By Greg MacGregor, The New York Times, February 5, 1961
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*Comment on Facebook*Franco Corelli, a new leading tenor of the Metropolitan Opera, carried on the tradition of the theatre yesterday when he sang the last three acts of "Il Trovatore" despite a painfully sprained ankle.
It was his second performance in this country in the role of Manrico, the lead in the opera.
He hurt himself after he had taken his first bow at the end of the first-act curtain. He stumbled and fell in the wings, and then composed himself to returnfor a second bow with a noticeable limp.
As soon as the extent of the injury was determined, the stage manager, Michael Manuel, went to center stage to tell the audience what had happened. He said that despite the sprain, the six-foot one-inch, 200-pound Italian tenor would continue his role.
The audience responded with a thundering burst of applause, Mr. Manuel had announced that Signor Corelli would sing the role with some restrictions on the physical movements of the lead. When the tenor appeared in the second act a few minutes later, the audience again applauded him.
Throughout the opera, Signor Corelli sang the role in which he made his American debut on Jan. 27 with feeling and gestures, although he limited his action to a small area on the stage.
He sang opposite Leontyne Price, a 30-year-old american soprano from Laurel, Miss., who also made her Metropolitan debut on Jan. 27 opposite him.
As the opera continued into the third and fourth acts, the 36-year-old [39] tenor drew rounds upon rounds of applause from the large matinee audience. Despite the snowstorm, only a few seats were unfilled.
The performance, which began at 2 PM, and which was scheduled to end at 5:37, ran seven minutes over because of the accident.
The matinee was also victimized by a second mishap, which the audience took in good spirits.
Three horses that traditionally appear in the Gypsy camp scene of the second act were scratched. They failed to make the trip from Newark because their van was stuck at the Lincoln Tunnel. They also missed their appearance in the evening performance of "Martha."
Signor Corelli made his singing debut in 1952 [1951] at Spoleto in the role of Don José in "Carmen" after years of self-study. He explained yesterday that he studied the voices of Caruso and other operatic greats and made tape recordings of his own voice so he could criticize it.
He went on to the Rome Opera that year and during the 1953-54 season sang leading roles opposite Maria Callas in Italy and performed in Germany, London, Paris, Vienna and Lisbon. In 1953 at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, he sang the leading role in Prokofieff's "War and Peace," in its first staging outside the Soviet Union.
His present role in "Il Trovatore" is the twenty-seventh lead in his career.
♫
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