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Product Details
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| Disc: 1 | |||
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| 1. Il Trovatore, opera: Ah si, ben mio...di quella pira (Act 3) | |||
| 2. Aida, opera: Se quel guerrier io fossi...Celeste Aida (Act 1) | |||
| 3. Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act: Intanto amici...viva il vino spumeggiante | |||
| 4. Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act: Mamma, quel vino è generoso | |||
| 5. Turandot, opera: Nessun dorma (Act 3) | |||
| 6. Roméo et Juliette, opera: L'amour, l'amour...Ah! lève-toi, soleil! (Act 2) | |||
| 7. Pagliacci, opera: Recitar!...Vesti la giubba (Act 1) | |||
| 8. Andrea Chénier, opera: Colpito qui m'avete...Un dì all' azzuro spazio (Act 1) | |||
| 9. Andrea Chénier, opera: Credo a una possanza arcana (Act 2) | |||
| 10. Andrea Chénier, opera: Andrea Chénier!...Sì, fui soldato (Act 3) | |||
See all 12 tracks on this disc
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| Disc: 2 | |||
| 1. La favorita, opera: Favorita del Re!...Spirito gentil (Act 4) | |||
| 2. La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts: Cielo e mar (Act 2) | |||
| 3. Adriana Lecouvreur, opera: L'anima ho stanca (Act 2) | |||
| 4. Manon Lescaut, opera: Donna non vidi mai (Act 1) | |||
| 5. Tosca, opera: Recondita armonia (Act 1) | |||
| 6. Tosca, opera: E lucevan le stelle (Act 2) | |||
| 7. Les Huguenots, grand opera in 5 acts: Non lunge della torre...Bianca al par di neve alpina (Act 1) | |||
| 8. Serse (Xerxes), opera, HWV 40: Ombra mai fu (Largo) (Act 1) | |||
| 9. Ellens Gesang III ('Ave Maria'), song for voice & piano, D. 839 (Op. 52/6) | |||
| 10. Ave Maria, for voice & piano (after Bach's Prelude No. 1 from the Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1) | |||
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See all 15 tracks on this disc
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
In A Class By Himself,
By
This review is from: Great Opera Tenors: Franco Corelli (Audio CD)
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 (a wag once said of him that Corelli could always think of more reasons not to sing than to sing), 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 glories of the generously-endowed operatic scene of the Fifties and Sixties, and one of greatest tenor voices of the century. Herbert von Karajan said of Corelli, "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 be pardoned for finding the "three tenors" popular today somewhat anemic in comparison. I have been an admirer of Corelli, a collector of his recordings, and a follower of his career since the 1950s (before he sang in America and when his only records were Italian Cetra imports). I have just about everything he recorded. The two-CD album under review here, featuring a generous selection of Corelli's Angel/EMI studio recordings from the 1960s, is an excellent introduction to this exciting singer, representing him in his prime and in his most famous roles. He was in a class by himself as Calaf in Turandot and as Andrea Chenier in the opera of that name; both roles are represented here, Chenier generously so. You will never hear the Improviso from Andrea Chenier more thrilllingly sung than it is here. His other Italian verismo roles, and his other Puccini and Verdi roles, are also represented, as is his somewhat less happy Romeo (in which you can hear his dreadful French). And if you like Neopolitan songs, his version of Core n'grato has never been equalled, and it is here too, a prodigious outpouring of bronzen tone that must be heard to be believed. There is not a tenor voice in the world today that can compare with this one. Don't miss it.
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The very definition of a great dramatic tenor...,
By Rachel Howard (ocklawaha, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Great Opera Tenors: Franco Corelli (Audio CD)
Franco Corelli was an exciting singer, with a virile, manly voice and a very original, personal approach to singing. That he was basically self-taught is well known, and that fact dogged him throughout his career. Critics loved to heap insults on Franco Corelli, forgetting all the while that he was one of the most incredible voices ever to stride across an opera stage. I've heard a fair number of his roles, and Franco Corelli never once bored me. He seemed to me to live his characters. When Corelli sang Faust, my ears heard Faust, not just some big, handsome Italian stud mouthing the words. This singer gave meaning to all the words, not just the high notes. (Singers like that bore me.) This collection is well rounded and shows him in excellent voice throughout. There are some unusual choices here, at first sight, for Corelli. Ombra Mai Fu is just not a song I think of easily when thinking about this man's singing, but he does a fine job with it. The religious numbers show a soul deeply concerned with spiritual matters and an abiding respect and affection for God. That is the impression I get, anyway, and they help point out his versatility. If you ever get a chance to hear him sing Calaf from Turandot (Assuming you've been living on Mars and have not heard him!), then take any opportunity to do so. Nessun Dorma is here to tantalize you while thrilling you. Also, and this is no small matter, Corelli had one of the few voices that could go toe-to-toe with Birgit Nilsson and come out unscathed- in live performance, on stage, in front of thousands of people. Technically, Franco Corelli was not at the top of the heap, but he was no slouch, either. His diminuendos were spectacular and justly famous, though there is a little technical hanky-panky with his final B-flat in the Romeo and Juliette aria. He takes the note and does fine it down to a hair himself, but some dingaling added a fade where none was needed. I have it on good authority that Franco Corelli was NOT a fake and certainly did NOT need idiotic studio hocus-pocus! I have great respect for Franco Corelli and miss his presence mightily. I will not try to insult modern day tenors by saying they are nothing compared to this Golden Age quality voice. That is not true- Ben Heppner is an enormous talent (In more ways than one!, but Corelli really was one-of-a-kind and his rivals seem to be nowhere in sight.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A powerhouse voice,
By David "still learning" (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Great Opera Tenors: Franco Corelli (Audio CD)
Corelli's heroic voice and passionate delivery are a real treat, and this 2-CD set is a bargain, with most of it recorded in his prime. The first CD is all opera, while the second mixes opera, song, and sacred arias. While I enjoy many of the tenors of the past two decades, Corelli has more richness and power than all of them. True he was not the always most "polished" tenor and sometimes I wish he would scoop less as he goes to high notes. But what glorious notes! This is a "manly" tenor. While I don't think his delivery is ideal for the more subdued songs like Bach/Gounod or Schubert's Ave Maria, it is compelling in Verdi, Bellini, Mascagni, Giordano, and Puccini, i.e., most of this collection. Also, he was due to his height and in-shape build, much more convincing visually in the young heroic roles that he sang. His ability to control the dynamics on high notes was unusual, such as the amazing decrescendo on the final note of "Celeste Aida" which I have never heard anyone else do. In contrast, the high B's and C's in "Nessun Dorma" and "Di Quella Pira" are earthshattering. Pollione's defiant aria from Norma is also thrilling (though I wish they hadn't compressed his volume at the end). Because of its diversity and low price, this would be an excellent choice for someone not familiar with Corelli. If you want more, then I recommend hearing him in the context of a full opera playing opposite a worthy diva, like Nilsson in Turandot or Sutherland in Norma. His dramatic vocal duel with Birgit Nilsson in the "riddle scene" of Turandot (not included in this CD) is truly a highlight of recorded opera.
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