In 1896 Reszke married Marie de Mailly-Nesle, a French countess who ran away from her husband to be with the singer. He reduced his performance load during the opening years of the 20th century. Prudently, in 1904, he decided to retire while his voice was still in good shape, citing illness as the reason for his departure. Enrico Caruso, 23 years Reszke's junior, took up his mantle as the world's most famous tenor. (Unlike Reszke, however, Caruso did not choose to become an exponent of Wagnerian opera) Both, Jean de Reszke and Enrico Caruso, were baritones with an excellent technique (a certain way of humming), which allowed them to sing as tenors by overstretching their vocal folds for a relatively long time before this method failed. (Tenors are always earning more money than baritones.)