Part II - Your Favorites: FRANCO CORELLI

THIS PART IS FOR YOUR FAVORITES! Please discuss this artist with your comments!

Franco Corelli, Tenor (1921-2003)

Umberto Giordano - Andrea Chenier
Colpito qui m´avete... Un di all´azzuro spazio (Improviso)
Conducted by Gabriele Santini
(Recorded 1963)

My personal opinion: On an old record-sleeve I found reviewer´s words about Franco Corelli: "Maybe his directness in his renditions scared some friends of pure Belcanto!" "Directness" is a hilarious understatement for one of the loudest tenor voices the world ever knew! In "Opera on Record", John Higgins wrote, that the 1964-recording of "Il Trovatore" was made with an unbalanced cast, personalized with Franco Corelli, who mixed brilliant high notes with strange sounds, and it would have been better, these sounds never had pass by the studio´s door. And a famous mezzo-soprano answered the question, what she most remembers of her performances with Corelli: "He was loud!". Christa Ludwig, who recorded with Callas and Corelli "Norma" was asked about Callas, and she answered: "Callas was polite and cooperative, the diva was... Corelli!" For John Steane, Corelli was the most exciting tenor after Giacomo Lauri-Volpi. I agree, Corelli was exciting, but for me it was an absurd and grotesque excitement. Just as Mario del Monaco, Corelli was a master of "Forte" and "Fortissimo", without any intuition for the musical line. One will never find subtle nuances, shades of color and finesse in his recordings. The voice always sounded like a trumpet: An everlasting tinny fanfare. Downright ridiculous how he accentuated his phrasing with pure sharpness. One reviewer wrote, that "Corelli´s singing is a strange mixture of vehemence and tearfulness!" Corelli was a "Tenore di forza", and sometimes he raged himself out in the repertory of a "Tenore di grazia". He sang Roméo with the power of Radames (poor little Mirella Freni!). Kenneth Furie in "Opera on record": "To term his french pronunciation funny is a mild understatement..."
Franco Corelli mainly was an autodidact (A pupil of Arturo Melocchi, the voice teacher of del Monaco, looked after him) and gave his debut 1951 as Don José. Three years later he came to Scala Milan (as Licinio with Callas in "La Vestale"). His good looks and his imposing stage presence thrilled audiences, and he became a favorite - although his loud and powerful voice was full of flaws. In the 1950s, after Gigli and Schipa a new kind of stage-hero was demanded - a musical pendant to cinema-icons just as Robert Taylor or Burt Lancaster: Masculine and vibrant. The quality of a voice became an irrelevant fact for tenors (and good singers like Bruno Prevedi and Giuseppe Campora were overshadowed. In Europe, even Jussi Björling was overshadowed by del Monaco). Well, what about Franco Corelli´s most famous roles, Calaf and Andrea Chenier? In "Turandot" he was rough and loud as usual, but a lot less vulgar than del Monaco (with Birgit Nilsson he changed the impressive duet in the riddle-scene into a duel). His Chenier is defiant and confident (1963 under Santini with Antonietta Stella and Mario Sereni) - obviously the Giordano-hero was his best role (Anyway I prefer the unknown Luigi Marini). But Corelli as Werther, Roméo or Don José with his sharp cutting voice was miscasted. For french roles, a tenor needs "Mezza voce" and "Messa di Voce" - a technique I´ve never experienced in earnest with Corelli. For all those who loved a stentorian voice, Franco Corelli was the right man. A singer for gourmands, not for gourmets. And with 70 votings and place 3 it´s evident, Corelli polarized the audience - as yesterday so today. Legends never die!

THE COMPLETE OVERVIEW: GO TO ALL SINGERS IN THIS LIST
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBsScnQWVlU

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[caribolas]

"For french roles, a tenor needs 'Mezza voce' and 'Messa di Voce'"

hmm.. I sense amateurish assessments on singing.

[100Singers]

Please, give us an explanation why you think so... And I would be glad, if you explain the difference between "Mezza voce" and "Messa di Voce" to the YouTube-Audience....

[caribolas]

concisely, "mezza voce" is singing with your folds not fully engaged, producing a softer, airy sound. "Messa di voce" is just an advanced exercise to find the correct placement and improve breath management. Sorry for the caustic comment, but it's just a bit annoying, the whole judgment seems quite half-baked for such project.

[100Singers]

This project is for everyone who loves Opera and Singers, it´s not exclusively for "connoisseurs". So I tried whenever possible to avoid typical (most italian) terms only an educated audience understand. It may be, that sometimes you may find an amateurish phrasing, but I always prefer clear and simple words :-) Mike

[caribolas]

I forgot to conclude the last post: both terms refers to Corelli's control of dynamics, which is something we can't argue over since is too well known.

I didn't mean to nitpick on italian terms.

[100Singers]

"Corelli´s control of dynamics... is something we can´t argue over since is too well known". Please bear with me that there is nothing left for me to say. Mike

[Labienus]

I'm a bit confused comments to the right are from the person who put this recording here? If so they are really ridiculous and inaccurate.

I heard Corelli live many times in 12 different roles sure he had his less better night like every singer had short comings but over 40 yrs. ago I knew I was witnessing a legend in the making

Power the soaring high notes were only part of thepackage color shadings morbidezza diminuendi soft sound intuitive phrasing also the figure on stage too much

[1993MGB]

If Corelli had no "mezza di voce", then his live Parma 1967 "E lucevan le stelle" is only in my mind. Corelli is one of the most passionate and tender tenors ever, he's not only "stentoreous"

[ruffomaldito]

Language, pronunciation, technique and musical lines aside, there´s no tenor, past or present, with such power and captivating prescence as Corelli. One may well stand in awe and wonder as to how such voice can emanate from a human throat. (I just hope he never cracked when singing "Vittoria!")

[crapfacejoe]

@100Singers Till this day Del Monaco and Corelli overshadow the likes of Bjorling. A powerful dramatic voice counts for something in opera. Technique is important and necessary but to master it religiously is only necessary for tenors who lack a powerful voice such as Bjorling, who has a good voice to put you to sleep with.

[jarto10]

is he has no clue about controlling his voice,how is he the only tenor able to sing celeste aida?(considered one of the most difficult,neither bjorling nor wunderlich could sing it)

[BetterLate5]

where is this review by mike that everyone is referring to?i really am curious to read it-sounds like excitng stuff.

[BetterLate5]

where is this review by mike that everyone is referring to?

[francesca7564]

Voilà qui s'appelle chanter !!!

Merci pour le post .

[ididete]

And if you are truly interested in hearing a contemporary soprano who could have been an equal to Corelli, but who doesn't have an international career precisely because people dislike huge voices with all the necessary "heaviness" that comes with them, check out Ofelia Hristova, a not so well known but WONDERFUL soprano from Bulgaria. She seems to have accomplished the impossible--singing piani very often with a HUGE voice.

[ididete]

@100Singers that singing a piano of a lyric soprano will cost me loss of breath control. Now Franco said in one interview that if he could go back and build his career from the beginning he indeed would try to sing more piani, like Gigli, but then he said that he is not sure if his breathing support would be able to still be there. If you have never been a singer and never endowed with a huge voice you can't understand this.