Not to be outdone by Naxos' box set Enrico Caruso: The Complete Recordings, RCA Red Seal, the successor company to Victor, has repackaged its The Complete Caruso at a bargain price. This may come as a disappointment to those who purchased the 1990 edition of The Complete Caruso, but to others who decided to wait it out, this is a real bargain; its content is exactly the same as the earlier, significantly more expensive set. The Complete Caruso contains everything extant that
Enrico Caruso recorded from 1902 to 1920. It comes with a 56-page booklet in three languages that includes scant notes, but a couple of useful indices, one relating
Caruso's operatic roles to his recordings, and the other a cumulative list of the artists who recorded with
Caruso. Each of the 12 discs comes in a separate cardboard sleeve. There are no recorded "extras," not surprising, as the years have not brought any more
Caruso. There are some of
Caruso's self-caricatures gracing the booklet, and one of these images has never before been seen.