Published to accompany a three-part Channel 4 television series, this is a biography of Enrico Caruso, whose rich and brilliant tenor voice filled the great opera houses of the world with a purity, power and passion that have possibly never been equalled. The book traces his life and career, from his childhood in the slums of Naples to his resounding operatic triumphs. Cheered and feted wherever he went, Caruso lived in a glamorous world with friends such as Nellie Melba, Toscanini, Puccini, Chaliapin and John McCormack. He was a prankster, full of joie de vivre, and his private life was as colourful as his professional career. Yet personal sorrows and dramas haunted him until his early death at 48. Use has been made of much previously unpublished material, including the often poignant recollections of Caruso's son. The author's previous books include a biography of Puccini and introductions to the work of Chagall and Picasso.