Opera News, March 4, 1961
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*Comment on Facebook*Gentle, quiet Franco Corelli, who has been compared in excitement to Pinza and in looks to Barrymore by critics lauding his recent American debut, lives in a large apartment hotel overlooking Central Park. During his interview, the tenor hobbled to the window and stared out with delight at New York's blanket of snow. "It's so pretty!" he exclaimed, evincing an aesthetic appreciation unshared by some 8,000,000 citizens; "so white!" he continued, and in the brown depths of his eyes gleamed the mischief of a youngster about to launch a snowball. Corelli imitated this movement and then sank back into his chair, grimacing a little with the pain of an ankle badly twisted in the preceding afternoon's performance of Trovatore.
Franco Corelli (Napoli, c.1959)
He was not disposed to talk about his early life — the large family in Ancona, "where everybody is musical even if they do not sing in opera"; the discovery of his voice at the comparatively late age of twenty-three, when he was already working as a naval engineering draftsman; his struggles in the Pesaro Conservatory where, after singing for three months, he lost his voice [it was with a private teacher], stopped singing for five months, started again in hopes of being a baritone and found he had tenor notes, too; the slow building of his voice, his studying by himself with records, his rejections and triumphant debut as Don José in Carmen at Spoleto (1952) [1951], an event that led to an invitation from the Rome Opera to sing in Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo (1953) [1952], followed by another impressive invitation to open La Scala in Spontini's Vestale (1954); his work opposite Callas in Norma (1958); his movie of Tosca. All these pertinent facts of his life have been repeated so often for the benefit of visiting reporters that the artist says wearily, "They are printed by my manager on a large sheet that I will send to you, but I do not wish to go through them again.”
Franco Corelli in the 1956 Tosca movie
Corelli did mention that he made his debut when he was twenty-eight [30]. He feels that his voice is still very young — too young, for instance, to sing Otello. "In ten years I'll want to sing this role; I'm sure it would ruin me just now." His diminutive red-haired, green-eyed wife, Loretta, chimed in, "There is no reason for Franco to sing Otello yet. Think of all the other operas which, for years and years, there has been no dramatic tenor to sing: I Puritani, Les Huguenots and William Tell. The tenors who have sung in them in recent times have not been dramatic; Franco is dramatic, and the more he works, the more elastic his range becomes." Corelli interrupted, "Yes, my top tones have become easier. I can go very high.”
When one speaks with the tenor, one quickly realizes to what extent his career absorbs his attention and his life. "I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't like parties," he says firmly. "Also, I have the Italian temper — very explosive. But I do not explode often; it is bad for the voice.
Practically everything one does is bad for the voice; it is such a delicate instrument. I have known top opera stars who dissipated themselves so that after five years they had no career left. That's not for me; I am quiet.”
"He is especially quiet on the day of a performance," added Loretta Corelli; "he doesn't speak above a whisper. Sometimes he only makes motions, which I must interpret." Corelli's face lit with pleasure when he found that we were interested in his study methods. "Not many people ask me about that," he averred; "mostly the journalists say, 'How do you like America?' I would much rather talk about singing. Of course, I do like America a great deal, much more than I expected; it is so far from home and the family."
Franco Corelli being congratulated after his Metropolitan debut by Countess Wally Toscanini Castelbarco and Egidio Ortona, UN ambassador
He looked at us a trifle appealingly, as if hoping that he had not been betrayed into untactfulness and then returned fervently to the subject of his studies. "I take a lesson with my coach every other day. When I have a new role, he plays it and I sing my part and tape-record the whole opera. Then I listen to it over and over until I learn it and iron out the mistakes. Sometimes I listen until four in the morning."
Franco Corelli as Manrico
Aside from the hours spent on learning a role musically, he studies the habits of the character in relation to the story's period in history. His Milan apartment is stocked with books about art and social customs; when he cannot find research material at home, he haunts museums. Both Corellis seemed surprised that so many people ask them why the tenor wears a blond wig as Manrico in Trovatore. "In Italy it is traditional for Manrico to be blond. He is young, romantic, a troubadour. Did you ever hear of a dark young troubadour?" For each of his roles Corelli has a different wig.
"I had an artist make a portrait of me as Calaf," he explained; "I always copy the make-up he created for the part — it is Chinese. I don't see how a serious artist can interpret different parts if he is not dressed as each role demands. The costume of an artist must be right from toes to wig. I wish you'd quote me as saying this; I've never said it in an interview before. It's a scoop!" In his spare time, Corelli is an insatiable camera fiend; characteristically, even this hobby has its uses in his career. Three of his four cameras are used by his wife to take movies of each Corelli performance, so that he can correct any flaws in his acting.
As we came to the conclusion of the interview, Corelli rose impetuously to his feet and then fell painfully back into his chair, pointing to the swollen ankle. "When I tripped yesterday onstage, I didn't think I would ever rise again," he said. By way of comfort we mentioned, "Well, you made the front page of the New York Times." A look of acute delight passed over the Corelli features as he exclaimed, "I know! Isn't it wonderful? I don't think I could have received such publicity if I had hired a whole agency!" Clearly, Franco Corelli lives for his art. — F.S.
♫
<aside> 🗞️ Read the New York Times article here:
Tenor Hurt at 'Met' But Sings Final Acts
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It may not be as spectacular as you imagined, but it's still the front page of The New York Times! 😉
A few weeks later, Opera News received a letter from a reader:
"Dear Editor: In your story on Franco Corelli [March 4], the singer is quoted as saying, "I don't smoke, I don't drink." Yet on the previous page, he is shown sitting in a well-stocked bar with a cocktail or wine glass in hand. — Leo Zochling, Great Neck, New York
[Editor's note: The tenor insists that his glass contained "Coca-Cola, water or maybe an aperitif" — the last-named, apparently, not being considered "drinking" by many Europeans.]"
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