Get ready for one of the most beautiful and emotional performances of 2024. Stjepan Hauser and Lara Fabian really dug deep in this gorgeous version of the classic Italian love song “Caruso.” Fabian’s aching vocal performance is the perfect counterpoint to Hauser’s brilliant cello playing in the performance. Again and again, her voice blended with his melodies in such a heartbreaking way that it can bring you to tears.
Lucio Dalla’s “Caruso” tells the story of Italian tenor Enrico Caruso and recounts his final moments of life as he longingly stares into the eyes of his beloved. I’m sure The Music Man readers can agree that Belgian soprano Fabian was the perfect choice to breathe new life into the classic hit. Fabian and Hauser performed “Caruso” at the Royal Albert Hall in London, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra providing such a lush accompaniment.
Hauser uploaded the performance of “Caruso” to YouTube on July 14, 2024. It quickly went viral, attracting 2.3 million views on the platform. Fans were blown away by the collaboration and added comments such as “What a voice, and the cello. There are not enough words to express this magic performance” and “I don’t know Italian but I cry every time I listen to this.”
Depending on where you live, you might not have heard of Hauser before, but the Croatian cellist is a huge star in Europe. He has a number of 10+ million view performances on his channel. One of the highlights is his collaboration with American violinist Caroline Campbell on “Torna a Surriento,” which is a Neapolitan song written in 1894.
The story of how “Caruso” was written is one of the most fascinating and heartbreaking tales we’ve covered on The Music Man. The genesis of the song formed when Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla visited the coastal town of Sorrento and booked a room at the Excelsior Vittoria Hotel. Coincidentally, Dalla stayed in the same room that the famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso stayed in one day before his untimely death at age 48 on August 2, 1921. His passing was caused by a bout of ill health after a stage incident caused a decorative pillar to fall and hit him over the left kidney. Dalla was inspired to write the song based on the life and death of Caruso. The late singer had a very difficult life, but he nonetheless became a much-celebrated tenor and the first international recording star.
The lyrics recount the laments of Caruso as he looks into the eyes of his lover on his deathbed. A few years before his passing, Caruso wed American socialite Dorothy Park Benjamin, who was 20 years his junior. The pair had a daughter called Gloria, and the couple’s relationship formed the inspiration for “Caruso.”