Rudolph Big Gala: Otello "Già nella notte densa"

[BUTCHIE20100]

I was there that Saturday night. What an experience! Corelli brought the House to a frenzy with his whole performance & then that extended High A. Only one person could follow - Nilsson. She had laryngitis & we didn't know what she would sound like. What a finale !!! Corelli shook the building, Nilsson blew the roof off of the House. I will NEVER forget that night.

[rossinilove]

How I wish they both could have recorded the complete opera together. What a thrilling performance!

[ChristophePhilippe]

I hate that the audience bursts in before the orchestra's shimmering ends.

[bluluvsrae]

Everyone. WHile Corelli is great, it is one thing to sing arias from this opera on recordings or at Gala events. It is extremely grueling to sing this extrememely physical and stressing opera on stage--costume, in character, and singing! DO not get me wrong, Corelli was great.

[hazelssister]

Franco is the best opera singer ever , let alone the best tenor !

[ernestlow]

Where to find tenors like this today?? Voice, looks, interpretation, all in a complete package. Sadly they have become extinct !!!

[jasonmammal]

Not infrequently conducted, but infrequently recorded. According to Karl Bohm himself, he had already conducted all Verdi's opera works during the time in Dresden as the director of Staatskapelle.

[MsRuthes]

Absolutely spectacular!! And Corelli is not that young here. Zylis-Gara is wonderful. Such a sweet voice.

[operamark1]

Would it help if you knew that the spelling of her surname is really Zylis-Gara? She was a mainstay soprano at the Met for some years and is one of the two finest Desdemonas I have ever heard.

[ezayi]

Didn´t know this soprano. What a fabulous voice! 

[beignet58]

With a great conductor Corelli would have been the greatest Otello ever. By far. He had the voice, the heart, was heroic and romantic, strong and vulnerable. What a pity, what a waste that he didn't do it!

If there's a Heaven, I hope to go there and listen to the Otello of my dreams: Corelli, Tebaldi, Taddei, and Kleiber as conductor!

[JeeRant]

I'm kind of flabbergasted that Corelli never sung 'Otello'. It seems perfect for his voice type.

[pieritlyon]

MAGNIFICENT THE INTERPRETATION OF THE GREAT TEACHER Fraco CORELLI! THIS ARIA, I have heard and seen "ESULTATE" Also, from "Otello and I think another part of that OPERA AND BRIGHT LIKE ME HA. Failure to complete performances robbed us of a GREAT AND GREAT" Otello. "THANKS ".. Ginotti

[crabbe88]

She is such a lovely singer and, from I have heard, a lovely person as well. I have a tape of a live recording of a broadcast of Otello from the Orange festival- Ms Zylis Gara, Vickers, Diaz with Maazel conducting (1975). Spectacular. Her "Willow" song is the saddest, sweetest that I have ever heard. She is under appreciated. Does anyone know if that recording has been released?

[wotan10950]

Corelli, so handsome and with that virile gorgeous tone. And I want to smack him! A sloppy musician, fidgeting all over the place. None of the dignity that Domingo displayed in this role. And I have many of Corelli's recordings, but I can barely watch him here.

[peacocktravels]

Of course he could have performed this role....but it was his choice not to perform it.....just because one can do something doesnt mean that one should.....

[pieritlyon]

!!!MAGNIFICA LA INTERPRETACIÓN DEL GRAN MAESTRO FRACO CORELLI !!! DE ESTA ARIA, LE HE ESCUCHADO Y VISTO "ESULTATE", TAMBIÉN, DE "OTELLO Y ME PARECE QUE OTRA PARTE DE ESA OPERA Y ME HA PARECIDO BRILLANTE. EL NO INTERPRETARLA COMPLETA NOS PRIVO DE UN GRAN Y MAGNIFICO "OTELLO". GRACIAS "Ginotti..pieri

[HellasItalia4]

HA HA HA!!!!! Corelli is the BEST!!!

[redsox2213]

I love this. It makes me very sad that he never performed Otello.

It is alo funny how they start bowing while the music is still playing!! I love old school audiences, where they clap at entrances and after awesome notes. A part of me wishes it was still like that.

[bluluvsrae]

It would have been fascinating to see him sing Otello. I personally do not think he could sing the entire opera on numerous occassions. Do not forget the arduousness of this role. It is almost Wagnerian.

[Gesangsfetischistin]

Hat er Schnupfen? Wieso verhält er sich so komisch?

[Houndentenor1998]

Corelli sings like a God here. I saw him sing Radames, Romeo among others. Talk about animal magnetism. (doesn't he wipe his nose/mouth and wipe it on her?) I wish he had sung this part onstage. What a voice. What legs he had!

Zylis-Gara was a fabulous Mozart singer. No wonder she was great in this role.

The prompter is annoying...............

[alvarogm86]

Corelli's voice was made for this role, it's a shame that he didn't sing it more than he did.

[Phaidra69]

A Big Thanks phalenopsis1 for this video , which in my humble opinion proves that if Corelli had decided to sing Otello , he should have been the best Otello of all times !!!!

we will never the reasons that he never sang this role but at least we have this video to watch !!! a small consolation for all Corelli' s fans !!!

[stevevandien]

I'm one of those fans:). Not sure, but I believe Corelli said in some post-retirement interviews that he should have sung Otello -- indeed, that his not doing so was a mistake. Certainly he rivaled del Monaco for sheer power and pizzazz. And Coreeli had a greater capacity for mezza voce and shading --

[phalenopsis1]

Franco interpreta Otello cosi, che io posso credere, che lui strangoli Desdemona e uccidi se stesso ... Che passione ...

[horla87]

franco corelli, best tenor ever!

[54spiritedwill54]

Both are glorious!

[phalenopsis1]

Divo con Diva.

[pearlmuth3]

Yes he could have, like her also here.

[sera1959]

¿Le ponía nerviosa ella?,

Observar los movimientos que hace cuando ella inicia su parte ;"mio superbo guerrier..., "

¡qué pareja más maravillosa, están para comerse...!

[faust1963]

Quel beau couple ! c'est merveilleux.

[Samurai9]

Note how Corelli changes the vowel to the get the sound he wants. At the end, instead of "Venere splende," he sings "Vanara splanda," so he can use the most open mouth position.

[bloydaage]

But so what? Every now and than singers modify some wowels in different phrases or register. Even Pav does/did so! And sopranos do it very often. Yes, Corelli did here in the ending, but have you ever since heard a tenor who passes even that long lasting note Verdi wrote/demands in the score??? And to all of you who said he have to sing pp and so on: Corellis pp is not like Luigi Alvas pp. Corelli sings with an big gorgeous warmth of sound. Just listen from 3.37 and out! I find it outstanding.

[Houndentenor1998]

The Corelli has a far more dramatic sound than Alva. Alva was a light lyric voice. I heard them both sing at the Met. Both were wonderful but very different. You can't compare apples to oranges

[ah332]

@Samurai9 great observation, genius....it's called vowel modification

[Moegiust]

I had forgotten how beautiful her voice was. I saw her only once, as Aida, opposite James McCracken.

Corelli was a wonderful tenor in his own repertoire but he is over-parted in this music. He was wise to leave it alone.

[tehen162]

I think he had the right voice for Otello.

[2ManyHighCs]

"Overparted" ? Not sure what you mean, but everytime I listen to this I come away thinking "If only. . . . how amazing it could have been to have heard Corelli's Otello". If ever a voice could have/should have sung this role as Verdi intended, it could have/should have been Corelli. Just my reaction to his singing. . . .which I guess is obvious I LOVE.

[lascala123]

Yes,I agree that his voice was probably most suited for Otello.From the higher range in Esultate!to the dramatic temprement in Niun mi tema.I think he didn't do it mainly because he thought he would lose the lyrical beauty of his voice(by this i mean the diminuendi he had) and his upper range as Otello is a very low and dramatic role.

[johnhoie]

I agree on both points, but what's "overparted"? Zylis-Gara was a major talent that I heard too little.

Corelli is one of my favorite tenors, but he seemed only to sing very loudly, which was thrilling, or very softly, which sounded beautiful. Most of this duet should be sung serenely at medium volume, and he blasts right through it.

I watched this live on tv at the time, and this is the first time I've seen it since.

Do you have the Lucia duet with Sutherland and Pavarotti from the same gala?

[raythespian]

Corelli did a Gala-type ending, and the audience responded accordingly. I saw Zylis-Gara in this role, and the amazing thing about her voice was how effortlessly it carried, loud and clear, to the farthest reaches of the huge house. She was a cool soprano, and Bing did not meet her demands to sing the big Italian roles. Soon she was gone. At least, that was the story at the time.

[troppofiato]

Gorgeous singing, particularly from Zyllis-Gara. Amazed that they went right along with the boorish response from the audience which broke into applause before Verdi's sublime ending to this duet was allowed to play and be heard. They should have stood frozen still until the music ended and maybe the audience would have followed suit. Dr. Bohm could not have been too pleased. I thought NY audiences were more educated than this (and that the artists, specially her, were more respectful of music).

[redsox2213]

i cant stand it when i hear prompters. I know it is normal for operas, but come on!! it is a GAlA!!

[nanbil]

One of my favorite duets done very well here!

[BariTenoreDram]

hauhauhauhuhauha at 1.33 seem to be in another place.....uhauhauha look plsssss and replyy

[raphabenbenjamin]

Corelli is an primo example of a singer being fully aware that if he tries to step in and "help" the voice it would completely collapse. The high wire artist aware there is no net, but the ONLY thing you have to hang on to "up there" is balance. If you let "I need to do something more than I am doing", it is sayonara, at least for that evening. Similar to Neil Shicoff as to their "mystery" as to why the voice works. They both ride the sound and try to stay the **** out of the way.

[meltzerboy]

Corelli would have been a great Otello; he had the power, endurance, tone, and technique. I had forgotten how beautiful Zylis-Gara's voice and singing was.

[kiqw]

While I like Corelli I enjoyed Zylis Gara even more, in part I guess because I am really familiar with her in name only. Thanks for posting this.

[20478]

Corelli e'un otello atipico!Infatti possiede una voce brunita , tipica di un tenore baritonale,che pero'non e' tra le piu' adatte per otello o meglio e' un otello piu'introspettivo che animalesco come a tratti dovrebbe essere!Io penso che per rappresentare a pieno questo ruolo c'e'bisogno di una vocalita' da lirico spinto,vedi Del Monaco!Cmq ad avercene oggi di corelli!

[Samurai9]

Notice how Corelli opens the "u" and "e" vowels to get the big mouth position he uses. "U's" on high notes are almost "o's." The last phrase he sings sounds like vanara splanda instead of Venere splende, all to allow the most open, vertical mouth position. But the sound really does roll out.

[henryv69]

Franco Corelli aveva tutte le carte in regola per essere uno dei piu' grandi interpreti del ruolo di otello... solo una forte instabilità emotiva gli ha impedito di affrontare un ruolo che sembra tagliato apposta per la sua voce

[Kallistono]

Corelli not doing Otello, mistake, a real waste. He would have topped even legendary del Monaco's. We are left only with esultate and this.

[francoispremier1]

Barking??? He isn't a dog ...Yes Corelli isn't always perfection but if only the others "Otello's singers" could have this great and sounding brilliant voice...

[amfortas83]

Corelli sounds seriously inappropriate to the role; time is a sort of invention to him. Interesting the performance of this hardly forgotten big soprano! What a surprise this Bohm's rare interpretation!

[tenorote]

It's a shame we don't have a complete recording of his Otello. He was supposed to have done it; but, things passed him by and we're the poorer for it.

[ErnestoPetti]

uhauhauhauhauhauh who is Corelli O_o what? uhuhauhauha

[jmahlon]

Her name is spelled Teresa Zylis Gara

[clearandsunny]

Who is Corelli? Wow ... Here's one: Who is Bette Davis? Better yet, who is Abe Lincoln? What's the Brooklyn Bridge?

[veramour]

Both are glorious!

[croon4u]

Thanks Ginotti - I really enjoyed this. Pity about the tenors & sops who come to loggerheads, nitpicking in the posts! Thanks epa300 for a more balanced appraisal of a wonderful performance.

[Kendrick2021]

Who is Corelli? The lady is lovely, the tenor barks.

[ezawadzki]

and you are booby

[epa300]

Ever notice how Corelli moves away from his costars when he's about to blast his trumpet? If anything says respect, that does. You see him do this time and time again. He cared enough not to knock them down. ;)

[BOUZOUKIE]

I think both of them are terrific.

[birgitnilsson]

My partner of so many glorious evenings was as stunning as myself! and this polish lady sings beautifully too....

[zamyrabyrd]

What a stuck-up of an Othello. A beautiful voice is only raw material. This is supposed to be a duet but he doesn't relate to her at all. In my opinion, the soprano is the star of the show.

[aarontenor]

Wrong! Who ever heard of her? She wasn't the star of anything--much less that evening. Her singing is flat and straight tone through half of it. His singing is glorious and passionate. His gestures are because he is happy to be up there singing this duet for the first time for his friend Rudolph Bing. Corelli was rarely happy on stage due to stage fright. I am happy to see him so relaxed and just wanting to put on a vocal show.

[lungdoc]

Well.. Zylis Gara was "somebody" whether you like her or not. Corelli's unprofessional behavior in front of the cameras (watch the part when she sings "mio supremo guerrier") can only hurt his legacy as an artist which was of course remarkable.

[aarontenor]

Ok, well you have your opinion. But hurt his legacy? Isn't it true that Corelli, along with Jussi Bjorling, has been voted the most popular and most loved opera singer in history by his peers, critics and fans year after year for the past 25 years? His legacy was never tarnished because people close to him knew he was extremely humble and helpful to others along with having one of the most amazing talents ever to be heard on Earth.

[epa300]

It's a concert, not an opera production. It is the custom to sing to the audience and that's exactly what they are both doing. To say this says anything of Corelli is 100% wrong and not fair in any regard. Find one colleague that would say such a thing of him. You won't find one.

[profgv]

And Theresa Zylas-Gara was wonderful in her day too.

I've always wondered why this was not in Corelli's rep.

His voice was of a delicate nature, huge and lyric, perhaps this role would have change that.

[rmm413]

Oh, what a crime that he never did Otello. How wonderful he would have been in it! Thank you for posting this clip. Franco is great here.

[francotenelli]

One of the best tenors after Caruso

[beignet58]

Heart, soul, and VOICE!!! With a good conductor he would have been the best Otello ever.

[tomasjuhasz]

Franco tenor of 20 century!bravo

[Cantachepassa]

This is what I call Tenor voice.

[Agorante]

Outrageus! Look how he fidgets when she sings. I saw him step in front of Kirsten in Tosca while she was singing! Yet in a concert with Tebaldi he was the model of respect and support. Strange contradictions.

I heard him live this same year. Sure the pianissimos are not what they once were, but overall I think he sounds better at fifty than he did before. An unbeliveable voice.

[croon4u]

That's interesting; apart from his voice, the fidgeting was the first thing I noticed too - it must be his way of dealing with nerves. Everybody's got some habit, it's just some hide it better than others. She's angelic.

[discovolante21]

Great performance but final notes should not be forte huh :)

[corellibuff]

That's our Franco, having to have the loudest and longest note at the end of the aria. Too bad he never did Otello, he would have been fabulous.

Mille grazie.

[palcovexort]

Mamma mia che bellezza!!! grazie Ginotti.

[rbbBeast]

Utterly fabulous, and who really cares about the pianissimo at the end anyway? What a voice!

[charlie8943]

the best tenor ever