CARUSO AFTER DEATH

Waipa Post, Volume 31, Issue 1776, 29 June 1926, Page 2

CARUSO AFTER DEATH

“Ah, -Signor, you wish to see the mortal clay of the greatest singer the -world has ever known. A little moment, and you shall have your wish.” It was an aged Italian, whose shock of grey hair and sagging step added much to the sepulchral voice and tomblike atmosphere of the rainy morning, in the great cemetery where the rich of Naples are buried (writes Wilbur Forrest, in the New York Herald Tribune). The “guardian of the dead” -fished under his cape, and. produced a key. He shuffled up a small flight of stone steps which led to a magnificent house-like tomb of marble and granite, unlocked a heavy grill of bronze, slid back'- a heavy door, and entered. We followed. My companions were a young New York surgeon and his uncle, a New York merchant. -Before us was a beautiful marble sarcophagus covered with heavy blankets. The guardian threw back these blankets as one wou,ld fold back the covers of a bed. “Behold, ” he said. Before us was Enrico 'Car.uso. 'Dead five and a half years, the great tenor lay there seemingly asleep. The same face, seen a thousand times by tens of thousands in the Metropolitan Opera House, had not changed even a trifle from the day he breathed his last in a Naples hotel on August 2nd, 1921. The same hands which had made the accompanying gestures to the notes in operatic roles lay peacefully at each side of the body, perfectly preserved. The broad-winged collar, bow tie, and expanse of shirt front, in linen and silk, w r ere faultlessly white, and the dress suit which clothed the body might have been neatly pressed only yesterday. The remains of Caruso are enclosed in a hermetically-sealed glass case, which rests within tire large marble receptacle, bolding the centre of the spacious tomb. Around the walls are the spaces which will some day hold the Remains of the dead opera singer’s closest relatives. Their names are already chiselled in the polished marble. The great tenor’s body represents to-day one of the wonders of the embalmer’s art. From the scientific side, one is told in Naples, there is no reason why time should efface the lif&like appearance of a body so preserved.. The process is said to be Italian, though it was not this which was used in the case of Lenin, who is exposed at the Moscow Kremlirf. That Caruso’s remains may be viewed, however, is not generally known. When the singer returned .to Italy in July, 1921, he engaged a suite in a hotel at Corrento, a charming spot in the Bay of Naples. Growing ill, hq hurried to Naples, where lie stopped at the Vesuvius Hotel, and called in specialists. He appeared to be recovering, and spent his time drawing sketches, which lie presented to guests and employees of the hostelry. It was one of the latter who had been promised a sketch by that great tenor -who disclosed that his remains might be viewed to-day by all in the Naples cemetery. “When he talked, to me, and promised me a sketch,” said the employee, “he complained that he was not feeling well. He went to his sifite, and four days 1-a.ter he was dead.” “He was a great singer, and loved by all Americans,” I said, by way of conversation. “Signor, you must see him,” hastened -the employee. “IHow is that possible?” I queried. “Take a taxicab and in 20 minutes >’° u are a t the tomb of the great singer,” he replied. “There will be someone there to show you.” The siygeon, the merchant, and I' called a taxi. In 20 minutes we arrived at the city of tombs, which is on the outskirts of Naples. A few minutes more and we were gazing upon the clay of the man who had thrilled the world of music-lovers, and whose voice is still alive. “Maestro d,i musical” murmured the old tomb attendant, as he folded back the thick layer of blankets over the glass enclosed bier, and prepared to lock the tomb.