Emilio De Marchi (tenor) Tannhäuser, Turiddu, and Samson. In Buenos Aires, he was the first Rodolfo (1896), the first Cavaradossi (1900), and sang at the premiere of Beruti´sTaras Bulba (1895). He debuted at Italy's leading opera house, La Scala, Milan, in 1898 as Stolzing in an Italian-language version of Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger". He proved to beca success at La Scala and was chosen by the composer Puccini to sing the coveted role of Cavaradossi in the first performance of "Tosca", which occurred at Rome's Teatro Costanzi on January 14, 1900. A rising young tenor named Enrico Caruso, 12 years De Marchi's junior, had
Enrico Caruso Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil in 1917, and two years later performed in Mexico City. In 1920, he was paid the enormous sum of 10,000 U.S. dollars a night (~$126,000 in 2018) to sing in Havana, Cuba. The United States had entered World War I in 1917, sending troops to Europe. Caruso did extensive charity work during the conflict, raising money for war-related patriotic causes by giving concerts and participating enthusiastically in Liberty Bond drives. The tenor had shown himself to be a shrewd businessman since arriving in America. He put a sizable proportion of his earnings from record royalties and