Roberta Peters & Matteo Manuguerra "Che fia...Se tradirmi tu potrai" Jan.11.1971

René Seghers -- FRANCO CORELLI -- PRINCE OF TENORS

January 11. -- 21.1971: EDGARDO DI RAVENSWOOD

[...] In spite of all the beautiful music that DONIZETTI wrote for EDGARDO DI RAVENSWOOD in LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, it isn't the most logical choice for a tenor's tenth anniversary at an opera house. Neither BING nor CORELLI seems to have paid any attention to that in light of the upcoming WERTHER premiere. That debut received immense press attention, whereas the equally rare and unique CORELLI'S LUCIA debut went completely unpromoted. This was because CORELLI merely stepped in for four performances in a running production that had employed a string of tenors from SÁNDOR KÓNYA and NICOLAI GEDDA in early 1969 up to PLÁCIDO DOMINGO, LUCIANO PAVAROTTI, GIACOMO ARAGALL, and even RICHARD TUCKER in more recent months. The part of LUCIA likewise was tossed around among ROBERTA PETERS, ANNA MOFFO, JOAN SUTHERLAND, and GAIL ROBINSON. PETERS was very attractive and one of the more frequently used LUCIAS in this production and therefore seemed to provide a sound context for CORELLI'S first operatic role debut since 1964. The tenor's premiere nerves should easily have been calmed by the conductor, CARLO FRANCI. He was not only the son of the famous baritone BENVENUTO FRANCI, but also the very same conductor who had conducted CORELLI'S EDGARDO "rehearsal" in the SUPREMA CONFESSIONE film from 1956!
Despite the low-profile debut, the press had shown up in droves -- even the Italian press was there. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Surprisingly, PETERS proved to be a very pale LUCIA despite her experience, combining florid singing with a portrayal that was as imaginative as a potted plant. The press nearly annihilated her in the reviews, and except for BONALDO GIAIOTTI, the entire support cast failed, along with FRANCI, who gave one of the most uninspired readings of the score ever heard. Enter CORELLI! His arrival on the stage as EDGARDO was greeted by an unprecedented salvo of bravos. Opening-night nerves got the better of him, though, as was immediately apparent from his opening lines, where he assaulted his notes as if fighting for his life. EDGARDO was supposed to secretly approach LUCIA in the enemy castle's gardens; CORELLI would have alarmed the whole castle and been arrested on the spot. The one thing that this particular performance proved is that he could still sing like a hurricane: he transformed the sextet "CHE MI FRENA IN TAL MOMENTO" into a tenor solo with a chorus of five.[...]

Gaetano Donizetti's
- Lucia di Lammermoor -
New York, Metropolitan Opera House
regìa di Margherita Wallmann; staged by Fabrizio Melano; set and costume design Attilio Colonnello; choreography Alicia Markova
- Act II -
Lord Enrico Asthon - Matteo Manuguerra
Miss Lucia - Roberta Peters
Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood - FRANCO CORELLI
Lord Arturo Buclaw - Leo Goeke
Raimondo Bidebent - Bonaldo Giaiotti
Alisa - Carlotta Ordassy
Normanno - Rod MacWherter
Conductor - Carlo Franci
January 11.1971

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