Franco Corelli

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franco Corelli (born April 8, 1921 as Dario Franco Corelli in Ancona , † October 29, 2003 in Milan ) was an Italian opera singer , spinto tenor and dramatic tenor of the Italian and French operatic repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries. Corelli became known with roles by Verdi , Puccini , Giordano , Leoncavallo , Ciléa , Bizet and Gounod .

Life

Dario Franco Corelli was born the son of the head of a logistics department at the shipyard in Ancona, the youngest of three children. His grandfather Augusto, at that time the father of five children, swapped his bourgeois existence as a shipyard worker, who worked his way up to a management position, for a passionate profession and became, at the age of 38, an opera tenor, with the consent of his wife. The next generation produced choristers and baritones. Corelli's parents remained bourgeois and, in connection with her son Franco, opposed a career as a singer. Franco Corelli initially followed his father's will and enrolled in 1940 to study marine engineering at the University of Bologna . At the same time he wanted to become an opera singer, following the example of his grandfather, which Corelli was temporarily denied by wartime , military service and the post-war period. Corelli, who occasionally attracted attention with his beautiful, untrained natural voice, finally decided in 1946 to study singing at the Rossini Conservatory in Pesaro , which he finished again shortly after starting his studies because problems with high notes had arisen. The tenor classification there was not positive for his voice development, so he returned to the baritone register.

During his engineering studies, the desire to study singing with the baritone Arturo Melocchi , the then singing teacher of the tenor Mario Del Monaco in Pesaro, grew . However, private circumstances only made it possible to take short singing lessons from a friend and Melocchis. After insight into this vocal technique Corelli decided against a continuation and formed initially self-taught on. The listening experience of his own sound recordings in those early years shocked Corelli and prompted him to intensify his studies to improve his vocal position. After an audition with Beniamino Gigli in 1950, he expressed his conviction and assured Corelli that he would have a great future as a singer if he studied seriously. The special vocal characteristics of the following tenor models, which he had carefully studied, first Enrico Caruso , then Aureliano Pertile , Beniamino Gigli, Giacomo Lauri-Volpi and Miguel Fleta , became the measure of his perfection as a singer.

After his early stage farewell in 1976, Corelli worked as a voice diagnostician and singing teacher in master classes and as a juror in competitions. Corelli died on October 29, 2003 in Milan of complications from a stroke.

Singing career

In 1951 Corelli made his debut as Don José in Carmen at the 5th Festival of the Sperimentale of young up-and-coming opera singers at the Teatro Communale in Spoleto , where he received a 3-month rehearsal and performance of the main tenor role of Don José as first prize. Corelli himself reported that - without prior professional training - he was practically screaming out high notes. In 1952, the appearances in Zandonais Giulietta e Romeo , followed by Adriana Lecouvreur as Maurizio in Rome in the same year, showed the consequences of vocal overstrain, which required professional singing technique. During these productions in Rome Corelli met his future wife, manager and coach Loretta di Lelio . Loretta di Lelio promoted Franco Corelli's career and life and also familiarized him with the basics of strict Belcanto school. Corelli systematized his singing technique. Since she herself came from an artistic environment, she created the artistic basis for her husband's career. Loretta di Lelio ended her own soprano career in 1959 in favor of her partner. She accompanied Franco Corelli on his engagements since the 1950s and became his wife in 1961.

Shortly before the start of his engagement at the MET in New York, Franco Corelli began his intensive collaboration with the bel canto tenor Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, and from 1958 to 1962 he took the finishing touches on his bel canto technique and interpretation as an Italian opera tenor . Corelli's vocal achievements, his vocal colors and shades became more subtle, sensitive, passionately inspired, dynamically differentiated and colorful in the bel canto design (audible in the live recordings since 1961). Corelli's demands on his voice and himself grew with his knowledge of vocal performance, which was generally associated with a high degree of goal orientation and self-critical consideration - this brought his voice world renown and finally, in the early 1960s, his world career. In addition to his voice, Corelli became known for his stage presence and the passionate charisma of his dramatic tenor.

In 1954 Franco Corelli sang José for the first time at La Scala in Milan and at the Hamburg State Opera . 1961–1973 he was a permanent member of the ensemble at the MET , New York under Rudolf Bing , where Corelli's world career began. Here Corelli sang 275 performances within 10 years, especially the main roles: the title role of Chenier in the opera Andrea Chénier by Giordano , Enzo in Ponchielli's La Gioconda , Maurizio in Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur , Canio in Leoncavallos Pagliacci , Romeo in Gounods Roméo et Juliette .

During his entire career Corelli had to struggle with stage fright, but this did not affect his singing performance and remained hidden from the audience. For this reason Corelli withdrew from the stage in 1976 at the age of 55 - with his farewell performance in Torre del Lago in the role of Rodolfo in La Bohème by Puccini .

Career stations

Well-known singing partners in the Italian field

The following games have been released on audio media, including: a. to be highlighted: Kalaf, Cavaradossi, Andrea Chenier, Pollione, Don José, Radames, Romeo, Faust, Manrico, Rodolfo and Canio.

Games, performed repertoire and stations

1952–1960 (Italy and Europe)

Corelli gave 473 performances at opera houses in Rome , Trieste , Sanremo , Turin , Florence , Bozen , Naples , Spoleto , Ravenna , Piacenza , Modena , Parma , Pavia , Bologna , Milan , Rovigo , Catania , Venice , Bergamo , Verona , Pisa , Lisbon ; Madrid , Bilbao , Vienna , Geneva , Lausanne , Nice , London , Wiesbaden , Stuttgart , Munich , Monte-Carlo , including 30 main roles in the operas:

1961–1975 (international)

Corelli's singing career was at its peak in the early 1960s, with the main roles as Chénier in Andrea Chénier , Cavaradossi in Tosca , Canio in Pagliacci , Radames in Aida , Don José in Carmen , Manrico in Il trovatore , Kalaf, as Poliuto in Poliuto , Rodolfo in La Bohème and as Werther in Werther .

In addition to the 368 performances at the Metropolitan Opera under Rudolf Bing, Corelli had guest appearances in Washington DC , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Atlanta , St. Louis , Chicago , Minneapolis , Boston , San Francisco , Los Angeles , New Orleans , Miami , Detroit , Toronto , Lisbon , Barcelona , Paris , Vienna , Salzburg , Lugano , London , Berlin , Hamburg , Belgrade ; Venice , Verona , Milan , Naples , Rome , Tokyo , Osaka , Seoul , Manila and Hong Kong .

In 1976 Corelli gave his official farewell performance as Rudolfo in La Bohème in Torre del Lago .

Corelli's voice characteristics

Corelli's round, sonorous voice with tonal brilliance and radiance (Italian "lo squillo") shows vocal attributes according to of the Italian bel canto opera repertoire of the 19th and 20th centuries. Vocal type, vocal color, vocal temperament, appearance, great charisma and presence matched the operatic roles of the youthful hero and lover, the dramatic tenor of Italian and French opera. The singing performance of his scenic opera appearances exists in CD-Audio documentation of analogue live recordings, i. H. without the aid of digital amplification.

meaning

Even before his systematic vocal training in the 1950s, Corelli stood out for the special characteristics of the voice characteristics, especially the vocal timbre, which anticipated Corelli's later development. The author René Seghers writes:

"[...] of certain vocal characteristics that herald the later Corelli [...] metallic sheen, a shimmer of dark copper tone in the middle register and a solid, physical foundation on which the voice can be completely built."

- René Seghers

At the end of the vocal fine-tuning with the bel canto tenor Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, Corelli met the conductor Herbert von Karajan in 1962 , who commented on Corelli's voice with the following quote:

“His voice has heroic power, but also great beauty in tone; it is dark in its sensuality, mysteriously melancholy, but above all a voice full of thunder and lightning, fire and blood. "

- Herbert von Karajan

In Corelli's obituary in the Guardian's World News on the death of Franco Corelli on Friday, October 31, 2003 - writes the English music critic, author and musicologist with a focus on opera Alan Blyth , who saw Corelli live:

"Franco Corelli - tenor with a voice of extraordinary sonic ability who sang with Callas" [...] One of the most exciting tenors of the 20th century, Franco Corelli, who died at the age of 82, had a voice that was as pleasant as his Appearance. [...] There was a tenor with a timbre that penetrated every corner of the theater. His instrument [...] was outstanding and capable of rousing audiences with storms of enthusiasm. "

No other tenor would have possessed the voice of the exciting sonority of a Corelli. [continue with a quote in the quote]:

“As a New York review wrote: 'There is no tenor far and wide with the vocal power, perseverance and downright animal attraction of a Corelli' […] And this vocal quality was combined with an assessable intelligence. He sang with a great style, as demonstrated by the early 1950s and 1960s recordings. "

- Alan Blyth : The Guardian

This obituary contains the following Corelli commentary, which proves Corelli's attitude towards his voice:

“I see notes in my dreams. I do not rest because I always strive to work on myself. I have 3 months of complete freedom a year. I use them to ensure my singing technique: without them, I am nothing. "

- Alan Blyth : The Guardian

Record productions

Audio production, mostly live recordings, of over 50 albums, including brilliant roles such as: Kalaf, Cavaradossi, Andrea Chenier, Pollione, Don José, Radames, Romeo, Faust, Manrico, Rodolfo, Canio.

Film and video production

Corelli worked under the stage direction of Luchino Visconti in the film genre preparatory productions at the Scala . In 1956 he was part of the cast of the opera film Tosca with Maria Caniglia a . a. There are also numerous video documents u. a. on Youtube.

Audio samples

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b René Seghers: Franco Corelli - "Prince of tenors" . In: Opera Biography . No. 17 . Amadeus Press, New York 2008, ISBN 978-1-61774-684-0 .
  2. ^ A b c Alan Blyth: Franco Corelli - Tenor with a voice of exceptional vibrancy who sang with Callas. The Guardian, October 31, 2003, accessed August 2, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Marina Boagno: Franco Corelli - i suoi personaggi . S. 21, line 8 .
  4. ^ Giancarlo Landini: Franco Corelli - "l'uomo, la voce, l'arte" . Idea Books, Viareggio 2010, ISBN 978-88-88033-68-6 .
  5. ↑ Marina Boagno: Franco Corelli - I suoi personaggi . Azzali Editore, Parma, ISBN 88-88252-15-0 .
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g Marina Boagno: Franco Corelli - Un uomo, una voce . With a complete, chronological listing of the discography and a detailed list: a. Repertoire, pp. 187-188; b. Debuts, pp. 189-192; c. Opera appearances / cast list / concerts, pp. 193–266; d. Discography, pp. 269-287; e. Videoproduktionen, pp. 293-294; f. Bibliography, pp. 301-303. Azzali Editori, Parma 1990, ISBN 978-88-88252-42-1 .
  7. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 4, paragraph 2, line 10 .
  8. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 3, paragraph 2, line 4 .
  9. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 3, paragraph 2, line 11 .
  10. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 29, paragraph 1, line 6 .
  11. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 20, paragraph 2, lines 8-12 .
  12. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 33-35 .
  13. ↑ Marina Boagno: Franco Corelli - i suoi personaggi . S. 14, paragraph 2, lines 3-4 .
  14. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 38-39 .
  15. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 43, paragraph 3, lines 1-4 .
  16. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 42, paragraph 1, lines 4-6 .
  17. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 43, paragraph 3, line 6 .
  18. ^ A b René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 43 ff .
  19. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 56, line 4 .
  20. ^ Belcanto Society. Retrieved August 2, 2017 .
  21. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 53, paragraph 2, line 16 .
  22. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 55, lines 6-15, p. 56, lines 1-3 .
  23. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 61, lines 6-7 .
  24. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 145, below .
  25. ^ Giancarlo Landini: Franco Corelli - l'uomo, la voce, l'arte . S. 31, lines 16-19, p. 52, line 8 .
  26. ^ Giancarlo Landini: Franco Corelli - l'uomo, la voce, l'arte . S. 32, paragraph 2 .
  27. ^ Giancarlo Landini: Franco Corelli - l'uomo, la voce, l'arte . S. 31, lines 27-30 .
  28. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 153, line 6 and p. 250, paragraph 2, below .
  29. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 43, lines 5-9, p. 56, paragraph 1 .
  30. ^ Giancarlo Landini: Franco Corelli - l'uomo, la voce, l'arte .
  31. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 153 ff .
  32. ^ René Seghers: Franco Corelli - Prince of tenors . S. 487, lines 1–2 : "I'm a lion on stage, but before that… what a fear!"
  33. ↑ Guido Guerrini
  34. ^ Bill Park / Andreas Klatt: The Singers . DECCA, Hamburg 2001.
personal data
SURNAME Corelli, Franco
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Corelli, Dario (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian opera singer spinto tenor and dramatic tenor of the Italian and French operatic repertoire
DATE OF BIRTH April 8, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Ancona
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 2003
Place of death Milan