by Dick Owen, Daily News, October 14, 1962
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*Comment on Facebook*FRANCO CORELLI TO STAR AT THE MET OPERA'S OPENING TOMORROW
FOR MOST OPERA stars, the road to the Metropolitan Opera House is a long and arduous journey via insignificant concert halls and small opera houses of Europe.
But Franco Corelli, the handsome Italian tenor who will have the coveted honor of opening the current Metropolitan Opera season tomorrow night, literally began at the top. What is more, he is a self-taught artist. His co-stars tomorrow will be Eileen Farrell, soprano, and Robert Merrill, baritone, both Americans.
Corelli, born in the Adriatic seaport of Ancona 36 [41] years ago, was a draftsman when he first began singing for his own amusement and for friends. They quickly realized his potentialities and urged him to study. But his first acquaintanceship with teachers discouraged him. He found that he was losing his natural ability to hit high notes. Eventually he discontinued the studies. For years he had been listening to recordings of great singers of the past and he went back to that method of instruction. Singing is an art which is largely imitative and Corelli felt, apparently correctly, that he would learn more from the recordings than from a pedantic voice instructor.
"Franco Corelli as he will appear in "Andrea Chenier" tomorrow." 📷 by Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler (replacement photo from the same shoot as the original that came with the article)
In 1952 [1951] Corelli made his debut at Spoleto in the role of Don Jose in "Carmen" and became an immediate success. In 1954 he was accorded the honor of opening Milan's famed La Scala. This year, in addition to opening the Met's season here, he will again sing at the La Scala first night on Dec. 7.
"Franco Corelli as he will appear in "Andrea Chenier" tomorrow." 📷 by Harry Warnecke and Gus Schoenbaechler (replacement photo from the same shoot as the original that came with the article)
Corelli is a 200-pound six-footer, with a voice that matches his large frame. His high C's are tremendously powerful yet he can sing with a tenderness capable of melting the most stubborn heroine to tears. He is also quite moving when singing Neapolitan songs such as those he recorded recently for Angel records. But his real love is serious music. To this he brings intense concentration, avoiding all outside interests when confronted with musical problems. He will stay indoors for weeks until he has mastered a new role.
Offstage, however, Corelli is like a schoolboy on a holiday. "I love the friendship and warmth of America," he says. "The audiences here are so sympathetic and appreciative." He is devoted to his wife, Loretta, a singer to whom he was married three [one] years ago. They have no children.
He is a camera bug and spends large sums for the latest in photo gadgetry. At his home in Milan he gets his kicks by driving one of his four autos around the countryside. Early this year he and his wife were almost killed in an auto accident in which their car was demolished. Both were injured. Corelli suffered multiple fractures but he is now quite recovered, his voice unimpaired.
At first meeting he appears to be reserved. But actually he is a man who readily offers friendship and wants to have it returned. Once he is relaxed he reveals his love of nonsense. In Italy he is regarded as a "comico." His favorite pastime after auto driving and singing, he says with a grin, is "amore" — love making, a remark his wife found highly amusing.
Corelli doesn't speak much English. His wife acts as his interpreter. However, he seems to make himself understood to people he likes and that means almost everyone he meets. He is likely to stay popular for many years to come, that is, if he can resist that urge for fast driving.
"Tenor Corelli appears in a serious mood as he poses with his wife, Loretta. Actually, he is serious only when he is working.”
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