian and published by the Cottrau firm, as a barcarola, in Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from Neapolitan into Italian during the first stage of the Italian unification. Significantly, it is the first Neapolitan song to be translated to Italian lyrics. Its transcriber, who is often miscredited as its composer, was the son of the French-born Italian composer and collector of songs Guillaume Louis Cottrau (1797–1847). Various sources credit A. Longo with the music, 1835.
Because You're Mine is a 1952 American musical comedy film starring Mario Lanza. Directed by Alexander Hall, the film also stars Doretta Morrow, James Whitmore, and Bobby Van.
Canzone napoletana, sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song, is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily for the male voice singing solo, although well represented by female soloists as well, and expressed in familiar genres such as the love song and serenade. Many of the songs are about the nostalgic longing for Naples as it once was. The genre consists of a large body of composed popular music—such songs as "'O sole mio"; "Torna a Surriento"; "Funiculì, Funiculà"; "Santa Lucia" and others.
"Che gelida manina" is a tenor aria from the first act of Giacomo Puccini's opera, La bohème. The aria is sung by Rodolfo to Mimì when they first meet. In the aria he tells her of his life as a poet, and ends by asking her to tell him more about her life. It is one of the most recorded arias by tenors.
Omero Antonutti was an Italian actor and voice actor.
Enzo Petito was an Italian film and stage character actor. A theatre actor under Eduardo De Filippo in the 1950s in the Teatro San Ferdinando of Naples, with whom he was professionally closely associated, Petito also appeared in several of his films, often co-starring Eduardo or/and brother, Peppino De Filippo, brothers who are considered to be amongst the greatest Italian actors of the 20th century. Petito played minor roles in some memorable commedia all'Italiana movies directed by the likes of Dino Risi and Mario Monicelli in the late 1950s and early 1960s, often appearing alongside actors such as Nino Manfredi, Alberto Sordi, Peppino De Filippo, Anna Maria Ferrero, and Totò.
Le bambole is a 1965 comedy anthology film in four segments, starring Gina Lollobrigida, Nino Manfredi, Elke Sommer, Jean Sorel, Monica Vitti, Virna Lisi and Akim Tamiroff.
The Law is a 1959 French-Italian film directed by Jules Dassin.
'O surdato 'nnammurato is a famous song written in the Neapolitan language. The song is used as the anthem of S.S.C. Napoli.
Me, Me, Me... and the Others is a 1966 Italian comedy film directed by Alessandro Blasetti. For this film Blasetti won the David di Donatello for best director.
"Mattinata" was the first song ever written expressly for the Gramophone Company. Composed by Ruggero Leoncavallo in 1904, it was dedicated to Enrico Caruso, who was the first to record it in April, 1904 with the composer at the piano. Ever since, the piece has been a concert favourite of tenors. Emilio Pericoli recorded a cover version for Warner Brother Records in 1964.
Imperial Venus is a 1962 French-Italian historical film directed by Jean Delannoy and starring Gina Lollobrigida, Stephen Boyd and Raymond Pellegrin. It depicts the life of Pauline Bonaparte, the sister of Napoleon. For her performance Lollobrigida won the David di Donatello for best actress and the Nastro d'Argento for the same category.
My Beautiful Daughter is a 1950 Italian comedy film directed by Duilio Coletti.
Ermanno Randi was an Italian film actor. After serving in the Italian Army during the Second World War, Randi made his screen debut in 1947. He gradually moved up from playing supporting to lead roles. In 1951 he played the tenor Enrico Caruso in The Young Caruso. The same year he was fatally shot by his lover, Giuseppe Maggiore, during a row. Randi was 31.
Dorothy Park Benjamin Caruso was an American socialite and the wife of the Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso.
