Don Ferdinando d’Ardia Caracciolo dei Principi di Cursi; or “Freddie” as he was more widely and affectionately known, took his final curtain call in July 1989: he passed away peacefully in Co. Wexford, aged 77, after a protracted illness. And so left the stage one of the most colourful, dashing and charming figures of the Irish opera scene. He projected a warm-hearted personality, coupled with a readiness to befriend those who crossed the many paths he walked in life. Who could ever forget that winning smile that broke across Freddie’s face when he greeted you? All the old-world chivalry and courtesy was there, not least in his elegant style as a “ladies man”! He was part and parcel of the D.G.O.S. Seasons; the Dress Circle in the Gaiety will not display quite the same glamour without him.
Born in Civitavecchia, Freddie spent most of his young life in Rome. He was, you might say, the young-man-about-town, gallant and daring; he was a boxer, a daredevil, a fast motor-bike fiend. He even secured a pilot’s licence which was, in fact, to lead him into the administrative end of K.L.M. airlines. It was in this arena that he first encountered by chance his wife-to-be, the strikingly beautiful Mary Augusta Purcell-Fitzgerald, better-known to us by her grandfather’s pet-name for her, “Boodie”. In July’38, Freddie and Boodie were married at Brompton Oratory, London, thereafter retuming to settle down at the Island in Co. Waterford. Freddie at once turned his hand to breeding horses – his first stallion was called Emani – not with any conspicuous success, it has to be said. In 1956 The Park, Rathfarnham, became the home of the family which was now three children stronger, and also the scene of many delightfully generous post-opera parties.
The death of “Boodie” in 1968 was a bitter blow. She had enthusiastically shared Freddie’s great love of opera and, indeed, was a most artistic person in her own right, having trained as a painter and sculptress. Things were not to be the same thereafter for Freddie. He had embarked on a business career, operating his own trading company. While his loneliness was evident, he occupied himself with his work in the Knights of Malta, his Stewardship at Leopardstown Racecourse, his directorship of both Fiat (lreland) and of lrish Petroleum and, not least, of course, through his energetic involvement with both the Dublin Grand Opera Society and the Wexford Opera Festival. He was, unhappily, to suffer two further setbacks: once, when he was most brutally assaulted, outside his own residence, by thugs whom he valiantly tried to “take on” – an echo of his earlier boxing career, perhaps; this traumatic experience took its toll, physically and emotionally. The second was a robbery at his apartment, resulting in the loss of valuables which he had so greatly treasured.
Freddie’s deep love of, and research into, opera, especially that of the ltalianate genre, will assuredly be greatly missed, for he was a fund of knowledge. Dublin and Wexford were the beneficiaries of his enthusiastic commitment to opera. We will not see again that regal touch of sartorial style, with his splendid brocade waistcoat and opulent velvet dinner jacket, demonstrating his sense of occasion and attachment to the celebratory moments of life.
by Mairtin McCullough (Chairman of McCullough Pigott and former chairman of the Arts Council of Ireland), November 1989 [as originally published in the Winter 1989 Season Programme].
Prince Caracciolo and his wife Mary – known to her friends as “Boodie” – and their family had settled into their lovely new home, The Park, Rathfarnham, and already their post-opera suppers were among the most enjoyable on the social scene. With his Italian background, the Prince, known affectionately as ‘Freddie’, went out of his way to make the Italian guest artists feel at home. Paolo Silveri told me he has happy memories of the Prince’s generosity, so has Giuseppe Morelli. The Caracciolos had become part and parcel of the DGOS seasons and “Boodie” Caracciolo was a charming hostess. There was an air of old-world chivalry and courtesy about Prince Caracciolo. Born in Civitavecchia, he spent most of his young life in Rome. He was, as it were, the young-man-about-town, gallant and daring; he was a boxer, a daredevil, a fast motor-bike fiend. He even secured a pilot’s licence which was in fact to lead him into the administrative end of K.L.M. airlines. It was in this arena that he first encountered by chance his wife-to-be, the beautiful Augusta Purcell-Fitzgerald, and in July 1938 they were married at Brompton Oratory, London. Later, they returned to settle down at the Island in Co. Waterford, where the prince turned at once to breeding horses – his first stallion was appropriately called “Ernani” . Freddy Carracciolo was an authority on Italian operatic repertoire and since his arrival to live in Rathfarnham had helped to compile articles for the DGOS programmes. He was always conspicuous at the opera, with his splendid brocade waistcoat and opulent velvet dinner jacket. He had style and he was the man for the celebratory occasion. He did not try to understand Colonel O’Kelly; instead he went along with him, whispering in his ear about up-and-coming Italian singers and conductors or sopranos he had heard in opera in Rome. The Colonel listened to him and together in Rome they sometimes went to operas to hear young artists. Dr Dermot O’Kelly says that Freddie Caracciolo was said to be a very good judge of a singer’s worth and potential. ‘I think everyone knew this and respected his knowledge.’
When the prince became chairman of the society’s patron members he worked hard to increase the membership, something that Col. O’Kelly was not slow to acknowledge, for behind his sartorial style Carracciolo was a realist and was aware that the DGOS was working on a paltry budget. Sometimes he wondered how they managed to stage the spectacular operas with so little money available.
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
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