Emilio de Gogorza

Who was Emilio de Gogorza?

Emilio Eduardo de Gogorza was an American baritone of Spanish parentage.

He was born in Brooklyn, New York, but brought up and trained musically in Spain. He returned to the USA in his early 20s. He sang in many languages, including French, Italian and English, as well as Spanish. Owing to pronounced near-sightedness, he did not appear on the operatic stage but became a renowned concert and recital artist instead.

De Gogorza recorded prodigiously for the Victor Talking Machine Company. His records display the intelligence and sensitivity of his singing, as well as a polished vocal technique. Victor released many recordings not only under his own name but under various aliases such as Carlos Francisco and Herbert Goddard. He used these pseudonyms for records issued on Victor's lower priced black label instead of the premium priced Red Seal label for which he usually recorded. In addition to recording, he also served as an early A&R man for Victor, helping to persuade other well-known opera singers to record for the company. He was responsible for signing Enrico Caruso to the label in 1904. Curiously, De Gogorza and Caruso made only one published recording together, a Spanish song entitled "A la luz de la luna" in 1918. In 1928, De Gogorza recorded the song again, with tenor Tito Schipa.