The Very Best of Franco Corelli

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Free Music Notes for The Very Best of Franco Corelli

Free Music Review: In a class by himself
Hit: 5 Stars

Corelli was born in Ancona, was largely self-taught from recordings, and made his debut in Spoleto in 1951 as Don Jose. He rose rapidly in Italy and by 1954 opened the season with Maria Callas at La Scala, the greatest honor for an Italian opera singer and quite an achievement for so inexperienced a tenor. He had a major career at La Scala and in Italy in the 1950s. He made his Metropolitan debut in 1961 as Manrico, became a favorite, and remained there to 1974. As The Metropolitan Opera Encyclopedia says of him at the Met, "With a handsome spinto tenor voice and movie-star looks, Corelli won a wide public following, despite complaints from critics about what they perceived as indulgences of phrasing and expression." His final operatic performance was in 1976 in Torre del Lago as Rodolfo.

The voice itself was one of the glories of the generously endowed operatic scene of the 1950s and 1960s, and one of great tenor voices of the century. Herbert von Karajan said of Corelli, "A voice of heroic power, yet with great beauty of tone; darkly sensuous, mysteriously melancholic . . . but above all, a voice of thunder and lightning, fire and blood." Harold C. Schonberg, senior music critic of the New York Times, reviewing Corelli's Metropolitan debut in 1961, noted that his voice "has something of an exciting animal drive about it, and when Corelli lets loose, he can dominate an ensemble," and later described his voice as "a force of nature, an act of God, the vocal equivalent of an earthquake, volcano or hurricane." The distinguished musicologist Paul Henry Lang writing in the New York Herald-Tribune called Corelli "a latter-day Caruso." Alan Rich of the New York Herald-Tribune wrote of him, "There is no tenor in modern times, Italian or otherwise, whose voice rings out with greater vibrancy, whose every tone carries with it emotion at white heat. The sounds he makes, seemingly without effort, are dazzlingly bright, urgent, and communicative." Since Corelli's retirement we have heard nothing remotely like him, and those of us who know his voice (and Bjorling's and Bergonzi's) can perhaps be pardoned for finding the "three tenors" so popular in recent years somewhat underwhelming in comparison.

Corelli began his recording career with the Italian label Cetra, for whom he recorded several recitals and a complete Aida monaurally (1956-1959). From 1960 on he recorded for the major classical labels, and his complete operas are to be found on Decca/London (Tosca, Faust), RCA (Carmen), DGG (Il Trovatore), and EMI (as well as many pirated live performances on various pirate labels). But his real recording home was EMI, for whom he made complete studio recordings of Norma, Il Trovatore, Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Andrea Chenier, Turandot, and Romeo et Juliette, as well as recitals of Italian tenor arias, Neapolitan songs, and sacred songs and arias--all of which are represented in this generous collection. The 32 selections in this well-chosen and well-filled two-CD collection (75:37 and 76:57), all from Corelli's EMI studio recordings of the 1960s (from 1960 to 1968), are an excellent overview of this exciting singer, representing him in his prime and in his most famous roles.

Despite the presence in this collection of selections by Handel, Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, it would be a mistake to assume that Corelli was any sort of bel canto stylist; much as I like Corelli (and to make use of an old pun), I have to admit that he was more an exponent of the "can belto" school. There is not a lot of variety in his singing, not much in the way of expressive shading (on the other hand, we don't normally expect these qualities from a tenore di forza, and Corelli's only real competitor as a tenore di forza, Mario del Monaco, had even less of them). He tends to treat whatever he is singing in pretty much the same way, and although he provides an occasional impressive messa di voce, he tends always to sound like a full-blooded Italian tenor singing Italian opera of the Verdi/Puccini/verismo period, even when he is singing Bizet, Gounod, Massenet, Handel, Schubert, Rossini, Bellini, or Donizetti. Never a cool, detached singer, he brings his own brand of gutsy Italianate passion and intensity to whatever he sings.

He was at his best in the heavier Italian roles, like Radames, Manrico, and Don Alvaro (unfortunately he never made a studio recording of La Forza del Destino). Many regretted that he never essayed Otello; he certainly had the right voice for it, but seemed reluctant to tackle the role. He was easily the greatest Calaf (in Turandot) of his era (or since); his performances with Birgit Nilsson in this opera were prime attractions of the Met during the Bing reign in the 1960s. He was also the best Andrea Chenier of his era (or since). Andrea Chenier is a tenor's opera if ever there was one, and this collection generously includes all four tenor arias plus the final duet; you will never hear the Improvviso more heroically declaimed and thrillingly sung than it is here. Perhaps the least successful of his roles here is his Romeo (in which you can sample his poor French and his unidiomatic way with French opera). If you like Neapolitan songs, his version of Core n'grato has never been equaled, a prodigious outpouring of bronzen tone.

There is not a tenor voice in the world today that can compare with this one. I urge you not to miss it.

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