Franco Corelli - Vittoria, vittoria! - Live 1964

Franco Corelli sings Vittoria, vittoria! from act II of Puccini's Tosca live, Birgit Nilsson is singing Tosca and George London Scarpia. This is from the Met's visit to Boston in 1964. Breathtaking B flat from Corelli here, I'm sure it would have been longer had the conductor not forced him to move along.

Live 1964 - Tosca - The Metropolitan opera orchestra conducted by Fausto Cleva.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• franco
• corelli
• birgit
• nilsson
• george
• london
• vittoria
• tosca
• italian
• tenor
• soprano
• baritone
• cavaradossi
• scarpia
• live
• mario

[GermanOperaSinger]

Don't think I've ever heard him hold this note shorter than 11 seconds. In fact it always turns out to be exactly 11 seconds. This one may have been longer if the conductor hadn't pushed him on...I personally consider the arietta following the Bb to be even more exciting than the actual note. He's always a little out of breath there, but anyone would be after a 11 second Bb. Great legendary singing, none like him today of course.

[Mooorhe]

I prefer the arietta to the high note as well, I think it's just wonderful when the tenor absolutely explodes, my favourite singer of the arietta is definitely Carreras.

However, my favourite part of this passage of music is actually when Cavaradossi croons 'sei tu?'. If done correctly, it can melt a heart, many tenors just say it, but it's when a tenor like di Stefano or Pavarotti sings that line with soul and lyrical beauty that I just become overwhelmed.

[pearlmuth3]

Yes he is singing tons in Europe he just did 8 shows in los angeles in tosca and is singing really heavier stuff like Boccenegra, Grimes, Queen of Spades, Hoffman, Juive etc. in Vienna where he lives and Germany. He is 58 years old now and has been singing opera in top houses since 1975 when he went in for Tucker when RT died in 1975 that was in Ohio and then in 1976 the met. 33 years is a lot of singing.

[Mooorhe]

Oh yes, I remember, someone said on YouTube that they are going to see him sing Manrico in 2009 somewhere in Europe; I'll have to try and get a ticket for it.

[pearlmuth3]

He yelled bravo it sounds like, Neil Shicoff at age 55 did the same thing but not quite as long, two seconds less and they yelled but when held forever it is a little strange, it's called milking the audience-- it was a great note for sure but many tenors if they wanted to be hammy could do it and off stage have but his sound of course on it was fantastic. Great voice yes.

[Mooorhe]

Does Shicoff still sing?

[laonirica]

Tosca never again have a Cavaradosi, as the Great FRANCO CORELLI!!!-Never!!!

Thanks!!!*Moorhe* for sharing it from youtube!!!

[leadoffeohippus]

Does anyone else agree with me that Tosca has the most incredible music of all operas?

[stevevandien]

Good grief. And some dingbats still maintain that Corelli lacked squillo.

[rem1736]

Youtube won't let me push the 'like' button as many times as I want to.

[sugarbist]

I like the timber of Corelli's voice.He doesn't sound as dark as he did on the studio recordings& he still young here, around 42 or so.

[8x8MaVerick8x8]

@Mooorhe Maybe this is dumb but I always thought it was an A?

[MariaCaIIas]

This is so hysterically funny, how old Fausto has had enough of Franco's obsession with high notes and hits the bit without waiting for Franco to finish! You can hear Franco catching his breath and jumping into the bit a tad too late with his "l'alba vindice apar..." LOL!!!!!!!!!!

God bless the souls of both!

[liEder89]

POTENZA!

[VivaMariaCallas]

@GermanOperaSinger He holds it for 'only' about 7 seconds in the 1965 Met performance with Callas, but I think that he probably held it shorter in deference to her.

[2591740]

corelli siempre seras lo mas grande para mi lo mas grande el mejor de la historia amo tu voz

[ElisabettaVS]

@ikmarchini because they don't want to interrupt the music, there is enough time to applaude at the end :) Different habits in Germany/USA/Italy for instance, all acceptable, but always different.

[ElisabettaVS]

@Mooorhe He does. I heard him in Tosca this year.