Franco Corelli — Prince of Tenors (analysis)

Franco Corelli was the tenor who made me understand the entire world of male operatic singing. After all these years, he is still probably my favorite. Today, we look at what made him stand out even among the highest echelon of tenors, hearing his distinctive sound—full of color and pathos, squillo and strength—as Calaf in Puccini's Turandot, Radames in Verdi's Aida, Romeo in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, and, of course, Cavaradossi in Tosca. We also hear a brief excerpt from Il trovatore. Finally, we close with Ernesto de Curtis's great Neapolitan song "Tu ca nun chiagne." More than just the usual qualities of a first-rate tenor, Corelli had truly extraordinary technical control in the passaggio, perhaps the greatest high C of any 20th-century tenor, and a virtually unrivaled dynamic control in his middle and upper register—giving us his famous diminuendi all the way up to B-flat. Add to that his acting abilities, stage presence, and sheer musical instinct, and virtually every performance in his prime became a historical occasion. Enjoy one of the most riveting voices in recorded operatic history! Chapters: 0:00 Introduction 2:21 Nessun dorma (La Scala 1964) 8:59 Some Analysis 11:31 King of the High C's 14:12 King of the Diminuendo 20:22 Making Audiences Gasp (Tosca) 26:45 Thoughts on Corelli's Voice over Time 28:33 Introduction to "Tu ca nun chiagne" 30:54 Tu ca nun chiagne (Vienna 1973) Please also visit the ‪@FrancoCorelliInfoCenter‬.