With a name like Romeo, he had to learn to use his fists.
Composer Romeo Cascarino grew up in an unforgiving neighborhood in South Philadelphia. While navigating the School of Hard Knocks, he taught himself privately, gleaning the mechanics of music theory from books checked out of the Free Library of Philadelphia. He was discovered by composer Paul Nordoff, who recognized his genius, and the two became more friends than master-disciple.
For many years, Cascarino was a professor of composition at Combs College of Music. The recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships, he labored at his magnum opus, the opera “William Penn,” for the better part of three decades. The work received its premiere at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music in 1982 to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city.
Metropolitan Opera singer bass-baritone John Cheek sang the title role, Cascarino’s wife, soprano Dolores Ferraro, created the part of Gulielma, Penn’s wife, and Christofer Macatsoris conducted the Philadelphia Singers and the Concerto Soloists of Philadelphia.
Cascarino died in 2002; September 28th would have been his 95th birthday. Ferraro and arts writer Tom DiNardo sat down with me in 2012 to share their reminiscences and insights into Cascarino the man and the composer. I’ve assembled some of their remarks and punctuated the conversation with rare audio from the family archives, as well as studio recordings made by JoAnn Falletta and Sol Schoenbach, former principle bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra.
A seductive, twilit beauty informs much of Cascarino’s output. If only he had completed “William Penn” 30 years earlier, I believe it would have been as well known as Carlisle Floyd’s “Susanna” or Robert Ward’s “The Crucible.”
I hope you’ll join me for a rebroadcast of “Remembering Romeo,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.
