Franco Corelli - Che gelida manina (Live)

[hazelssister]

Franco has the most beautiful singing voice of any one ever; man, woman, child,animal. Have been listening to him since 1961. Hope he is serenading Puccini in heaven.

[joshmus11]

When listening to Corelli, nothing else exists.

[opera888able]

Franco sings this competently but with no real feeling,compared to others. He sounds as tho he's got a bus to catch or something.Iv'e heard him sing much better than this. and he was still pretty much in his prime,

[opera888able]

Franco sings this competently but with no real feeling,compared to others. He sounds as tho he's got a bus to catch or something.

[Khed14]

This performance was recorded in New York on 16 February 1974

[chaten65]

Franco Corelli ist er beste aller Zeiten. Danke Gott für so einen großen Sänger. Leider habe ich ihn nur zweimal live erleben können, da ich erst 1965 geboren wurde. Für mich ist er der Größte.

chaten65 Rolf David

[JerryJeanMusic]

This is so heroic. BRAVO. Thank you Mr. Corelli.

[dubitz11]

Although IMHO Corelli is one of the top 2-3 tenors of all time (the others being a selection from Gigli, MDM, Bjoerling, Wunderlich, Melchior, Tucker, Bergonzi, Roswaenge, Schmidt and a few more), I think this recording was way too wild and one-dimensional. This was towards the very end of his meaningful career. Not to be compared to his fantastic late 50s and early 60s Aidas, Trovatores, Turandots, etc.

[Melomondo]

Some of the worst singing I have ever heard. He sounds like a toothless old man and butcheres the aria. Boooooo!

[stevevandien]

When and where was this recorded?

[Jozh487]

Is it just me, or does Corelli sound a bit different here than he usually does? The brilliance of his voice is still definitely there and he sounds fantastic as always, but his voice somehow sounds just a bit lighter. Maybe this is an early recording?

[31122051]

... diCtion.

[tenorvoice50]

I think Corelli was is the greatest Tenor of all time. I say this because he had amazing control of his voice,he had a great low mid, high range.Corelli could bring his voice down to a mere whisper and just let it float so beautiful seemily for as long as he wanted.then just when you think he went to long He thrills you with that amazing Power at the top! The man was unbeliveable!

[fmercury91]

Certain tenors sound better on certain arias. Di Stefano sounded incredible on Neapolitan songs in terms of both interpretation and voice. But his performance on this aria is nothing compared to Pavarotti. Pavarotti is good on Nessun Dorma but his version doesn't compare to Corelli's in my mind because Corelli is more of a Calaf than Pavarotti ever was. It's difficult to compare great tenors, true great tenors that is, on any basis other than from aria to aria.

[AnryK2690]

Very true, indeed! That's the only way to somehow compare the great tenors. Some of them were particularly good for bel canto roles, some of them - for Verismo roles. As the greatest Canio was Del Monaco, the greatest Calaf was Corelli. There is no absolute in this. Some of the tenors were like born to sing some roles. The only tenor I often find great in every role, is Caruso. Though, I'd appreciate different opinions of course.

[mactopolis]

This does not sound like Corelli...and it probable isn't

[Nater389]

No, thats him alright. This is a role for a lyric tenor like Pavarotti. Corelli is a dramatic tenor. GermanOperaSinger mentions this fact in his description under "more info."

[kevin86h]

That's definitely Corelli. No other tenors timbre is like his.

[sincrotto]

Finalmente una registrazione di questa romanza che rende giustizia a Franco Corelli. Nelle altre non sembra nemmeno lui! Sentite che fraseggio a gola aperta e che armonici? Grande!

[OettingerCroat]

the mystery is solved!!!

this recording is from a superb [but, here, sped-up] performance from 1971 in tokyo!

proof (copy/paste after your standard youtube URL): /watch?v=Fqkf9S_ymVw

[GermanOperaSinger]

Still doesn't explain Mimi's gasp at the beginning. 0.o

[OettingerCroat]

true... :-O

how did you get ahold of this GOS?

[GermanOperaSinger]

From a friend who used to send me CD's of random live recordings.

I'm not sure where he got this from, but it appears he's taken a lot of stuff from handelmania podcast. Some people were accusing me of ripping off the podcast! I didn't even know of its existence then, I was just posting stuff he sent me...but if you ever get the chance you should check the podcast out, it has some great recordings. Or better yet just buy from Handelmania.

[OettingerCroat]

i will definitely check this out.

funny how i caught the original recording. over a year ago since you uploaded this, I, a) knew the recording was altered, b) knew I'd heard it before. i'm sure you remember, initially several others and I thought it was from hamburg in the same year; that got debunked quickly.

i came back here months ago, still not knowing its origin. then today i randomly stumbled upon it, look for the OTHER franco (bonisolli)'s rendition. and aw shucks, whaddya know... lol

[Yoni89]

Probably cause she thought Corelli was hot.

[bloydaage]

@OettingerCroat this performance is deffently not tokyo 1971.

[malfada22]

Franco Corelli. The greatest and the most underrated tenor of them all. Placido, the pushed up bartione, could not fit into Corelli's shoes. Pavarotti (God Rest His soul) was a beautiful lyric. Carreras was a magnificent lyric. I heard him in 72. The beauty of the voice made you cry. It is tragic what hapened to the voice compliments of Von Karajian and cancer. But alas, there was Franco. Primo Tenore forever!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joelweisberg]

Malfada, I can't tell you how much I appreciate your comment. I agree completely with what you said and how you said it. F.C could sing them all right off the stage and I too love the other tenors. He is missed very much. Grazie!

[LetItBe920]

He sounds a little pinched in this clip, but still better than anything I could produce. :-)

[operacaster]

and then there was franco...

i always chuckle when i hear people compare franco to the placido or carreras. by comparison francos wasHUGE. was one of the most EXCITING voices imaginable. had to hear it in the house to experience it. first i heard him live at the met as a punk student was in werther. hate that opera and was falling asleep, but then he came out and sang the great aria and it was like someone sitting next to me shouting in my ear. and i was in the peanut gallery.... :--)

[brt1050]

I absolutely love Corelli. I hate it when people compare him to Domingo or even Carreras...they simply can't touch him! But I must say that he sings heavier roles much more convincingly. I much prefer Pavarotti as Rodolfo. Overall, however, I firmly believe that no other human being has been able to produce as massively lush a sound as the great Franco.

[Honken]

I agree, he's not a lyrical tenor and for that reason he doesn't shine in lyrical roles, but when it comes to spinto and dramatic he is the best.

[raigekimaru]

I agree, comparing Carreras, Domingo or even Pavarotti to Corelli is like comparing angela gheorgiu to kirsten flagstad. Pavarotti goes for the gold in the lyric tenor rep (well, he and Bjorling) and Domingo is a good dramatic tenor (poor agility , but none of the 3 are right for Verdi. you need to be able to sing powerful dramatic legato, and really let the emotion ring. when Corelli opened his mouth it was like a ship sailing over the audience on a tidal wave.

[Aetion]

Well said. There are facts that go above personal taste. Mario del Monaco and Franco Corelli cannot be compared with Pav and Domingo. Otherwise we loose sense of proportion.

[Baskerville22]

Hello,

I only recently 'discovered' de Monaco. How would you rate him vs the better-known (at least, to me) great tenors. He can be a bit of a ham, I think, but his voice can have a very appealing tome to it.

[Aetion]

If you only recently discovered Del Monaco (!!!), Id suggest that you listen carefully to his rich repertoire, especially to his Otello and you wont need my opinion anymore.

IMHO, Mario Del Monaco cannot be rated. How can you rate the absolute?

[Aetion]

Id like to add that Del Monacos uniquely powerful voice has nothing to do with the one of your hound. :))

[ivansperanza]

Of course not,Del Monaco and Corelli were both much better than Pavarotti.Pavarotti enjoyed huge media exposure not available in the 50's and 60's,which helped to put him in such high position.Often times,media efforts to make somebody famous,doesn't mean you are better than the rest.

[31122051]

ivansperanza : Luciano Pavarotti was a beautiful lyric tenor, probably the best duke of Mantua ( together with Alfredo Kraus ), the best Rodolfo and the best Nemorino. His vocal tecnique was something of simply PERFECT. He had an incredible vocal extension, a magnificent dition and a shining vocal timber. F. Corelli and M. Del Monaco were dramatic tenors, very different from L. Pavarotti. In other words : Pavarotti, Del Monaco and Corelli were three SPLENDID tenors. That's the point !

[rolandsf]

@brt1050 Corelli had great high notes, but that's about it. (And in the opera world, that's about all you need.) Where's the artistry? In this recording, the phrasing is all short. The color is all the same.

[sopranosd]

@brt1050 - I love Pavarotti in this role. Bjorling also sang it beautifully, but Pav. ruled, in my opinion. Corelli was better at heavier rep, This is too light for him. He sounds plodding on this music, but those high notes -- he gets all that sound up there! And perfectly on pitch! Are they A's or C's in this aria? I can never tell if he is pushing too much sound out or if he is just a LOUD dude. I have a little trouble with the sobbing color of his 'ah's' but whatever. He is amazing.

[laonirica]

Certainly, at present more than ever, Franco Unmatched!!!

[adremoid]

what a sweet final! matchless Franco

[anchenier]

This is a great recording. You can hear all the singing technic of the past. Wery open natural wocal structure. This is the tenorvoice that the microphone has killed. To do this like Corelli here you have to bee wery wery strong and the voice must be free and in a natural position wich makes everything more difficult. This is singing extreeme. Bravo Corelli,

[justintime42000]

I've heard a better live recording of this. It was a Met Live Radio Broadcast, probably from the 60s. Somewhere I have an old cassette of it. I love Franco Corelli. For the passion, the drama, the beauty and the power of his voice, he is unparalleled. I wish I'd seen him perform live. I didn't even know he was dead until I came here today.

[goldie0800]

I agree and know just how you feel!

[kingcorelli]

His energy and emotive atom is paralleled only by Il Grande Caruso. I guess singers that sing in there early years tend to form a better foundation at least confronting the public. All this this being said on his good days Corelli is up there with Del Monaco and their looking up at Caruso! Even though you STILL don't believe it Bravo Maestro!

[kingcorelli]

that Corelli started his career not yet secure technically and as it may have taken unusually longer to correct the instrument it began a life of burdening vocal insecurites , it initiated an elevated consuming energy fixation to strive for out right control of the HUMAN instrument

[kingcorelli]

for those of you that anything to negative to say about this great tenor I think that if you are not in his league or at least attempted to contibute to the legacy of the great tenori you should redress. I'm guessing that leaves us all out! What you need to only understand is

[justintime42000]

You are right. Nobody is in Franco's league! I've never heard any tenor with a more passionate and thrilling voice and I doubt I ever will.

[laonirica]

Nos deja Como muestra en su Gran Legado, que una voz, de Gran Caudal, puede ser también romántica, abordar personajes como el de :"un poeta" apasionado, lleno de expresividad!!!

GRACIAS*GermanOperaSinger* por compartirnos a éste poeta distinto, heróico, apasionado, como ningún otro!!!

-BRAVO POR SIEMPRE FRANCO CORELLI !!!

[JuillHope17]

seriously, you're all so stupid. you need to go by what singers said themselves. corelli and his colleagues all said he was dramatic, and if you listen to him (not here, because he's old here) you can totally tell he's a dramatic tenor. AND EVEN SO: the fach system is complete generalization. it really doesn't matter, but it's a pretty good (if faulty) classification system of voice types. if you read the new book on him, he purposely tried to stay as romantic as possible in repertoire choices.

[OettingerCroat]

i love how quickly he climbs up to the C... and his slightly slower vibrato by this age... I just love it!

[garyspatch]

This man is so unique

[pearlmuth3]

FOR ME BAUM WAS A SPINTO BUT DARK, HOWEVER HE COULD SING LYRIC ALSO, AH SI BEN MIO AND CHE GELIDA MORE LYRIC THEN YOU WOULD THINK, martinelli and lauri volpi, spinto /mc cracken spinto, del monaco a real dramatic, vickers was also spinto but that is argued so who knows for sure.

[pearlmuth3]

YOU ASKED ABOUT DRAMATIC slezak he was dramatic, Merrill said tucker was dramatic he was not he was Spinto, corelli also but a dramatic sound yes and maybe he was some say dramatic just opinion and some critics also say a spinto. I am not a fan so for me he was fine either way and in some roles that where dramatic. Melchior surely yes, Martinelli was a spinto --who cares if you like the voice anyhow it's great, Volker was another big one.

[GermanOperaSinger]

What would Tamagno be? Lauri Volpi was spinto in my opinion. Martinelli definitely spinto. For me Vickers was spinto with some dramatic qualities, Paoli sounded spinto to me (maybe because of bad recording?)...contemporary of Caruso but without Caruso's beauty. del Monaco was dramatic sounding to me, not sure about McCracken but he sounded dramatic to me, and what about Kurt Baum?

[phantom4087]

Tamagno was probably a Tenore Robusto. That's what I've read, and also, considering that all his recordings were done while he was retired, ill, and close to death, they still show a pretty big voice. I think we can assume that, in his prime, he was a big voice. Remember that Del Monaco's voice got smaller towards the end of his career. They may have even had similar techniques: Neither could sing piano either, so it wouldn't be surprising.

[JuillHope17]

blah blah blah blah blah, all this classification!!!! when you're a singer, you sing what is comfortable. grace bumbury was an amazing mezzo, but she sure as hell jumped on lady macbeth as soon as she could. jessye norman had a hue voice but she sang kundry, the countess in figaro, among many other random things. you don't settle by voice type (fach system wise), you do what is comfortable and sounds the best. seriously, all this debate over fachs when no one even cares, because they just SANG.

[phantom4087]

Yes: you are right in the sense that different voice types can sing different repertoire. However, this is usually because of incredible Bel Canto technique and style. However, these are things that Corelli lacked, and thus, he sounds boorish in the role. However, I love his Calaf.

[barryhawk23]

oops, sorry , I meant to agree with that - it should be a thumbs up

[adremoid]

No arguing. The finale "vi piaccia dir" is an absolute masterpiece.

[stevevandien]

Corelli sings this piece much more beautifully than any other Italian dramatic tenor (let us forget the fiction that he was merely spinto -- Conrad L. Osborne, the great critic of vocal music, called him "a genuine Italian dramatic tenor"). To my ears at least, however, Bjorling, Pavarotti, Gigli and relatively early Carrerras surpass him here, despite his free and ringing top tones -- those named beat him out for legato and lyricism.

[GermanOperaSinger]

And di Stefano. Peerce did a great Boheme with Toscanini in the 40s too.

I still stand by my belief that Franco was a spinto tenor...why do we need critic's quotes? Do we not have ears and brains so as to decide for ourselves.

[stevevandien]

I withdraw my "merely spinto" comment. I respect your belief that Corelli was a spinto, and hope you respect mine that he was a dramatic tenor. Let us not argue about this. We can both agree, I'm sure, that he was a MAJOR tenor. Can you recommend a Boheme recording with di Stefano? I've heard only his "Che gelida" -- if he recorded Rodolfo complete in his prime, it must have been splendid:). I do recall hearing the excellent Peerce/Toscanini Boehme about 25 years ago --

[GermanOperaSinger]

Of course, I respect your opinion...when it comes to these kinds of voices it is quite difficult to classify. My opinion is that he was a spinto voice with certain dramatic qualities...but lacked the thick baritonal timbre of a true dramatic (such as Melchior). But no doubt one of the greatest voices ever. He mentions in the interview with the bel canto society that he by this time tried to sing more lightly and freely, not the heavy dark sound he usually is attributed to.

[stevevandien]

Please forgive me if you have listed these before. But what tenors besides Melchior (with whom, by the way, I agree fully) do you consider dramatic? I don't want to argue here; I desire simply to learn your choices and why, to encourage thought and discussion:) -- Paoli? Del Monaco, Vickers, McCracken or Martinelli? What about Slezak or (in his mid-late career) Caruso?

[stevevandien]

I hope that I have made this clear, and please forgive me if I have not -- I appreciate and respect your judgment regarding these matters --

[tehen162]

Not only Osborne called him a dramatic tenor, but Pavarotti too. Pavarotti said about Corelli that he was the best dramatic tenor ever lived.

[alvarogm86]

to high for franco

[GermanOperaSinger]

It's not too high for him, the tessitura is obviously of no problem for him, but his technique is just not polished enough to sing this role very well.

[VinylToVideo]

A very odd rendition indeed. Still, I'd sooner listen to this than any of Domingo's renditions.

[pearlmuth3]

SOUNDS Odd holding that note, Any number of tenors could do that with ease of course, maybe he forgot the next word and needed time to catch up with the word, other renditions he gave where better then this one. I think he subbed for Domingo on that day, I remember a comment before the opera by Milt Cross. this was a met brdcst

[pearlmuth3]

Why at 4:17 does he hold it for 8 seconds? Very different.

[jontew]

Because he could. :)

[bloydaage]

@pearlmuth3: Hehehe. Good question. Silly answer: He may drown in Mimis eyes and forgot about the time... or just love hearing the sound of his own voice right there...

[pearlmuth3]

Prefer him in more dramatic roles, heard this at the time of the brdcst, around 1974, was he subbing for bergonzi? I seem to remember him being called to sing it at last moment.

[hisimperialmajesty]

Despite not being much of a lyric tenor, Corelli sings this role with a unique and wonderful combination of lyric and dramatic beauty.

[hethyapor]

this isn't transposed, begins and ends in the original Aflat major, and the final c is a c indeed-I can hear the absolute pitches, and this is quite correct.

I'm very thankful to YouTube for records like this, it's a great delight to meet the wonderful performance of Maestro Corelli and, of course, the other pieces of YouTube's treasury.

[Paniagua4ever]

Me considero un fan de Franco Corelli pero "Che gelida manina" no es lo que mejor le queda. En cambio Nessun Dorma, Torna Surriento, Vesti la giubba etc le quedan explosivas y espectaculares.

[GermanOperaSinger]

Indeed, he sounds awkward in this opera...but with such a voice, it's amazing he could pull it off.

[stevevandien]

On listening to it again, I think his voice sounds not just lighter, but thinner, and also somewhat short of breath, especially early on -- what do you think? I mean compared to his Manrico, Chenier and Turiddu in particular -- not that he's bad; it's just that he's not as good here as in the past --

[OettingerCroat]

this is pure C, i think the recording is just a bit feeble

[OettingerCroat]

wait... this recording is playing far too quickly, his voice DOES sound very strange

[GermanOperaSinger]

No, it is not playing quickly...the reason his voice sounds strange is because this was in the 1970s...can you figure out why?

By this time...one must remember, Corelli had neglected certain aspects of his old technique, which in turn resulted in a change of timbre. He no longer pulled the larynx as low as possible, therefore there was a loss of dark timbre in his voice, and a much lighter instrument was born. I personally like his old voice better, he sounds a little strange without it.

[OettingerCroat]

well here... turn your pitch up one semitone when listening to this video

put this behind the equal sign in your URL above: fsULB3v5Ga4

his vocal inflection and pronunciation are like 100% identical

[GermanOperaSinger]

It's similar...but you overlooked one thing...Freni doesn't gasp in the Hamburg version...and there is a very audible gasp from the soprano in this recording.

[OettingerCroat]

hmmm, true... you are right. maybe the gasp got removed or whatever, but you DO have a point.

[GermanOperaSinger]

Just listened to the Hamburg one again...they are as you say...almost identical...besides the gasp of course...it really is confusing.

[OettingerCroat]

you know what does it for me? the very fast and sudden way he works up to the high C. those are practically identical, yet extremely hard to do twice.

[salomenet]

Guys, to my ears it's definitively not the same as in Hamburg.

Notice for example "...è una notte di luna, e qui la luna l'abbiamo vicina" how he sings the two "lunas":

in Hamburg: first one "luna", second like "laona"

here: first one like "luona", second "luna"

[jontew]

There is NO DOUBT that is is a different recording. Listen to "tosto si dileguar." In the Hamburg recording he (1) sings 1.2 tone higher (inflection) on "tos" and sings the whole phrase in one breath. In this recording he sings "tos" on pitch and breaks after tosto (breath) and adds an aspirant before "si."

[jontew]

Edit: Meant to say "1/2 tone higher."

[OettingerCroat]

lol, sorry to keep beating this dead horse, but you were right: these are two different recordings. listen to how he sings "ma per fortuna è una notte di luna". here he stops after "fortuna," at the Hamburg one he doesn't.

but that's not to say this one hasn't been raised up by a semitone. Listen to the timbre here, it sounds tampered with and really weird.

[JuillHope17]

hamburg is a half step down, this is the original key. and in both, he's over 50. he was born in 21, and to be a dramatic singing rodolfo (a lyric) at 50 is saying something.

[OettingerCroat]

yah i'm aware of that, I had just said that they're different.

[stand1989]

I think the speed of the registration is not right, because Corelli's voice is really strange!

[janerike]

It`s the right key trough the whole aria, I`ve checked it on my piano.. It` supposed to be a c flat..

[GermanOperaSinger]

Thanks for the input.

[Jaaakob]

Che gelida manina tops with a C natural in the original. Many lower it a semi-tone, so that it becomes a B natural instead, but I'm pretty sure it would be a waste of time transposing it to make a C flat fit in...

[laonirica]

No hablo ingles, tuve que valerme de un traductor automático, por eso, no se entiende mi comentario,quise decir:NO EXISTE FILMACION ALGUNA DE ESTE RECUERDO HISTORICO?...NO HAY NUEVAS O INÉDITAS FILMACIONES DEL MAESTRO FRANCO CORELLI, QUE LO CONSABIDO DE TODOS LOS DIAS SUBIDO EN YOU TUBE?...

[OettingerCroat]

claro que los hay... mira mejor

[laonirica]

there is perhaps a small loss filming of this HISTORICAL MEMORY?,No More Documentation of film MAESTRO FRANCO CORELLI,wich is known uploaded on YOU TUBE?... ...

[GermanOperaSinger]

I'm sorry, I don't understand your comment. Do you mean someone has already uploaded a video of this performance on youtube? I have not seen it.

[anotherDido]

Yes, I think is from 1971 in Hamburg