Customer Reviews

Corelli a Man a Voice: A Man, a Voice (Great Voices 5)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have been a fan of Corelli since I first heard his glorious instrument. I have even had the extraordinary honor of dining with the living legend, and have an autographed copy of this very same book. So while it is now a most treasured possession of mine, I will say that the previous reviews of this work aren't entirely incorrect. Nor are they completely accurate, either.

I will only take issue with a couple of points made in previous reviews. The first dealt with imperfections and annoyances in the live recordings included with this book. The reviewer was bothered by the obvious voice of a prompter feeding the tenor his lines. This was and is a very common practice in major opera houses all over the world. The Metropolitan Opera still uses them to this day. The fact that they were caught on tape only highlights the fact that these were recorded without the benefit of permission. This doesn't bother me, and shouldn't bother anyone else.

The second observation made by another reader is that Corelli lacked subtlety. I would challenge this reader to listen to Mr. Corelli's live recording of Romeo et Juliette in Philadelphia. His italian mannerisms not withstanding, in the aria "ah leve toi soleil" he sang the most exquisite B-flat in the history of opera, bringing this note down to such a diminuendo, it was barely audible...truly breathtaking. Add to that the "e lucevan le stelle" from this very book's recording, and you couldn't possibly accuse him of this "lack" with a straight face.

No, the writing isn't very good. And quite frankly, what was said about it in other reviews is spot on. But you must understand that the hallmark of Mr. Corelli's life outside of the stage is privacy. I wouldn't expect any writer to successfully probe this man's life.

But the wealth of information present in this book's dicography as well as the performance chronography contained within are worth the price of admission alone. Add to that a wonderfully chosen selection of live recordings (even more exciting than his studio ones if you ask me) and you have a resource that no Corelli fan should be without.

Franco Corelli, who sang from 1951 to 1975, was the greatest tenore di forza of the postwar era. A powerful and exciting singer, never a subtle or refined one, he had his detractors, but there can be no argument about the quality of his voice. Now comes what I believe is the first book about Corelli in English (a translation of the Italian edition of 1990). I have been an admirer of Corelli, a collector of his recordings, and a follower of his career since the late 1950s, so I opened this book with considerable relish. Alas, it is a very mixed bag. It consists of five distinct and readily separable parts. First, a compact disc is included, containing an excellent and generous collection of Corelli operatic arias and duets, 21 wide-ranging and well-chosen "live" selections, recorded from 1954 to 1968. Second, there is a "biography" by Marina Boagno, 227 pages of text. Third, there is a surprisingly copious section of 120 photographs of Corelli in his various roles and at various stages of his career. Third, there is a chronology of his career by Gilberto Starone, detailing year by year just what roles and concerts he sang, when and where. Fourth, there is a discography, also by Starone, including all known Corelli studio recordings as well as pirated or "live" recordings, of which there are many. The CD, the section of photographs, the chronology, and the discography are all conscientiously done and sufficiently useful in themselves to recommend the purchase of this book to anyone who admires or is interested in Corelli. The fly in the ointment is Ms. Boagno's "biography," which is not a biography at all, but a bizarre grab-bag of excerpts from reviews of Corelli performances and a patchwork quilt of comments by his colleagues and critics, with extended commentary by Ms. Boagno. While some of the review excerpts and quotes from colleagues are interesting and revealing; Ms. Boagno's commentary rarely illuminates and often reads like padding. Whether the fault is hers or the translator's, the writing is inept, verbose, awkward, and mostly dull. As a "biographer" she hasn't even begun to do her homework: anyone buying this book in search of biographical information about Corelli will be disappointed; we finish the book knowing almost as little about Corelli the man as when we began it. Indeed, there is an almost complete lack of biographical facts, dates, objective data and information; there is nothing here of the rigorous, objective, well-researched biography which would command respect. Instead we get a longwinded, rambling, subjective and always defensive commentary on Corelli's voice, career, roles, and singing habits; there is no probing intelligence at work here, just a fan uncritically defending and "puffing" the object of her adulation. Corelli deserved a better book than this. So, for anyone interested in undertaking a responsible biography of the great tenor, the field is still wide open. But if you like Corelli the other parts of this book make it worth owning.

There's little I can add to the reviews previously given. I also felt that the author spent too much time "explaining" Corelli. How sad I felt for this man who couldn't enjoy the gifts he had been born with. A man who brought so much joy to those of us who heard him and still doubted himself as a performer.

I respect his privacy but would have liked to have known more about his private life, does he have children, being married to a soprano, etc. No one need ask what toll all that stress has taken on him. The last pictures of him in his 70's clearly demonstrate it.

I love the CD despite the prompting heard in the background. That and the picture album are worth the price alone.

The photo of the book cover amazon now shows (of Franco as Andrea Chenier) apparently is of the new second edition of the English language version of Boagno's book which I've read was re-written and expanded after Corelli's death a couple of years ago. But, all of the descriptive information in this amazon listing is still for the original earlier English language version that the reviews seem to be about. If you buy this book, be sure you know what you are getting. I'm not advocating for or against either version. Just pointing out a potential for confusion. And, if anyone reads the new edition and reviews it, please make clear in your review which edition you describe. Thanks!

Franco Corelli, who sang from 1951 to 1975, was the greatest tenore di forza of the postwar era. A powerful and exciting singer, never a subtle, elegant, or refined one, he had his detractors (who called him crude, vulgar, self-indulgent, and who lambasted his execrable French), but there can be no argument about the quality of his voice, a big, vibrant tenor with a thrilling timbre (often described as rich, dark, or baritonal) and a brilliant, secure top that must have been the envy and despair of other tenors. A nervous performer repeatedly subject to pre-performance jitters and anxiety attacks, once onstage he was a generous singer who gave fully of himself and, like Caruso, poured out his magnificent voice unstintingly, never holding back. The voice itself was one of the greatest tenor voices of the century. Herbert von Karajan said of him, "A voice of heroic power, yet with great beauty of tone; darkly sensuous, mysteriously melancholic . . . but above all, a voice of thunder and lightning, fire and blood." Harold C. Schonberg, senior music of the New York Times, reviewing Corelli's Metropolitan debut in 1961, noted that his voice "has something of an exciting animal drive about it, and when Mr. Corelli lets loose, he can dominate an ensemble," and later described his voice as "a force of nature, an act of God, the vocal equivalent of an earthquake, volcano or hurricane." The distinguished musicologist Paul Henry Lang writing in the New York Herald-Tribune called Corelli "a latter-day Caruso." Alan Rich of the New York Herald-Tribune wrote of him, "There is no tenor in modern times, Italian or otherwise, whose voice rings out with greater vibrancy, whose every tone carries with it emotion at white heat. The sounds he makes, seemingly without effort, are dazzlingly bright, urgent, and communicative." Since Corelli's retirement we haven't heard anything remotely like him, and those of us who know his voice (and Bjorling's) can perhaps b! e pardoned for finding the "three tenors" so popular today pretty tame and anemic in comparison.

Now comes what I believe is the first book about Corelli in English (a translation of the Italian edition of 1990). I have been an admirer of Corelli, a collector of his recordings, and a follower of his career since the late 1950s, so I opened this book with considerable relish. Alas, it is a very mixed bag. It consists of five distinct and readily separable parts. First, a compact disc (compiled by Mark Schiavone) is included, containing a generous collection of Corelli operatic arias and duets, 21 wide-ranging and mostly well-chosen "live" selections, recorded from 1954 to 1968 (the sound quality is quite variable, as must be expected from "live" recordings). Second, there is a "biography" by Marina Boagno, 227 pages of text. Third, there is a surprisingly copious section of 120 photographs of Corelli in his various roles and at various stages of his career. Fourth, there is a chronology of his career by Gilberto Starone, detailing year by year just what roles and concerts he sang, when and where (Corelli was a creature of the opera house; he sang few concerts). Fifth, there is a discography, also by Starone, including all known Corelli studio recordings as well as pirated or "live" recordings, of which there are many. The CD, the section of photographs, the chronology, and the discography are all conscientiously done and sufficiently useful in themselves to recommend the purchase of this book to anyone who admires or is interested in Corelli.

The fly in the ointment is Ms. Boagno's "biography," which is not a biography at all, but a bizarre grab-bag of excerpts from reviews of Corelli performances and a patchwork quilt of comments by his colleagues and critics, with extended commentary by Ms. Boagno. While some of the review excerpts and quotes from colleagues are interesting and revealing, Ms. Boagno's commentary rarely illuminates a! nd often reads like padding. Whether the fault is hers or the translator's, the writing is inept, verbose, awkward, and for the most part dull. As a "biographer" she hasn't even begun to do her homework: anyone buying this book in search of biographical information about Corelli will be disappointed; we finish the book knowing almost as little about Corelli the man as when we began it. Indeed, there is an almost complete lack of biographical facts, dates, objective data and information; there is nothing here of the rigorous, objective, well-researched biography that would command respect. Instead we get a longwinded, rambling, subjective and always defensive commentary on Corelli's voice, career, roles, and singing habits; there is no probing, discerning intelligence at work here, just a fan uncritically defending and "puffing" the object of her adulation. Corelli deserved a better book than this. So, for anyone interested in undertaking a responsible biography of the great tenor, the field is still wide open. But if you like Corelli the other parts of this book make it worth owning.

I couldn't agree more with the other customer reviewers of the awe that Corelli inspires in his listeners, and what a disappointment this bio is of the great tenor. I am a magazine editor and book author, and unfortunately often have to edit (or more often reject) inept manuscripts. How did this "author" get into print, or better yet, how did the editors/publishers allow it? As for the included CD, I didn't have a problem with the sound of the prompter; it was a side of opera I have never heard "live." And the singing is great, of course. Corelli was a true artist; there's very little I can add to the other reviews here about that topic. Nevertheless, $ is a little steep for a one-disc opera recital, even by Corelli, since that was all that this package offered that was any good.

The book is ok as a source of first information. It is written by someone who definitely loves Corelli. Yet we lack another book about this great singer and personality, more psychologically written. There is the same problem as with everything nowadays:

Really interesting material that is not destined to be bought by a great lot of people but only by "some" interested ones is not sold any more by the great companies (neither by amazon.com!). This concerns good books (eg even the not so famous ones of truly famous authors) or rare recordings (eg Corelli and Tebaldi Met Gala for Rudolf Bing, singing Manon Lescaut...). It just shows that "culture" is constantly diminishing to "mass- and subculture". O tempora...

Franco Corelli was one of the greatest tenors in the history of opera and deserves a good biography. This isn't it and should be avoided. The writing is that of an amateur and a dull one at that. It is also anything but objective, more the gushing of a fan and little more. The photos and CD are good but the writing is bad. There's a new one by Rene Seghers that's as good as this one is bad. Get that one, not this.

After having read the first review [David A. Kemp (Kempda@worldnet.att.net) from Riverside, CA , April 1, 1998] I don't have TOO much to add, since I agree very much with most of the comments made by Mr. Kemp. However, I rate the book as worthy of 2 stars since I didn't learn all that much about the man who shared a truly wonderful voice. And I, too, found the writing rather disappointing--it was very choppy, "gossipy," and uninspiring. And...well, my last complaint concerns the quality of the CD/selections. On some of the live recordings, the listener can hear quite plainly the talking of an apparent prompter, reciting the phrases of what Mr. Corelli then sings. This is rather distracting, to say the least. Overall, being such a fan of Mr. Corelli (and a tenor seeking to learn much from his voice and technique)I am glad I read it, but for those wanting a solid biography of this truly gifted and inspiring artist, I recommended that the seeker pass this book by and seek elsewhere.

We Franco Corelli fans need a good documentary and a well researched biography. This book doesn't provide any satisfaction. The author repeated how great of a tenor he was by using positive only clippings. Don't we already know how great he was? He is the most beloved tenor of the century. It's the opera world's obligation to have a respectable Corelli biography.