NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

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Of all the celebrities to appear in Newcastle during this Golden Age, none of the names quite conjures up the magic as that of the world famous Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso, who, on 10 th September 1909 came to Newcastle and sang before an audience in the Town Hall. Caruso was no stranger to England; he maintained a flat in Maida Vale in London, which he visited when he could to see his son who was being privately educated there. Although he had appeared in opera at Covent Garden he had never sung in the provinces and this was to be the one and only time brought about by circumstances rather than design. In 1909 Caruso suffered throat trouble and cancelled the last part of his Met. Season in New York to receive treatment. Following the operation on his throat he tested his voice at a couple of concerts at the Kursaal in Ostende. As these concerts went well he decided to test his voice further in the English provinces taking the view that it was perhaps wiser to face the audience and critics of Newcastle and other provincial towns before facing those of London. He decided to break his voice in gently and sing three numbers only on each programme. According to the programme he was to sing ‘Celeste Aida’ (from Aida by Verdi), ‘O Paradiso’ (from L’Africaine by Meyerbeer) and the duet ‘Solenne in quest’ ora’ (from Don Carlos by Verdi) with Sig. Lacomte, baritone, but on the night Caruso lived up to his generous reputation and gave the audience what they wanted to hear. Let the Journal for Saturday 11 th September 1909 take up the story; - ‘Although Newcastle did not follow the example of Glasgow and other large towns by crowding the Town Hall to overflowing last night, when Sig. Caruso appeared for the first time in the city, it was nevertheless a large audience that welcomed this distinguished tenor, and their enthusiasm was something to be long remembered. What blank spaces there were, were due, no doubt, not to any lack of desire to make acquaintance with the singer but rather to inability or determination not to pay the price – the heavy price which the possession of a seat required. Last nights concert proved that Caruso is just as fortunate in his voice as he is in those clever people associated with him, who help to keep his name before the public and that is saying a great deal. No artist, perhaps, has been “boomed” to the same extent as this one, and those who had the pleasure of hearing him last night will agree that it is difficult to recall one who more thoroughly deserves the many kind things that have been said of him. In other words great expectations were more than realised. It is no reflection on the famous tenor’s artistic colleagues to say that Caruso was first and the rest nowhere’ The review goes on to list the programme Caruso sang, which in addition to the three arias scheduled, included the songs, ‘Ideale’, ‘Euand io ti Guardo’ and Pour un Baiser’ by Tosti, ‘Musica Proibita’ by Gustaldon, and ‘Lento Chat t’Amo’ by Latuo. As a final encore he sang – what else – but ‘Vest la Giubba’ (On with the Motley) from I Pagliacci by Leoncavallo. 78
The appearance in Newcastle of Enrico Caruso was something more than just another recital by a man who one hundred years on is still called ‘The Great Caruso’ and has inspired generation after generation of tenors, none of whom have quite matched him in excellence. It was a landmark concert not only in the context of Newcastle’s musical history but also music in general. Caruso would have been the first artist to appear in Newcastle whose voice and art would already have been familiar to some of the audience even though they had not previously heard him in person. They would have heard his voice on the latest invention – the phonograph or gramophone, still considered by many people then as a toy – a passing fad. The question ‘Did Caruso make the gramophone or did the gramophone make Caruso has never really been answered but one thing was certain on that September evening and that is the audience were listening to the man who more than anyone else helped establish recording, which eventually, but inevitably was to change how the world would experience music. 79
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NEWCASTLE’S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN I
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A History of Music in Newcastle upo
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my project with a professional man,
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then even in the villages for music
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CHAPTER TWO CHARLES AVISON Charles
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given in Newcastle. They were held
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easoned defences and the citation o
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that he is saddened at the transito
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men sought Royal Patronage, popular
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Avison and began playing the violin
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musical dramatist, his arias are st
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features, Hawdon’s compositions i
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two music academies listed in the D
Page 27 and 28: An ootlandish chap seun appeared on
Page 29 and 30: CHAPTER FIVE THE GRAND MUSIC FESTIV
Page 31 and 32: to Handel Oratorios and I suspect t
Page 33 and 34: CHAPTER SIX THE HARMONIC SOCIETY In
Page 35 and 36: would also have been audience parti
Page 37 and 38: 1826. According to Mackenzie’s 18
Page 39 and 40: successful, such as (once again!) H
Page 41 and 42: CHAPTER SEVEN DR WILLIAM REA I had
Page 43 and 44: exclusive civilised affairs, with t
Page 45 and 46: although I can find no evidence tha
Page 47 and 48: In a cemetery now largely overgrown
Page 49 and 50: direction. That is until 1888 when
Page 51 and 52: acceptable standards and he got out
Page 53 and 54: century at least the divide between
Page 55 and 56: the Swedish Nightingale, Jenny Lind
Page 57 and 58: Musical Comedy as we came to know i
Page 59 and 60: In 1887 Augustus Harris took over t
Page 61 and 62: eat, drink or smoke whilst the ente
Page 63 and 64: disposal a substantial orchestra un
Page 65 and 66: only the finest artists. The printe
Page 67 and 68: Cesar Franck. One novel feature int
Page 69 and 70: especially for these bands and they
Page 71 and 72: playing, coupled with the means of
Page 73 and 74: that continued until 1914. One of t
Page 75 and 76: thought of performing with a bunch
Page 77: She danced a full programme of well
Page 81 and 82: Renaissance. His teaching staff wer
Page 83 and 84: Music at 125 Northumberland Street,
Page 85 and 86: There is surely no need to insist -
Page 87 and 88: alone limited attendance at these c
Page 89 and 90: 1936: 17 th June. There had been a
Page 91 and 92: CHAPTER FOURTEEN END OF A GOLDEN AG
Page 93 and 94: the fact that the town did not have
Page 95 and 96: iography, Hess’ biographer, who c
Page 97 and 98: CHAPTER FIFTEEN CULTURE AT A PRICE
Page 99 and 100: London Symphony and the Halle Orche
Page 101 and 102: high at this period and the audienc
Page 103 and 104: audience (who had already paid for
Page 105 and 106: deterioration into a musical backwa
Page 107 and 108: work cut out convincing the local c
Page 109 and 110: country. Amers died in 1936 and God
Page 111 and 112: Author’s Note Since completing th
Page 113 and 114: Select Bibliography Anderton, H.O.,
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NEWCASTLE'S MUSICAL HERITAGE AN INTRODUCTION By ...

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