GHOST ENRICO
A non-singing role. The ghost of tenor Enrico Caruso is one of two narrator-host-escorts, together with Ghost Frances.
“L’amore--it is as unpredictable as an earthquake! And as one who narrowly survived the San Francisco Earthquake--”
GHOST FRANCES
A non-singing role. The ghost of soprano Frances Alda is one of two narrator-host-escorts, together with Ghost Enrico.
“Enrico. Dear. Enough with the earthquake already.”
Cast of Characters
CARUSO
Tenor. Already renowned as the “World’s Greatest Tenor” well before 1908, Enrico Caruso dresses elegantly and has fun with it. Like his ghost counterpart, Caruso is presented initially and comically as a lovable womanizer with a penchant for Neapolitan sayings that don’t quite bridge the translation gap.
ALDA
Soprano. Frances Alda, a soprano from New Zealand, was described as “redheaded, strikingly buxom.” Comparing herself to her husband, Giulio GATTI-Casazza (see History), the real Alda characterized herself as “gay, adventure-loving, enthusiastic.”
FARRAR
Soprano. Geraldine Farrar, age 26 in 1908, is ambitious and pretentious, with piercing blue eyes. Farrar’s fame equalled that of Caruso at one time. Her French pronunciation is less than perfect. One music critic recalled, “I thought she was a marvelous and very well put together fake.”
TOSCANINI
A non-singing role. Conductor Arturo Toscanini, age 41 in 1908, is dark-eyed and intense, with black mustaches.
“The only ‘stars,’ mademoiselle, are in the heavens!”
GATTI
A non-singing role. Giulio Gatti-Casazza, General Director of La Scala in Milan and later the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York City, is 39 in 1908. His first wife, Frances ALDA (see History), described him as “dark, brooding, introverted.”
Supporting Cast
SCOTTI
Baritone. Antonio Scotti, a fellow Neapolitan to Caruso, is age 42 in 1908. For decades he was considered to “own” the role of Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca.
FREMSTAD/GADSKI
This character is an amalgam of Wagnerian sopranos Olive Fremstad and Joanna Gadski. She speaks with a German accent. This is a nonsinging role, but it may be played by a chorus member.
MEZZO
Mezzo-soprano. This singer’s character is not based on a specific real person.
ROSINA
Ballet dancer. Rosina Galli is in her early twenties in 1914. She first appears in Act II.
TELLEGEN
Lou Tellegen, a star of silent movies, is in his mid-thirties, tall and handsome. When he first appears, he has a broad, toothpaste-commercial smile. He appears only in Act III, and may be played by the same actor who plays the Cop and the Process Server in Act I.
DOROTHY
Dorothy Caruso is tall and pretty, in her early twenties. She appears only in Act III.
FEMALE SINGER 1
Chorus member. This minor role has several spoken lines in Act II, Scene 1, and in Act III, Scenes 1b, 2, and 3.
FEMALE SINGER 2
Chorus member. This minor role has several spoken lines in Act II, Scene 1, and in Act III, Scene 1b.
MALE SINGER
Chorus member. This minor but regularly appearing role has several spoken lines, notably at the beginnings of Scenes 2 and 3 in Act III.
MRS. STANHOPE
This brief appearance in Act I may be made by the same actor who plays Rosina, Dorothy Caruso, or Female Singer 1 or 2.
COP, PRIEST, PROCESS SERVER
These characters, which make brief appearances in Act I, may all be played by the same actor who plays Tellegen in Act III.
REPORTER, STAGEHANDS, HOST/SERVER, SERVANTS
These intermittently appearing characters may all be played by the same two or three actors.
GERRYFLAPPERS
Three or four of the Chorus Members may appear as these young “flappers” in the last scene.
Minor, Interchangeable Roles
* Vissi d’Arte is on file with the United States Copyright Office; the registration number is PAu2-909-657.