Charles Anthony

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Charles Anthony Caruso (né Calogero Antonio Caruso, on July 15, 1929), better known by his stage name of Charles Anthony, is an American tenor noted for his portrayal of comprimario characters in opera. Anthony celebrated his fiftieth anniversary season with the Metropolitan Opera in 2004.

1 Life
2 Career at the Met
3 Selected roles
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Life

Anthony was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the child of immigrants from Sicily. He studied music at Loyola University New Orleans, and began his career performing with smaller regional companies. At 22, he tried out under his birth name for the Metropolitan Opera's Auditions of the Air. He won the auditions, but Sir Rudolf Bing convinced him to drop his surname, saying that it would invite comparisons with Enrico Caruso.

[edit] Career at the Met

Anthony made his debut at the Metropolitan on March 6, 1954, playing the role of the Simpleton in Boris Godunov. Critics were impressed; The New York Times wrote, "Mr. Anthony had better be careful. If he does other bit parts so vividly, he'll be stamped as a character singer for life." In the event, this proved true; although Anthony performed some larger roles early in his career, he made his mark as a comprimario singer.

On February 17, 1992, following Act II of a performance of Verdi's Rigoletto, Anthony was honored in an onstage ceremony on the occasion of his breaking the record of George Cehanovsky for most appearances by an artist at the Metropolitan Opera. As of 2006, Anthony has performed at the Met for 52 consecutive seasons, a record unparalleled in the annals of the company. He achieved his 2,904th performance with the Met on April 8, 2006, during a run of Massenet's Manon.

Anthony is an honorary member of Theatrical Stage Employees IATSE Local One in New York City.