Franco Corelli (Re: TOP TEN TENORS)
Steve R. Van Dien
I give Corelli honorable mention, because of the sheer unforced
resonance of the instrument. Certainly it was one of the great tenor
*voices* of all time. But I don't think Corelli was a great *singer*. He
was often exciting as hell in dramatic arias, especially if they lay high,
but there wasn't enough variety in his singing, and his approach to the
music was too often sloppy and smeary.
I'll never get rid of my Corelli albums -- I love big, ringing voices
and spine-shaking high notes as much as anybody :) -- but he's best taken in
*small* doses --
Steve Van Dien
Kerrie Boardman
I agree! I have a recording of his Cavalleria Rusitcana with De Los
Angeles and a Pagliacci with Amara. I must say that it is hard for me to
get through Vesti la giubba without laughing. His emotion is a little too
abundant, shall we say? But some of his high notes *are* thrilling. I
wouldn't get rid of these recordings, either. They always make me feel
better after listening to them, because I've laughed myself out! I WOULD
liked to have seen Corelli and Nilsson on the stage together -- that would
have been something to see!!! :)
Jorge Espinosa
>Subject: Franco Corelli (Re: TOP TEN TENORS)
>
> I give Corelli honorable mention, because of the sheer unforced
>resonance of the instrument. Certainly it was one of the great tenor
>*voices* of all time.
Right!. IMHO, simply the greatest tenor voice on records.
>But I don't think Corelli was a great *singer*. He
>was often exciting as hell in dramatic arias, especially if they lay high,
>but there wasn't enough variety in his singing, and his approach to the
>music was too often sloppy and smeary.
Agreed again. Some questions about F. Corelli to our "sapienti" in r.m.c.:
- Was he well trained in music? I've heard he was just a natural talent.
- What happened to him? Does he still live in the U.S.A.?
- Anybody saw and listened directly him on stage? Any comments?
> I'll never get rid of my Corelli albums -- I love big, ringing voices
>and spine-shaking high notes as much as anybody :)
Me too. Remember to mail me when "alt.fan.fcorelli" see the light ;-)
Saludos. Jorge
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R. Wilmer
>In article <2hf8fn$i...@post.its.mcw.edu> svan...@post.its.mcw.edu (Steve R. Van Dien) writes:
>>Subject: Franco Corelli (Re: TOP TEN TENORS)
>>
>> I give Corelli honorable mention, because of the sheer unforced
>>resonance of the instrument. Certainly it was one of the great tenor
>>*voices* of all time.
>
>Right!. IMHO, simply the greatest tenor voice on records.
>
>>But I don't think Corelli was a great *singer*. He
>>was often exciting as hell in dramatic arias, especially if they lay high,
>>but there wasn't enough variety in his singing, and his approach to the
>>music was too often sloppy and smeary.
>
>Agreed again. Some questions about F. Corelli to our "sapienti" in r.m.c.:
>- Was he well trained in music? I've heard he was just a natural talent.
>- What happened to him? Does he still live in the U.S.A.?
>- Anybody saw and listened directly him on stage? Any comments?
I saw him on stage many times. His voice had a wonderfully
sensual quality. Tremendous volume, yet a soft-grained
quality. Great sopranos with big voices brought him to his best: his
performances with Milanov and Nilsson were just thrilling.
I heard him in Andrea Chenier, Gioconda, Tosca (all with Milanov);
Turandot with Nilsson (wow); Adriana Lecouvreur with Tebaldi.
He was tall, slim, and handsome, but not a particularly good
actor (kept going into the same facial expression--I believe
he was trying for soulful).
Yes, his high notes were thrilling. I'll never forget his
holding on forever to the high note at the end of the
great ensemble towards the end of Act I in Turandot and
whamming the gong while holding the note. Still his
whole voice was beautiful from top to bottom.
The criticism about sloppy and smeary has some truth in it.
Corelli was not a refined artist. Vocally, he painted
in broad strokes. His gleaming voice and good looks
aroused his fans to frenzy.
I am not sure that his forays into the French repertory
were a good idea--especially when compared with his
contemporary in those operas: Nicolai Gedda.
My favorite records I have of Corelli are his recording of
the Improvviso from Andrea Chenier and his live recording
of Tosca with Milanov.
Richard
Steve R. Van Dien
: In article <2hf8fn$i...@post.its.mcw.edu> svan...@post.its.mcw.edu (Steve R. Van Dien) writes:
: >Subject: Franco Corelli (Re: TOP TEN TENORS)
: >
: > I give Corelli honorable mention, because of the sheer unforced
: >resonance of the instrument. Certainly it was one of the great tenor
: >*voices* of all time.
: Right!. IMHO, simply the greatest tenor voice on records.
: >But I don't think Corelli was a great *singer*. He
: >was often exciting as hell in dramatic arias, especially if they lay high,
: >but there wasn't enough variety in his singing, and his approach to the
: >music was too often sloppy and smeary.
: Agreed again. Some questions about F. Corelli to our "sapienti" in r.m.c.:
: - Was he well trained in music? I've heard he was just a natural talent.
He did study voice, but not formally, not really. He has said that he
"did some vocalizing" with a student of Scaravelli, Mario del Monaco's voice
teacher. Corelli always had a long, loud voice, by his own account; but he
refined it a lot through hard work on his own. (Though I can't help thinking
that a really fine voice teacher could have helped him refine it still more,
but that's water under the bridge.) When he began singing
professionally he couldn't read music at all, but he taught himself as his
career took off.
An excellent article about this is "Franco Corelli: On Stage And Off,"
by Conrad L. Osborne, in HIGH FIDELITY for (I think) July of 1967 -- it's in
'67, anyway:).
: - What happened to him? Does he still live in the U.S.A.?
He does still live in New York or New Jersey -- I forget which -- and he
teaches private voice and master classes in New York. There was an article
about this in the N.Y. Times, two or three months ago; I've got a copy of it
and will post it when I get the chance. It went into some detail about
Corelli's virtual drop from sight in the mid 70's -- apparently he retired
because of a combination of the severe stage fright he'd always suffered
from, and also some vocal problems.
- Anybody saw and listened directly him on stage? Any comments?
I never did, alas! Some who have say that the voice was huge and
extraordinarily vibrant, and that in the right role (Andrea Chenier and
Calaf, for example) he had a strong and highly magnetic stage presence.
Wish he'd sung Otello -- the voice seemed made for the part!
John X. Laporta
: >Subject: Franco Corelli (Re: TOP TEN TENORS)
- Anybody saw and listened directly him on stage? Any comments?
In the early sixties a friend's mother took him and me and another of
our high school buddies to New York every Saturday when she took her
art class. We raced to the (Old) Met, got our standing room tickets
(for nothing!) and raced up the stairs to get in place before the
doors were shut.
About that time a boy arrived at my school whose father was managing
the Philadelphia Lyric Opera. He gave us tickets several times.
I must have heard Corelli sing 50 times in that era. I remember
an Ernani and a Trovatore with him and Leontyne Price. He is in
my opinion the greatest lyric/dramatic tenor I have ever heard.
He put the emotion in there. He could make you shiver, and his
excellent performance seemed to bring out the best in the other
singers too.
You can see I'm something of a fan.
--
John X. Laporta
Senior Member of Technical Staff
GTE Laboratories Incorporated
40 Sylvan Road
Waltham MA 02254 USA
(617) 466-2095
jx...@gte.com
John X. Laporta
In article <databyte.6...@lascar.puc.cl> data...@lascar.puc.cl (Jorge Espinosa) writes:
>In article <2hf8fn$i...@post.its.mcw.edu> svan...@post.its.mcw.edu (Steve R. Van Dien) writes:
>>Subject: Franco Corelli (Re: TOP TEN TENORS)
He was tall, slim, and handsome, but not a particularly good
actor (kept going into the same facial expression--I believe
he was trying for soulful).
In Italy they called him "the man with the golden calves" because
he had nice legs -- and the suggestion of the Golden Calf comes
from the numerous men and women who use to try to offer themselves
to him ...
Steve R. Van Dien
Birgit Nillson told a good Corelli story on the Dick Cavett show about
fourteen years ago. Can't recall, but I think the opera was TURANDOT; they
were doing it together. Corelli had just finished a solo passage in a duet
with Nillson, and as she began to sing she noticed a desperate look in his
eyes. Suddenly he turned away from her, and (to her considerable
surprise!), he thrust his hand down the inside of his trousers. She was
wondering what on earth he was doing, when suddenly he pulled something out
of his pants. It turned out to be a damp sponge, which he promptly shoved
into his mouth. He sucked on it for a few seconds, then shoved it back down
his pants, just in time to pick up his part of the duet --
Steve Van Dien
Braden Mechley
>In article <2ic7m2$3...@post.its.mcw.edu>, svan...@post.its.mcw.edu
>dry mouth!! Most tenors, including Pavarotti as he demonstrated on
>national TV recently, would just bite their tongue...
And yet this fantastic story is true; Lucine Amara effectively confirmed
it in her extensive interview a few issues back in OPERA QUARTERLY.
Braden Mechley
Department of Classics
University of Washington
j...@trentu.ca
>
dry mouth!! Most tenors, including Pavarotti as he demonstrated on
national TV recently, would just bite their tongue...
Joseph So
Trent University
Peterborough, Ontario
Canada