Music, Open1

The person who won the first Olympic music medal, Richard Barthélemy is sort of an enigma. In a 2003 article on the composer in Journal of Olympic History, Bernhard Kramer tried to piece together the musician’s history. His name is seen as Ricardo, Riccardo and Richard, while his surname is also listed as Barthelemi. His nationality, listed as Italian in the 1912 Official Report, is not certain, as he was born in present-day Turkey, lived in Italy, later proclaimed himself to be French, and died living in Belgium. Barthélemy’s main claim to fame is accompanying the great Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso.

Olympic Review sang praise of Barthélemy’s entry in 1912, noting the “there were no competitors deserving of comparison with him and without his participation we would have suggested that the medal was not awarded at all.”