Maestro FRANCO CORELLI

1921 2003

Versione Italiana

Audio sample by www.operaclick.com

Norma meco all'altar di Venere, Norma me protegge, Poliuto sfolgorò divino raggio, Otello esultate.

Franco Corelli was born on April 8, 1921, at Ancona, Italy, in the region known as “The Marches.” There is a saying that “le belle voce sono nate in questa terra” (beautiful voices are born in this region), it may certainly be true, since other great singers from the area include Beniamino Gigli, Renata Tebaldi, Cesare Siepi, Mario Del Monaco and Anita Cerquetti.

Corelli´s father was a ship builder for the Italian Navy and, thinking to follow his father’s profession, young Franco studied engineering.
When he realized at the relatively late age of 30 that he had a voice, Corelli went to study at the Music Conservatory down the coast at Pesaro; but after three months he seemed to be losing his high notes and, thus discouraged, he gave up.

Blessed by nature with a magnificent voice and determined to teach himself, he studied the recordings of older tenors such as Enrico Caruso, Beniamino Gigli and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi on whom he modelled his vocal style. He was completely self-taught.

One day he went to Florence with a friend who was entering the competition for singers at the Maggio Musicale. For a lark, the friend entered Franco´s name too, and it was Corelli who won the first prize and stole all the attention. Maestro San Paoli, director of the Rome Opera, heard Corelli and urged him to compete in the singing contest at the experimental theater in Spoleto. Here again, Corelli emerged the winner.
Franco Corelli made his professional debut on August 26, 1951 at Spoleto´s Teatro Nuovo giving four performances as Don José in Bizet's Carmen and was an overwhelming success. Franco was on his way...
In 1952, Corelli made his debut at Rome’s Teatro dell´ Opera singing Zandonai´s Giulietta e Romeo opposite Mafalda Micheluzzi. Subsequently, he sang Maurizio to Maria Caniglia´s Adriana Lecouvreur and finally Boris Godunov with Boris Christoff once again in Rome.

In 1953, Corelli sang in the world premiere of Guido Guerrini´s Enea partnered by Antonieta Stella and Boris Christoff among others. Then, on the night of April 9, Corelli sang his first performance as the roman soldier Pollione next to the uncomparable Norma of Maria Callas and Fedora Barbieri´s Adalgisa. The same year he was acclaimed as Pierre Bezoukhov in Prokofiev´s Guerra e Pace opposite Cartieri, Barbieri, Bastianini, Colzani and Capecchi among others at the Florence Festival. In the famous Termes of Caracalla, Franco included the role of Canio in Leoncavallo´s Pagliacci to his repertory. Finally, Corelli made his first appearance as Radames in Verdi´s masterpiece Aida at Ravenna, substituting an indisposed Mario del Monaco.

In 1954, Franco sang Salvatore Allegra´s Romulus in Rome. Afterwards, he sang his first performances of Verdi´s Don Carlo and Gluck´s Ifigenia in Aulide. The city of Florence saw Corelli once again in Spontini´s Agnese di Hohenstaufen. Then, in July of the same year he sang his first Cavaradossi in Puccini´s Tosca at San Remo. Corelli´s first television appearance took place on September 26 in a RAI film of Pagliacci with a cast including Titto Gobbi and Mafalda Micheluzzi. Finally, the dream of every opera singer came true for Franco Corelli, in December he made his La Scala debut in Spontini´s La Vestale opposite the great Maria Callas and Ebe Stignani.
In 1955 RAI made a television film which captured Franco´s version of Mario Cavaradossi, sharing the screen with Heredia Capnist as his Tosca and Tagliabue´s Scarpia, everyone under the batoon of Antonio Votto. Venice´s Teatro La Fenice witnessed Corelli in Puccini´s Fanciulla del West which he sang with Gian Giacomo Guelfi under the batoon of Olivero De Fabritiis. At the end of the year, Corelli sang his first Handel opera, Giulio Cesare, at Rome.

In 1956, Corelli sang in the historic revival of Giordano´s Fedora opposite Maria Callas at La Scala. The third television appearance took place this year in a beautiful film version of Puccini´s Tosca with actress Franca Duval and the voices of Caniglia and Guelfi.

1957 and the Naples public saw Franco Corelli for the first time as the young French poet Andrea Chenier, a role Corelli sang to perfection. At this point, Franco was ready to launch himself into an international career that began with his debut in the tenor roles of Mussorgski´s Kovanschina and Verdi´s Simon Boccanegra, both at Lisbon. At Spain, Corelli debuted in Madrid´s Teatro La Zarzuela with Tosca and ten days later he debuted at Viena´s Staatsoper with the role of Radames, sharing credits with Antonietta Stella and Giulietta Simionato. Franco also sang one performance of Norma at the Theatre du Casino in France and finally he sang the role of Cavaradossi opposite Zinka Milanov´s supreme Tosca at London´s Covent Garden.

In 1958, Corelli sang for the first time the role of Don Alvaro in Verdi´s La forza del destino at Naples with a cast including Renata Tebaldi, Ettore Bastianini, Boris Christoff and Oralia Dominguez. Afterwards, Franco debuted in one of his most memorable roles, Calaf in Puccini´s Turandot. Later on that season, La Scala experienced Corelli and Callas once again, this time sharing credits with Ettore Bastianini in the revival of Bellini´s Il Pirata under the baton of Antonino Votto. Franco also added to his repertory the demanding role of Manrico in Verdi´s Il Trovatore which he sang at Bologna.

Once again, Corelli appeared before the milanese audience in the opera Eracle with Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Fedora Barbieri, Ettore Bastianini, and Jerome Hines, the conductor being Lovro von Matacic. Finally, RAI produced a film with Franco Corelli in the main cast, this time the role of Calaf in Puccini´s Turandot gave Corelli the opportunity to appear for the fourth time on the screen.
On 1959 and 1960 the roles of Ernani and Poliuto were sung by Corelli both at La Scala, the first one with Ettore Bastianini and the second one with Leyla Gencer and Maria Callas who was also debuting in the female role of Paolina.

On 1961, Franco Corelli made his Metropolitan Opera House debut with the also debuting afro-american soprano Leontyne Price in Verdi´s Il Trovatore. At the end of the year, he returned to Milan to celebrate the centenary of Italy´s unity with the revival of Verdi´s La Battaglia di Legnano which he sang with great success partnered by Antonietta Stella.
1962 witnessed Corelli´s debut as Enzo Grimaldo in Ponchielli´s La Gioconda at the Met, with a cast including Zinka Milanov and Eileen Farrell sharing the soprano role in different dates. In July 31, Corelli made his Salzburg Festival debut opposite Leontyne Price and an all-star cast in Il Trovatore under the baton of Herbert Von Karajan.

And finally, on May of the same year, Franco sang the role of Raoul in an all-star production of Meyerbeer´s Gli Ugonotti with Joan Sutherland, Giulietta Simionato and Fiorenza Cossotto among others at La Scala.

On 1963 Franco Corelli debuted in the role of Turiddu in Mascagni´s Cavalleria Rusticana opposite the great soprano Eileen Farrell at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis. He also appeared in the famous television program "Voices of Firestone", sharing credits with the gorgeous Renata Tebaldi.

1964 witnessed the controversial debut of Corelli in one of Puccini´s masterpieces, La Boheme, which he performed at the Met on February partnered by Gabriela Tucci, Bonaldo Giaiotti and under the batoon of Fausto Cleva. On April of the same year, Franco sang for the first time Gounod´s Romeo et Juliette at Philadelphia´s Academy of Music.
The decade of the sixties was completely reigned by Franco Corelli. Not only did he appear in the most important Opera houses and theaters of the world, singing productions especially made for him, but he also recorded complete operas and aria albums for the most renowned recording companies of the time, EMI and DECCA.

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