Francesco Tamagno heard on the stages of London and New York during the late-Victorian Era. Tamagno, however, refused to perform Wagnerian works, even in Italian translation; he believed that the tessitura of the music written for Wagner's tenor heroes lay too low to suit his vocal range. Tamagno lived long enough to witness the rise to fame of the young Enrico Caruso (1873–1921). He admired Caruso's ability, predicting as far back as 1898 that Caruso would go on to become the number-one Italian tenor of the 20th century. As M. J. Phillips-Matz observes in her 2002 Puccini biography, Tamagno and Caruso actually
Maria Caruso Maria Caruso Maria Caruso (Born October 12, 1980) is a Pittsburgh native dancer and choreographer, best known as the founder and artistic director of Bodiography Contemporary Ballet. Caruso is currently the chair of the Performing Arts department and director of the Dance department at La Roche College. Caruso is married to Dr. Alan Russell. Dr. Russell is a Highmark Distinguished Career Professor and the Director of the Disruptive Health Technology Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. She has five step-children. Maria Caruso grew up in Rural Valley, PA, outside of Pittsburgh. Caruso’s mother and father split when she