(Apparently Tchaikovsky heard a juvenile street-singer croon the same tune during his Italian visit. Strictly classical listeners might sniff at Buti much as they sniff at Mario Lanza, but it is worth noting that the first selection on this CD, "Bella ragazza delle trecce bionde" (Pretty girl with the blonde tresses) is based on the same tune that Tchaikovsky used in his Capriccio italien. It is likely that many a couple, Italian or otherwise, fell in love and then noisily consummated their relationship to the dulcet tones of Carlo Buti. He rarely ventured above a mezzo piano dynamic, and high notes, when they were needed, were executed not from the chest but in a heart-melting falsetto. His sweet little voice was well-suited to romantic ballads, and to tangos and other dance-genres of the era. (He might have become a "gramophone tenor," much like Andrea Bocelli is today.) He quickly found his niche as a singer of popular material in a sentimental style. As far as crooning goes, however, Gigli was outdone by his contemporary and compatriot Carlo Buti, whose popularity more than 40 years after his death continues on.īuti, who was born in 1902, received some operatic training (his teacher, Raoul Frazzi, also trained renowned baritone Gino Bechi), but I don't think he ever stood much chance of making a serious operatic career, at least onstage – his voice was too small.
Near the end of his career, Beniamino Gigli crooned with the best of them to compensate for fading vocal resources. Germans croon (listen to a Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recording!) and so do Italians. Crooning is not indigenous to the United States.
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