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The San Carlo Opera Company of
America was unique in the history of live opera performances in
America. In the pre-radio and pre-television days, opera was
only heard by phonograph records and live performances. While
many opera recordings were available in disparate parts of America,
few communities had access to live performances of complete operas,
with full sets, costumes and orchestra. The Metropolitan Opera
did begin touring in 1883 with a jaunt to Boston and later increased
their touring to other major cities as Philadelphia, Baltimore,
Washington, Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati; eventually including
San Francisco to the West and Atlanta to the South. Enter
Fortune Gallo's San Carlo Opera Company in 1913 and the touring
began. This opera company brought live opera performances to
many smaller communities which had never seen opera before.
Having this opportunity to attend these San Carlo Opera Company
performances made life-long opera buffs of myriad attendees. Even
today, there are still amongst us, many opera goers who fondly recall
their first attendance of an opera was at a San Carlo Opera Company performance.
Perhaps the most lasting
testimonial of this pioneering touring company is that they performed
in the very first sound film of a complete opera, PAGLIACCI in
1931. This was an Audio-Cinema Production, Hollywood,
California. The cast for the opera is:
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Nedda:
Canio:
Tonio:
Silvio:
Beppe: |
Alba Novella
Fernando Bertini
Mario Valle
Giuseppe Interrante
Francesco Curci |
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An interesting aspect of this
first complete opera filmed in sound is that Fortune Gallo did not
try to turn the opera into a "moving picture."
Instead, he merely screened the opera. It is all acted out on a
stage with stage sets framed by the proscenium arch.
The Durbeck Archive print of this
16mm sound film is the only known extant copy outside of The Library
of Congress. |
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... now
here's the man who brought us The San Carlo Opera - |
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First
Edition. New York: Exposition Press, 1967. 304 p. |
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Bishop,
Cardell. THE SAN CARLO OPERA COMPANY OF AMERICA,
Volume
One, 1913 to 1936. Second Edition.
Santa
Monica, CA: Privately published by Cardell Bishop, 194 pages, 1980.
Bishop,
Cardell. THE SAN CARLO OPERA COMPANY OF AMERICA,
Volume
Two, 1936 to 1955. Second Edition.
Santa
Monica, CA: Privately published by Cardell Bishop, 152 pages, 1980. |
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This is
the dedication Cardell Bishop wrote when he donated these and all of
his other publications to The Durbeck Archive after he was shown this
PAGLIACCI film, at which time a cassette was made of the soundtrack
and given to him. He had never seen the film before and did not
realize that a copy of it even existed. |
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This two
record LP set features many of the singers who performed with the San
Carlo Opera Company. Many of these singers are unknown to
modern opera audiences while other names are recognized as prominent
recording artists as well as featured singers at the Metropolitan
Opera and other world-class houses. The most interesting aspect
of this anthology is that the contemporary listener can know the
quality of singers who sang regularly and as guest performers with
the San Carlo Opera Company.
With this
film of PAGLIACCI, these books by Cardell Bishop, this LP anthology
of 42 musical selections, The San Carlo Opera Company of America
"lives" at The Durbeck Archive. |
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These are other books donated to
The Durbeck Archive by Cardell Bishop.
All of them are autographed to
Edward F. Durbeck III.
Bishop, Cardell. BOSTON
NATIONAL OPERA COMPANY and BOSTON THEATRE OPERA COMPANY. Santa
Monica, CA: Privately published by Cardell Bishop, 40 pages, 1981.
Bishop, Cardell. OPERA AT
THE HIPPODROME IN NEW YORK CITY 1933-1939
Santa Monica, CA: Privately
published by Cardell Bishop, 53 pages, 1980.
Bishop, Cardell. THE LOS
ANGELES GRAND OPERA ASSOCIATION 1924-1934. Santa Monica, CA:
Privately published by Cardell Bishop, 54 pages,
First Edition, 1979.
Bishop, Cardell. SCOTTI
GRAND OPERA COMPANY
Santa Monica, CA: Privately
published by Cardell Bishop, 31 pages, 1982. |
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