A symbol of Italianism and bel canto singing, Enrico Caruso moved from provincial Neapolitan stages to the world’s most prestigious opera houses, and as naturally as the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto, he could return to being the scugnizzo or street urchin of popular songs. But what is less known is that the great tenor himself composed a small number of these songs, and this album brings them together for the first time, along with a wide selection of pieces that were written especially for him by his contemporaries. A little-known repertoire that deserves today, 150 years after Carusiell’s birth, to be rediscovered by a new audience.