Carino: Before Springsteen, Monmouth County had Ciccolini

For decades, people flocked to leading opera houses all over the world to hear Guido Ciccolini sing.

Joe and Jim Petillo had to travel no further than the kitchen table in their grandfather's Ocean Township home.

"He'd stand up, shoulders would go back, chest would bulge, and he would break into song," Joe Petillo recalled. "Let me tell you, when he sang, it filled the house. It filled the neighborhood."

Long before Springsteen and Bon Jovi, Monmouth County was home to a superstar vocalist who helped define his times. Ciccolini was a celebrated Italian tenor whose voice was recorded by Thomas Edison as the inventor looked to market his phonograph with a record label. He was good friends with Charlie Chaplain and sang at Rudolph Valentino's funeral.

"He was known as Enrico Caruso's rival," Jim Petillo said, referring to the period's operatic standard-bearer, whose popularity has been matched only by Luciano Pavarotti's.

Unlike Caruso, Ciccolini's fame did not endure, although he is still remembered in opera circles. After his touring career he settled in the suburbs to raise a family, first on Long Island and later at the Jersey Shore, in the Wanamassa section of Ocean. He died in 1963 at age 81 and is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Neptune.

Listen to a clip of Ciccolini singing below:

"Every day of his life he would put on a beautiful pressed white shirt and tie and a silk suit," said Joe Petillo, who was 13 when his grandfather lost a long bout with Alzheimer's. "He was one of the most dapper men. He had this flowing silver and white hair; his hair was magnificent. He was the consummate European charmer."

Bologna, Boston and the Titanic

Ciccolini hailed from Rome and debuted in Bologna, where he portrayed Alfredo in a 1907 run of "La Traviata." He performed in Milan, London, Paris, Warsaw, St. Petersburg, Sydney and Dublin before making a name in America as a principal tenor of the Boston Opera Company during the 1914 season.

The Musical Courier, a leading trade publication of the time, called Ciccolini a "welcome addition to the lyric stars at present receiving the acclaim and applause of American music lovers" who "stamped his worth as a singer of the first rank and as an artist of more than usual ability."

The Courier described him as "a pure tenor with breadth, sureness of tone and exceptional lyric quality not often found on the operatic stage, and the magnetism and charm which has placed him at once in the front ranks of tenors now singing in this country."

Ciccolini was 32 years old.

"He is exceptionally young to have accomplished so much," the Courier wrote.

International stardom required lots of travel, and Ciccolini crossed the Atlantic numerous times via ocean liner. Legend has it he bought a ticket to sail on the Titanic but missed the boat because of a performance conflict.

Ciccolini's grandsons own fliers advertising his shows in Chicago and New York. In all of them, their grandfather's name gets top billing. He retired from the stage in the 1920s but continued to perform sporadically for many years.

"My impression is that Ciccolini was comparable to Caruso, who was simply better 'marketed,'" Monmouth University music professor David Tripold wrote in an email.

Battles between the first record labels may have had something to do with that.

Collabor ation with Edison

Thomas Edison changed the world by inventing the phonograph in 1877, but he quickly moved on to different pursuits. Others developed the recording industry, and in 1912 Edison decided to jump back into the potentially lucrative disc field.

Over the next several years, Edison recorded five Italian tenors including Ciccolini on his thick, heavy discs. In the long run, Edison Records lost the market to competitors, including Victor (later purchased by RCA). Caruso aligned himself with Victor early on, in a shrewd marriage that ingrained both brands in the public consciousness.

The Petillo brothers own some of Edison's discs bearing Ciccolini's songs, as well as an autographed photo the inventor personalized for the tenor.

"The piece de resistance," said Jim Petillo, 69, holding up the photo as he sifted through Ciccolini memorabilia in his Brielle home.

Beyond the failure of Edison Records, Ciccolini's fade from the spotlight may have been of his choosing. Although he made appearances through the 1950s, including a private audience with Pope Pius XII — "the pope was thrilled to meet him," Joe Petillo said — Ciccolini seems to have been content with domestic life. He married into a wealthy Long Island family and helped raise three daughters.

One of them, Roma Paige, thrived in the entertainment industry as a Vegas showgirl and actress. She hung around with the Rat Pack, who "looked at (Ciccolini) as truly a celebrity," Joe Petillo said.

Another daughter, Betty Petillo, moved to Wanamassa in 1940. Ciccolini eventually followed suit.

His grandsons are proud of his legacy and keep it going their own ways. Joe Petillo, a 64-year-old Bradley Beach resident, is an accomplished musician who has worked with the popular band Holiday Express.

Both Joe and Jim are deeply involved in Wreaths Across America, which coordinated Saturday's national wreath laying on the graves of military veterans. They have carried out what might be the movement's signature task — the placing of a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

As for Ciccolini's tomb, it's a simple slab in the family plot with the words "opera tenor" and "father" inscribed.

"That was his entire life," Joe Petillo said. "That's all he ever did."

Jerry Carino: jcarino@app.com