From well before the
turn of the century to the onset of
World War 2, it seemed that Italy had
a secret manufacturing facility for
tenors. Caruso and Gigli from Naples,
Pertile and Martinelli from Montagnana
and a few others serviced the tenor
requirements of the world’s opera houses.
It seemed that an opera house intendant
had only to send an agent to listen
to a few waiters in trattoria in Naples
to come up with a lyric tenor. After
all, that myriad of minor Neapolitan
composers, few who seemed to have a
forename, must have been churning out
songs for someone to sing. There was
an element of truth in this fable. Whilst
Gigli and Caruso, through luck and graft
made it to the top of the operatic tree,
others were content to enjoy a less
hectic life in the shade. One such was
Carlo Buti. As Peter Dempsey recounts
in a brief leaflet note Carlo Buti was
born near Florence and followed the
local custom of serenading the girls
of less vocally gifted friends. Gigli
renowned for that skill admired his
honeyed mezza voce. He had taken some
vocal lessons from Frazzi, teacher of
the renowned baritone Gino Bechi. However,
his orientation was more populist than
operatic, coming to his own next to
a microphone. He made his first career
as a variety artist singing unaccompanied
in a troubadour style. A quick learner
he featured many new songs on a radio
programme through which his popularity
exploded. Buti recorded first for Edison
and then, in 1934, for Columbia. He
toured the U.S. to acclaim, his reputation
having gone ahead of him. There he was
dubbed ‘The Golden Voice of Italy’.
He made films and in 1948 appeared at
Carnegie Hall. Buti’s easy-going style
was eventually eclipsed by the advent
of Rock and Roll. After his final recordings
in 1955 he drifted into retirement and
died seven years later at 61.
This CD presents the
populist Carlo Buti singing the stock
songs of Italy and Naples. The orchestrations
tend to be lush (tr. 1) with the singer’s
voice placed well forward. Buti gives
some indications of potential vocal
virility with a touch of metal in the
voice (tr. 3). Whilst the introduction
of De Curtis’s Sorrento (tr. 4) is initially
sung on the breath and well phrased,
here as elsewhere, one questions where
honeyed head tone passes into a croon.
The whole is undemanding and easy on
the ear. The earlier recordings sound
dated with the later ones (trs. 13-19)
having more presence.
In today’s operatic
world, with Italy having to import its
tenors from Spain and Latin America
and the easy listening of Nat Cole and
Bing somewhat passé, Carlo Buti
might have been pressed into service
as a tenore di grazia in the country’s
provincial houses. However taken on
the basis of what he was in fact, an
accomplished tuneful singing entertainer,
this CD presents him and his style with
accomplishment.
Robert J Farr
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Carlo Buti (tenor) 
