He had been urged by his physicians , his friends , and even the impresario , to cancel his scheduled performances , but he had been unwilling to disappoint the thousands of fans who had paid extravagant prices to hear him .sx At the very end , the truth became apparent .sx Though he had sung as brilliantly as ever while on the stage , during a farewell luncheon he suffered what was described in the press as a complete physical collapse .sx Once again , Caruso issued a denial :sx the 'collapse' , he assured his public , was merely the result of the careless overuse of his voice after so many months of silence , and after boarding the ship for New York he sent the understandably nervous Gatti-Casazza a cable which read :sx " My health is superlatively fine .sx " .sx By 1911 , Caruso's fame was such that everythinghe did or said was liable to be seen as being newsworthy .sx Reporters paid special attention to his physical well-being .sx If he injured his knee slightly , it was feared he might be crippled for life ; if his voice showed the slightest sign of fatigue , word spread that he might never sing again .sx Nothing , however , could equal the coverage given to his romances - real , imagined , or , in many cases , inspired by overzealous press agents .sx It was not enough that he really was facing serious legal problems with Ada Giachetti , which would soon come to a head , and , to a far lesser degree , with Elsa Ganelli .sx To satisfy public curiosity , love affairs and 'engagements' had to be either exaggerated or simply invented .sx The women involved included a Canadian singer , Lillian Grenville , who was at the time trying to make a name for herself at the Chicago Opera ; the twenty-two-year-old daughter of a wealthy Argentinian , with whom Caruso had naively allowed himself to be photographed while they were both , separately , on holiday at the Italian resort of Salsomaggiore ; a nineteen-year-old Sicilian peasant , for whom it was reported that he was willing to give up his career in exchange for the simple life of a farmer ; and a wealthy American , Mildred Meffert , who had received and kept , it seems , a number of passionate love letters from the tenor .sx One story the press failed to report was that of the tenor's short but intense courtship of the spectacularly beautiful actress Billie Burke , who met Caruso in 1910 and described the relationship in her memoirs .sx " He made love and ate spaghetti with equal skill and no inhibitions , " she wrote .sx " He would propose marriage several times each evening .sx " .sx Because of this great interest in Caruso's love life , it is not surprising that the crowd of reporters who greeted him upon his arrival in New York on 8 November 1911 , was less concerned with stories of his 'collapse' in Berlin than with rumours of yet another 'engagement' , this time , to Emma Trentini , a fiery Italian soprano who had the year before created the title role in Victor Herbert's Naughty Marietta .sx Caruso vigorously denied these rumours .sx He had more important things on his mind , above all , the coming Metropolitan season , during which he would once again be put to the test to prove that he had not lost his voice .sx He had no trouble passing this test .sx He sang thirty-eight times in New York and eleven times on tour , and , though he essayed no new roles , his first performance of Manon with Toscanini , on the night of 30 March , was considered one of the artistic high points of his career to date for its display of musicianship and refinement of style .sx It was a season notable for superlative performances and one undisturbed by scandals or startling revelations of any kind , and when Caruso left for Europe in early May he did so secure in the knowledge that he remained the undisputed King of Tenors , his title in no way threatened .sx It was also a summer of splendid performances in Europe , in Paris , Vienna , Munich , Stuttgart and Berlin .sx Critics and public agreed that he sang superbly , particularly in Paris , where he was joined by the man considered the greatest of all baritones , Titta Ruffo .sx The two men had rarely sung together and , during the short Paris season , each stimulated the other with extraordinary results .sx The remarkable way in which their voices blended can still be heard on one joint recording , made in 1914 , a shatteringly powerful interpretation of the duet which closes the second act of Otello .sx In their Paris appearances ( not , unfortunately , in Otello which Caruso never sang on stage ) , these two great singers both emerged triumphant .sx Their friendly battle for vocal superiority was an attraction for the public ; but although Ruffo was frequently called the 'Caruso of baritones' , Caruso was never labelled the 'Ruffo of tenors' .sx Caruso could take satisfaction in his continuing supremacy and in the prevailing critical opinion that he was the equal of , or even better , than the Caruso of old .sx This pleasure , however , was not an unmitigated one , for before returning to the Metropolitan in the autumn of 1912 , he had to endure the most emotionally shattering episode of his life , a widely publicized trial in a Milanese courtroom , which finally settled his differences with Ada Giachetti .sx The Monkey House Case , the Ganelli suit , and the many reports of his impetuous involvements with a number of women were all embarrassing incidents , damaging to the tenor's pride and innate dignity .sx But the Giachetti trial was something far more serious , a bitter public airing of his relationship with the mother of his children , a woman many of his friends would continue to think of as the only real love of his life .sx Ironically , there would have been no trial had it not been for Caruso's insistence upon a more than complete vindication of charges brought against him earlier by the soprano .sx These accusations had first been made in the pages of one of Milan's most distinguished newspapers .sx According to Giachetti , who insisted that Romati the chauffeur had not become her lover until after her relationship with Caruso had come to an end , the tenor had done everything in his power to ruin her career .sx He had made defamatory statements about her and had seen to it that all letters sent to her from America were intercepted and delivered to him , among them one which contained a contract to sing at Hammerstein's Manhattan Opera House .sx In addition , she charged that Caruso had stolen from her thousands of dollars' worth of jewellery and all her theatrical costumes .sx With public opinion on her side as a result of these newspaper articles , the soprano followed up her accusations by formally filing suit against Caruso , a suit which , after several months' investigation and the cross - examination of almost one hundred witnesses , was dismissed by the public prosecutor .sx Caruso was held blameless of any wrong-doing and , thus , publicly vindicated .sx But this was not enough for the embittered tenor .sx Feeling the need to pursue the matter even further , he filed a countersuit against Giachetti , charging her with defamation of character .sx Proceedings began on 25 October 1912 , and continued for four days .sx Caruso was present throughout the hearings , but Giachetti remained in South America where she was performing with an Italian opera company .sx The tenor and his attorneys carefully countered each of the soprano's charges .sx They produced letters from Giachetti which proved that the affair with Romati had begun long before her relationship with Caruso had come to an end ; they offered evidence in the form of a statement from Hammerstein that the Manhattan Opera Company had never offered her a contract ; and , in answer to the charge of theft , they produced a letter from Giachetti in which she promised Caruso that she would return to him all jewellery , letters and other effects .sx Testimony was bitter from both sides , and Caruso was visibly moved as the story of his betrayal was recounted to the court .sx He himself gave an emotional account of his life with Giachetti and how it had changed after ten years of what seemed to be perfect happiness .sx Several witnesses told of the soprano's passionate , unreasonable attachment to Romati ; others spoke of Caruso's unfailing love and generosity towards her during their years together .sx When one witness told the court that Giachetti never loved the tenor , not even during the first years of their life together , and offered to show proof , the tenor covered his face with his hands and sobbed .sx At the end of the trial , Giachetti was found guilty and sentenced to one year in jail , a sentence she never served , since she never returned to Italy .sx Caruso had been absolved of all wrong-doing and had behaved himself properly and with dignity throughout the hearing .sx Yet the experience had been deeply humiliating .sx As one Italian journalist noted , " The revelation to the stunned world of his misfortunes caused more pain to the sensitive Caruso than did the sentence to the others .sx " .sx Caruso and Giachetti were never reconciled , though they secretly met again and the tenor continued to send her a monthly allowance until the end of his life .sx Emil Ledner , who had been with him throughout the trial , commented :sx " Giachetti was removed from personal contact with Caruso , but not from his life .sx She was never out of his thoughts , his inner life , his feelings - perhaps as long as he lived .sx " Their two children never again saw their mother .sx A portrait of her , in the belvedere of the Villa Bellosguardo , was stored in the villa's attic .sx Fof o-grave , the elder son , understood , but Mimmi was puzzled .sx He was fascinated by the painting , but each time that he asked who the woman was , he was told that it was none of his business .sx 14 .sx " STILL SUPREME " .sx When Caruso left for America in late October 1912 , he was determined to devote himself single-mindedly to his work .sx While he realized that his private life was of legitimate interest to his public - this was a price of fame - he hoped that his accomplishments as an artist might completely overshadow his personal difficulties .sx Over the next few years , his artistic achievements were spectacular .sx There were high points and occasional low points , but for the most part it can simply be stated that the tenor performed superbly .sx Throughout the 1912-13 Metropolitan season , Caruso was in excellent voice , singing ten different roles and averaging two performances a week .sx He continued to have a remarkable ability to get along with his colleagues , displaying a rare sensitivity to their needs during a performance .sx One example was noted on the season's opening night , when he sang the role of Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut opposite the twenty-five-year-old Spanish soprano , Lucrezia Bori , who was making her American d e but .sx It was a somewhat disappointing beginning - perhaps because of Caruso's dominating presence in the cast , according to some listeners .sx " Mixed with the rich organ tones of Signor Caruso , her voice seems pallid and infantile " , the critic for the New York Tribune wrote of her singing during the first act .sx Although the same critic felt that Bori , later a great popular favourite , improved in the second act , he noted that Caruso " seemed purposely to have modified his own glorious tones for her sake .sx " .sx This might well have been the case .sx Caruso , given his position as a superstar , could well have monopolized the stage , ignoring other members of the cast and singing directly to his adoring public , but he was too much the musician , ever aware that he was part of an ensemble , to do so .sx Though often a prankster on stage , he played jokes only on friends or on other experienced singers , like Scotti , Melba or Destinn , and never on young , inexperienced artists , whom he unfailingly helped and supported .sx After his death , his close friend , Marcella Sembrich told reporters :sx " He was courteous to his associates , so generous to all .sx Also he had that inborn instinct of the true artist - the desire to aid someone else to be as great or a greater singer than he was himself .sx " .sx Caruso returned to Europe in May 1913 .sx His first engagement was in London , where he was to sing at Covent Garden for the first time in several years .sx