Re: [mascagni-interest] Caruso Biography entry

[John Mucci]

In the 1990 biography of Caruso written  by his son, Enrico Caruso, Jr. and 
Andrew Farkas (Amadeus Press) there is an extraordinary paragraph concerning 
Mascagni. It is 1914, just before the war, and Caruso is spending the winter 
in Livorno:

"We often ate at a restaurant on the beach that Papa especially liked, 
possibly because its seaside setting reminded him of Naples.  On many 
occasions, we drove to Antignano or Castilglioncello outside Livorno.  Most 
Sundays we went to church, usuallywithout Father.  I distinctly remember the 
moment one Sunday morning after Mass when a jealous husband tried to shoot 
his wife, who was with another man, and hit Pietro Mascagni instead, 
severely wounding him in the head.  The Maestro was just leaving church and 
walked into the line of fire.  [The author's brother] Fofo and I went to pay 
our respects after Mascagni came home from the hospital."

Mascagni shot in the head?? Has anyone recounted this incident before? This 
would have been between the performances of Parisina and the composition of 
Rapsodia Satanica--but I've not heard it mentioned before.  Has anyone else 
out there?

John Mucci



John Mucci
9 DeForest Rd
Wilton, CT 06897
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From: Erik Bruchez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [mascagni-interest] Mascagni speech - Holland, 1938
Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2003 00:59:46 -0700
Dear list,

Most people interested in Mascagni already know his speech of 1940,
which accompanies most releases of the 1940 Cavalleria conducted in
studio by the Maestro himself. There is however another performance of
Cavalleria conducted by Mascagni that made it on record: a live
performance in The Hague, Holland, recorded on November 7, 1938. The
day before, on November 6, Mascagni's voice was recorded for
posterity. I just posted what I have of the speech online, complete
with MP3, transcription and English translation:
  http://www.mascagni.org/sounds/speech-1938

This speech is much longer than the 1940 speech. It is also much less
formal, as it was not recorded to be published on record and sold. In
the second part of the speech, Mascagni reveals that he is a amazing
storyteller. You can now imagine what Salvatore De Carlo means, in
Mascagni Parla (http://www.mascagni.org/bibliography/504878), when he
says: "Mascagni parla: e un altro mondo il suo, un mondo scomparso, ma
lui riesce a farlo rivivere [...]" ("Mascagni speaks: his is another
world, a world that has disappeared, but he manages to make it live
again [...]"). De Carlo's interviews with Mascagni took place only
four years after this speech. At that time Mascagni already had health
problems, and he certainly had less energy than in 1938, but you can
well imagine him speak when reading the book. Those documents are
treasures!
Enjoy,

-Erik

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