Franco Corelli

"Thrilling" routinely surfaces whenever Franco Corelli enters the conversation, whether the topic is his instantly recognizable, powerhouse voice or his matinee-idol features. One of the rare tenors whose physique actually benefited from Renaissance-style tights, he earned the nickname "The Golden Calves" after a single such performance. Though he never cultivated stylistic refinement and instead imposed a consistent "Corelli style"—freely adjusting rhythms, inserting or extending high notes at will, and rarely showing finesse, nuance, or sensitivity to phrasing—devotees regarded him as the embodiment of operatic excitement.

Uncommonly, Corelli grew up outside a musical household, recognized his own gift comparatively late, and remained almost entirely self-taught. After training for an engineering career, he was urged by friends to consider music and spent a brief period at the Pesaro Conservatory while still in his early twenties. In 1951 he captured first prize at the Maggio Musicale competition, yet soon abandoned formal instruction. He instead immersed himself in historic tenor recordings, especially those of Caruso, Gigli, and Lauri-Volpi, focusing on the repertoire he intended to perform. That same year he made his stage debut as Don José in Carmen at Spoleto.

Despite lacking an extensive network of mentors, his reputation expanded rapidly. He appeared in a televised production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and, in 1954, made his La Scala debut as Licinio in Spontini’s La Vestale. His Covent Garden debut followed in 1957 as Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca, while the Metropolitan Opera first heard him in 1961 as Manrico. Early performances revealed a persistent bleat that prompted some critics to label him "PeCorelli," yet he eventually eliminated the flaw and developed a ravishing pianissimo, even if his phrasing stayed comparatively crude. La Scala and the Met became the theaters where he sang most often.

Corelli battled chronic stage fright, a condition that may have contributed to many of his celebrated divo mannerisms both backstage and onstage. Visually he projected a dashing presence, though he tended to strike poses rather than pursue genuine dramatic action. During one Don Carlo production, irritated that Boris Christoff’s King Philip was drawing excessive attention, he instigated a real sword fight with the equally combative bass in the auto-da-fé scene; only the intervention of a supernumerary halted the clash. In another performance of the same scene he deliberately delayed his entrance after becoming embroiled in an offstage argument he refused to abandon.

His repertory encompassed a broad range of Italian and French roles, among them several works then considered rarities, such as Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots and Donizetti’s Poliuto. Fittingly, given the self-directed nature of his studies, he left an extensive discography, chiefly for EMI/Angel. Recordings that best preserve him at his peak include the Santini-led Andrea Chénier (EMI CDS5 65287-2) and a recital of arias and songs (EMI Double Forte CZS 569530 2).