Werther franco corelli biography

Then it was time for popular music, which then meant hit songs by an international star appreciated by everybody between 18 and The singer was Vico Torriani, a now almost forgotten Swiss full of vivacity and with even a little bit of vocal talent. I honestly cannot say I remember a thing of the concert up to that moment. By 10 p. I was in bed as that was the normal hour for 14 years old guys before another school day.

But my father softly called my name to know if I was still awake and then invited me to come down for another half hour as the concert was to close with the classical part. The young promising tenor was announced and sang an aria from Tosca. I do not know if it was Recondita armonia or E lucevan le stelle probably the last one as the archives only mention Tosca.

Next was an aria from La Favorita. Same problem. Spirto gentil or Una vergine? Probably the latter as he had recorded it for Cetra. In my reminiscences the tenor sounded like the magnificent youthful Cetra-recording of I was to discover one year later. I was not the only one who was flabbergasted. The concert took place at the Groot Auditorium of the World Fair; a house explicitly built for the Fair and therefore demolished some months later Only the Atomium and the American Pavilion, later transformed into a TV-studio where I would often work, are the survivors of the Fair.

The audience, all dignitaries and their wives were, as is usual, rather cold during the whole evening; that means till the moment the promising tenor opened up. The applause was huge and after Nessun dorma the house came down. The guests thought they would listen to a good Italian tenor and they unexpectedly got the most spectacular post war tenor voice.

The responsible producer told me later every artist was warned that no encore could be given to avoid friction and jealousy and to finish the concert in time. So in a kind of impromptu moment Franco Corelli agreed to sing Granada with piano accompaniment only as there were no orchestral scores available. Many years later I would often speak with Etienne Vanneste, the producer of the operatic part of the concert.

Though he later boasted he had succeeded in luring Corelli to Flemish Radio, he admitted that at the time he had not a very good idea who the tenor was. That was quite normal. There was no internet and international communication about opera was rare. Del Monaco, Di Stefano and even Tagliavini were out of the question: too expensive as radio could only pay small fees.

So the Antwerp impresario probably contacted Bonardi or Bauer and asked for a good strong tenor to contrast with the female soloist Hazel Scott.

Werther franco corelli biography

I got a vague answer. At the time I believed him but when I became myself a TV-producer with some radio programmes as well I knew he had not been very truthful. As the concert went live, there is even the possibility no recording was made. Upon retiring in , he became a famed voice teacher, though he briefly came out of retirement to sing a few concerts in and He died in , leaving a legacy as one of the greatest singers of all time.

He was particularly venerated for the intensity in his singing as well as the perfect upper range and his ability to decrescendo from forte singing to very delicate sound. The next performance, on 21 January, after having done Andrea Chenier 14 January and Ernani 16 January at the Met in between, he sounded no better than the previous night and abandoned the performance after 1st act and was replaced by tenor John Alexander.

Yet he was utterly triumphant on 27 February for his debut as Werther at the Met, opposite Christa Ludwig, and all following performances were sold out, even though critics might have been ambigious. Manager Bing, however, who partly encouraged Corelli to take on the French romantic repertory, contrary to the tastes of ardent Corelli fans, was thrilled, just as he had been with Romeo et Juliette autumn The Werther sucess continued in , and the last role he added to his Met repertory was a surprising Macduff in Macbeth, which he performed for the first time on May 15 Corelli himself was contemplating the idea, but plans were postponed and the opportunity never showed.

Opera perfomances were now getting scant, and for the most part he sang in Turandot at the Met during For a whole year Corelli did not perform and when he reappeared it was to be his very last performance in a complete opera: He sang the role of Rodolfo at the Torre de Lago under Nino Sanzogno, and Adriana Maliponte was his Mimi. Corelli now officially retired from the stage, sensing that he was no longer able to to give the audience what they had become so accustomed to expect from him.

Later his voice did perhaps regain its bloom, but Corelli had now grown comfortable off-stage and did not return, except for 5 last recitals in , one in June in New Jersey, April in Newark, San Diego in May, Holmdel New Jersey in July and finally Stockholm in November, participating in a Gala Concert in honour of Swedish soprano Birgit Nilsson.

Instead he turned to vocal teaching, together with his wife Loretta, and held occasional Master Classes. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Italian opera singer — Biography [ edit ]. Early life and education: — [ edit ]. Early career: — [ edit ]. The Metropolitan Opera years: — [ edit ]. Later life: — [ edit ]. Critical reception [ edit ].

Repertoire [ edit ]. Selected recordings [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Opera News. Retrieved 16 May The New York Times. Franco Corelli, Prince of Tenors. Hal Leonard Corp. ISBN Archived from the original PDF on 8 January Lyric Opera Company : Retrieved 31 October Bibliography [ edit ]. External links [ edit ]. Authority control databases.

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