Naples honours tenor Caruso with museum.

Italy's first national museum devoted to the great tenor Enrico Caruso opened in Naples on Wednesday, 150 years after the opera legend was born in the Italian city.

Housed in the Palazzo Reale, the new Museo Caruso contains multimedia exhibits including music recordings and film footage alongside archive documents, costumes and photographs.

Hailing Caruso as "the greatest tenor that ever existed", the museum's curator Laura Valente told reporters: "Beyond his great talent and his extraordinary voice, he really forged a new way of singing, of expressing himself on stage, in a certain way, like Maria Callas did."

"Caruso was an extraordinary artist. Critics say he is one of the greatest tenors of all time" - said culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano - "but I would also say that he represents a positive image of Naples in the world".

Enrico Caruso è stato uno straordinario artista, qualificato dalla critica come uno dei più grandi tenori, una delle immagini più positive di Napoli nel mondo. Oggi la sua città gli rende omaggio con questo museo. pic.twitter.com/zARYgOzC3a

— Gennaro Sangiuliano (@g_sangiuliano) July 19, 2023

Born in 1873, Caruso made almost 250 recordings and gave recitals and operatic performances around the world.

A global star, he was the first artist to sell more than a million copies of a record - Vesti la giubba from Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci - in 1902.

However despite his international success, Caruso vowed to never sing again in his hometown following lukewarm reviews of his performance at Teatro S. Carlo in 1901.

He died in Naples in 1921, aged 48, and is buried in the city's S. Maria del Pianto cemetery.

Admission to the Museo Caruso is included in the ticket for the Palazzo Reale di Napoli.

Photo Musei Italiani - Twitter