Franco Corelli

Courtesy Harmonie Autographs and Music, Inc., NY

Courtesy Harmonie Autographs and Music, Inc., NY

I wish to thank Daniele Godor for the picture with the car.

Franco Corelli sings Carmen: Il fior che avevi a me tu dato

During a performance of Carmen, sung in French in Italy, Corelli sings La fleur in Italian and gets audience disapproval.

Franco Corelli sings La Gioconda: Cielo e mar

In RA format

Franco Corelli sings Silenzio cantatore & Tu ca nun chiagne

In RA format

Franco Corelli sings I puritani: A te, o cara

In RA format

Franco Corelli sings Andrea Chénier: Sì, fui soldato

In RA format

Joint interwiew with Franco Corelli and Birgit Nilsson; at the end, Corelli sings L'ultima canzone, and Nilsson sings Wien, Wien, nur du allein

Franco Corelli sings Tosca: E lucevan le stelle (2)

In RA format

Here some operatic idiots tried to cause trouble during this aria and the entire evening.

Franco Corelli sings Tosca: E lucevan le stelle (1)

In RA format

The lengthy applause is cut in this version

Franco Corelli sings Les huguenots: Bianca al par

Franco Corelli sings Les huguenots: Stringe il periglio, with Giulietta Simionato

Franco Corelli sings Norma: Meco all'altar & Me protegge

In RA format

Franco Corelli sings Turandot: Nessun dorma (1)

Franco Corelli sings Turandot: Nessun dorma (2)

In RA format

Franco Corelli sings Il trovatore: Di quella pira

I heard through a friend that a person in Milan who went to Corelli's funeral, said that only two hundred people were there, and she found out about it by listening to the radio, that announced it only two hours before the fact. Nothing from La Scala. No music of any importance at the funeral except for some terrible organist there who played junk music. Hardly anything on the TV either. Media has been rubbish for so long, why should we be surprised?
It is sad that incredible artists who gave people so much joy, voices of the century who offered up their entire lives, are just ignored and forgotten.
When Gayarre, the great Spanish tenor died, thousands of people attended the funeral, all the streets were closed in Madrid and with no internet, radio and TV, the news came out rapidly among the media of those days.
It is strange! Two well known tenors and two Francos (Corelli and Bonisolli) depart at the same time. Don't expect the big names (great tenors) to come out publicly with some nice words. That's how it is. No sensitivity nor respect. Always a feud and a perpetual rivalry.

I wish to thank Tom Silverbörg for the recordings (Gioconda, Silenzio cantatore/Tu ca nun chiagne, Andrea Chénier, Huguenots, Norma).

I wish to thank Jacques Franken for the recording (Puritani).

More Corelli is to be found in Daniele Godor's article on Verdi singing.

Repertory
Carmen – Spoleto, Teatro Nuovo, 26 August 1951
Giulietta e Romeo – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 31 January 1952
Adriana Lecouvreur – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 8 May 1952
Boris Godunov – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 14 December 1952
Enea – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 11 March 1953
Norma – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 9 April 1953
Guerra e pace – Firenze, Teatro Comunale, 26 May 1953
Pagliacci – Roma, Terme di Caracalla, 2 July 1953
Aida – Ravenna, Open air, 12 September 1953
Romulus – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 28 January 1954
Don Carlo – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 4 March 1954
Ifigenia in Aulide – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 17 April 1954
Agnese di Hohenstaufen – Firenze, Comunale, 6 May 1954
Tosca – San Remo, Teatro delle Palme, 27 July 1954
La vestale – Milano, Scala, 7 December 1954
La fanciulla del West – Venezia, La Fenice, 26 January 1955
Giulio Cesare – Roma, Teatro dell'Opera, 26 December 1955
Fedora – Milano, Scala, 21 May 1956
Andrea Chénier – Napoli, San Carlo, 3 March 1957
Simon Boccanegra – Lisboa, S. Carlos, 25 April 1957
Khovanshchina – Lisboa, S. Carlos, 3 May 1957
La forza del destino – Napoli, San Carlo, 15 March 1958
Turandot – Pisa, Verdi, 12 April 1958
Il pirata – Milano, Scala, 19 May 1958
Il trovatore – Bologna, Comunale, 6 November 1958
Eracle – Milano, Scala, 29 December 1958
Ernani – Milano, Scala, 25 February 1959
Poliuto – Milano, Scala, 7 December 1960
La battaglia di Legnano – Milano, Scala, 7 December 1961
La Gioconda – New York, Met, 9 March 1962
Gli ugonotti – Milano, Scala, 28 May 1962
Cavalleria rusticana – Minneapolis, Northrop Auditorium, 17 May 1963
La bohème – New York, Met, 29 February 1964
Roméo et Juliette – Philadelphia, Academy of Music, 14 April 1964
Lucia di Lammermoor – New York, Met, 11 January 1971
Werther – New York, Met, 27 February 1971
Macbeth – Memphis, Municipal Auditorium, 15 May 1973

Reference: Giancarlo Landini Franco Corelli, l'uomo, la voce, l'arte, Idea Books, 2010

Reference: René Seghers Franco Corelli – Prince of Tenors, Amadeus Press, 2008

Reference: Marina Boagno Corelli, a man, a voice, Baskerville Publishers, Inc., 1996

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