OGGI, August 1, 1972 — Interview by GABRIELLA PANIZZA, photos by SILBERG

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<aside> <img src="/icons/info-alternate_orange.svg" alt="/icons/info-alternate_orange.svg" width="40px" /> Many thanks to Irina Malinina for sharing this interview.

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"When I sing, first of all I want to satisfy myself, even if, as is logical, I sing for the audience. So it's not a matter of fearing the judgment of one or the other part of the audience; what I fear is Corelli's opinion of himself.”

MEETING FRANCO CORELLI WHO RETURNED TO ITALY TO SING "ERNANI" IN VERONA

" Everyone sings when they are happy," says the tenor, " while driving or shaving. For me, on the other hand, singing means unhappiness because I'm always afraid of making a mistake and I can't afford it: people expect me to be Franco Corelli every time " - " To save my voice I make a thousand sacrifices. Only one thing I do not give up: love " - " I am very vain. I take five minutes to shave, as many minutes to shower, but then I waste a lot of time choosing the right dress and harmonizing accessories “

Verona, July

In America they called Corelli the tenor with animalistic appeal because of his physical prowess, the sensuality of some of his tones, and his aggressive temperament. Tall, athletic, the beau of opera, he is a man with a complex personality, with multiple interests whose most authentic side few know. “People see us as distant," he says, “and do not know that we too are men, full of problems, anxieties, fears. Men who live the golden and terrible loneliness of the stage.”

Tell us, then, what is Franco Corelli like in reality?

An unhappy man.

And why?

Because I sing. You see, the odd thing? Everyone sings when they are happy, while shaving, driving the car, waiting for the girl's phone call. For me, on the other hand, singing is synonymous with unhappiness.

What is the source of this " unhappiness " of yours?

It comes from the fear of the unexpected. The accident is always lurking, all it takes is a badly caught breath, a trickle of saliva in the throat, and the " crack ", the bad high note, can slip out. It is the sense of enormous responsibility to the audience that puts me in this state of tension when I am about to go on stage

"I get along well with Verdi." Verona. Franco Corelli (49 [51] years old) seated in the lobby of the Verona Arena where he performed Verdi's 'Ernani,' which opened the opera season. "It is an opera that suits me," he says, "although it is not among the most interesting. By Verdi I prefer 'Il Trovatore'".

Of course, my hypersensitive temperament also plays its part. When I'm vocalizing to test my voice, I feel I'm in perfect shape, then as soon as I step on stage, I fear that the shape is no longer so perfect because a sense of dread takes over in me. No one can explain this mystery.

So you give more when you sing in your studio or rehearse your voice in the dressing room than you do on stage.

Not exactly; in principle I can give more on stage, for a number of reasons: the "climate" of the stage and the presence of the audience above all. However, that quiet, relaxed "breath" that allows you to do exceptional things offstage, you have it reduced by half in the theater. All this, of course, from the vocal side: from the interpretive point of view, it's a different matter.

What are the sacrifices a singer like you has to make?

So many: don't bathe in water that's too cold even if you die from the heat, be careful of drafts, air conditioning, open windows in the car, foods that are too spicy, liquor. No smoking, no late hours, etc.

Does he also have to give up love?

Eh no, in love I find that instinctive force which then translates into passion in the theater. Of course, to safeguard the voice one must not exceed certain limits. Like football players who before the game "go into retreat" even an artist must impose control on himself. The artist after all can be considered an athlete: see the importance of breath! His is also a continuous race. And the more you race, the more you have to sacrifice.

Do you often feel a physical attraction to your partners?

When I sing I live and act as a function of the character I play: Franco Corelli no longer exists; I leave him in the dressing room.

How did you become an opera singer?

It all began with “Una strada nel bosco”. I had heard this song on a Gino Bechi record and I was singing it too, for pleasure, because I liked it. But at that time I didn't even know I had a " voice." When I enrolled in engineering school, at the university of Bologna, I made a circle of friends. With them I went to the homes of people who had pianos and, again for pleasure, several times I ventured into opera, singing a few arias. But I still did not think of singing as a vocation or profession at all. I liked opera because all the people of Ancona like it. Besides, in my family there was a certain tendency toward music. All my siblings play the piano (I am the only one who did not study it); and opera music was the favorite music of my father and uncles. The transition from engineering to singing, as a profession, happened almost by accident. There was a friend of mine who was going to Florence to participate in a voice competition, at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. I went with him, just like that, to accompany him. But that year there was a shortage of contestants, and some of my friends and also some masters at the Comunale, convinced that I had " a certain voice," urged me to enter the competition by auditioning me. By dint of insistence they convinced me and I sang a romance, not too well. However, my examiners evaluating the material and other elements judged the test positive: and this encouraged me to study.

The tenor voice is not as natural as that of the baritone, is it?

No, nor like that of the bass. In order to maintain those three or four extra notes he possesses (and which he has won by doing violence to nature) the tenor must precisely subject himself to the renunciations mentioned earlier.