Franco Corelli "L'amour... Ah! leve-toi, soleil!" (avec le souffleur) - The legendary diminuendo
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- Опубликовано: 9 мар 2010
- Franco Corelli's diminuendo on the final note is magic.
(Gounod: Roméo et Juliette) Metropolitan Opera, October 16, 1967
Caveat: This recording contains the (frequently very loud) prompter (souffleur). On the other hand, you will hear magnificent singing from Corelli and Pilou, including possibly Corelli's longest, most beautiful diminuendos ever at the end of "Ah! lève-toi soleil!" and "Va! repose en paix!"
Roméo - Franco Corelli
Juliette - Jeannette Pilou
Frère Laurent - Justino Díaz
Mercutio - John Reardon
Stéphano - Marcia Baldwin
Tybalt - Charles Anthony
Gertrude - Shirley Love
Le comte Capulet - Clifford Harvuot
Le comte Pâris - Gene Boucher
Benvolio - Robert Schmorr
Grégorio - Lorenzo Alvary
Le duc de Vérone - Norman Scott
maestro direttore - Francesco Molinari-Pradelli
Please remember to be polite when posting. Any rude comments and bad language will be removed and the poster blocked. Degrading comments about things such as race, religion, and culture, etc., will not be tolerated. 
Видеоклипы
Okay. People are still complaining about hearing the prompter. Let me explain. First, it was a rule, going back decades, that every performance at the Met had a prompter delivering the first word(s) of every phrase to every singer (also the chorus). Second, this is not an official recording. We are lucky to have it at all! It was recorded over the "house wire." The "house wire," as explained to me, was the intercom that went from the stage to all parts of the backstage so that the performers knew at what point in the performance it was. Almost every opera house had/has one. A brave and clever person would attach "alligator clips" to tap into the wire and make a recording. The stage microphone at the Met must have been in or near the prompter's box, as his voice can usually be heard.
Thank you for your explanation and I always appreciate your uploads!
You seem to ignore my comments below-and in general-this is not true that the prompter delivered the first words of every phrase to every singer-it depended on the singer, the musical situation etc.-Franco being Franco was more dependent on the prompter-but I'm sure it was a confidence thing with him. Being such an avid collector you know that many of these live recordings (aside from radio recorded on air) were from people "illegally" recording them-which was much more of a project in the old days of tape-on those you hear the prompter as little as we did in the audience-though during applause you would get audience reaction of the people around the mic
Again, I attended maybe as many as a half dozen of the Corelli Romeos( maybe even this one)-and I never remember hearing the prompter particularly-except for the rare times you would, or as I already said if you were sitting in a particular location. By the way my brother had a recorder with him on a few of these-and I remember playing the diminuendo over and over after the performance making sure that what we had just heard was not our imaginations!
And again for those interested in how they sounded live-such in e lucevan, etc.- they carried fully throughout the house (I was generally standing in the family circle)-and it was a supported sound with body, not a falsetto. The great ones knew how to do this-such as the Vicker's "croon" which also reached all over the house-or with a much smaller voice-Gedda, e.g. would sing the entire second verse of Dalla sua Pace mezza voce, and it carried perfectly
+Labienus Thanks again for giving such a great insight into the Met. performances at that historical time.It is a pleasure to read all those well informed comment's of Yours.
+John Oregan
I appreciate your remarks here and elsewhere. All I ever try to do is share
my experiences and enthusiasm with others, though some people, in some cases can
be very hostile in response. Obviously everyone doesn't agree with me, and I
don't agree with every other opinion, but for goodness sake it's about something of
beauty-then agree to disagree. Talking to someone I recently met who had been
to many of the same Met performances I had been to in the 60's, 70's,
80's-although we didn't know each other back then We both felt how lucky,
how fortunate we were.
Actually I love to hear the prompter. Makes you feel like you are there with Corelli, not at your computer, almost 50 years after... It is so cool! Thanks for uploading this magnificent moment.
Oltre alla potenza e bellezza della voce anche questo incredibile diminuendo finale lunghissimo, che nessuno eseguiva mai, ne' allora ne' tantomeno oggi. 😍🙏💯👏👏👏
Né domani!
Agree!!!! Never!!!! Corelli is THE KING of diminuendo beside his other magnificient properties.
Who can sing like this now?Who could sing with this power in those days too? Bravo Franco, my favourite tenor!
No one!!
Encore heureux, Roméo n'est pas un rôle pour lui
Entre autres, Benjamin Bernheim, Pene Pati, Jan-François Borras qui, de surcroît, ont le style du chant français. Corelli excellait dans Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti.... Il est exécrable dans Roméo, qu'il chante comme s'il chantait Otello. En plus, il ne connaît pas son texte et ne comprend sans doute rien ce qu'il chante....
Io penso che Franco Corelli sia tuttora il più grande tenore di tutti tempi..Ha una voce unica cosi ricca di sfumature ,un colore che comprende tutto di tutti i tenori presenti ,ieri e oggi. magnifico insuperabile...
Non si può che essere d’accordo : è il più completo: MAGNIFICO!
Non c'è alcun dubbio. È irraggiungibile.
L'Italie a toujours produit des ténors d'exception.Di Stefano dans un autre style en fait bien évidemment.La liste est longue.Franco Corelli est historiquement l'un des plus illustres !
There is only one Corelli - the most extraordinary voice I have ever heard.
littlewolf18 A voice that Heaven gifted to mankind!!!
@@davidsolomon8203 In our times!
That last note is one of the most sublime things I have EVER heard.
Everytime I listen to his last note I cry....
He had no equal! What sane person can remain unmoved by that final note, with its stunning diminuendo?!
Ikr he pulled a Celeste Aida dimuendo on us
He deserved that applause. His golden voice is the thunder and the glory of the heavens. Beyond Beauteous....
i was there, 1967, in the wings as a budding super at the Met .... night after night, the great FRANCO, a great Romeo .. and then, this aria!
Lucky guy
Una leggenda ancora vivente, mai nessuno arriverà a questi portenti! Immenso Franco
It was an incredible last note held and perfectly held for seconds So glad we have a record of this feat! I am sure not one singer today could duplicate it!
Cantanti ce ne sono molti ma lui era perfetto, grazie Franco
That was breathtaking....that magnificent voice!
.
a 12 anni ho visto e sentito Franco Corelli al teatro comunale di Rovigo, é stato un miracolo! poi ho cominciato a cantare l'opera!
Beato chi se lo è goduto in teatro da vivo!!!! Sovraumano! Unico! Sublime!
I was there! In fact, I attended practically every performance of the run. Heard live, Corelli's timbre was the most exciting that I have ever heard from a tenor...even if what really drew me to the performances was the Juliette of Mirella Freni, with whom I was madly in love (although on the evening that this was recorded, the soprano was Jeannette Pilou). Ah, youth...!
David Steven Tabbat beautiful story. Thanks.
and I had the fortune to be on stage, when I ws studying at Rome Conservatoire, as a soldier, part of the people etc in many operas, with singer as MARIO DEL MONACO, GIUSEPPE DI STEFANO, RICHARD TUCKER, .... yeah, as you said, YOUTH, were are you? gone so fast....
@@maggiedeveney And thank YOU for your sympathetic understanding, without a trace of mockery!
@@fourstrings48
I envy you your memories. All the best. Maggie
@@dagodemuro amazing!
Although it is lo-fi, this recording gives me goosebumps like no other tenor in this aria. There was only one Corelli.
Very clear and better fidelity than a recording from out in the audience. Very little distortion. I am glad someone recorded it.
It’s the way it sounded on the radio broadcast !!
Франко Корелли - мой самый любимый тенор!!! Неповторимый, непревзойденный, непостижимый!!!
Hearing the prompter is sooooo cool. Very exciting. Like going back in time and being there.
Più passa il tempo e più rimpiangeremo una vocalità stupefacente come quella di Corelli ....
GB
parole sante .
Niemand hat so ein wunderbares Diminuendo nach ihm gemacht...kann keiner!!!
Mais est-ce que son merveilleux diminuendo peut faire oublier qu'il y massacre la diction française et que vraiment non, le rôle de Roméo ne lui convient pas.
Corelli was an unbelievable talent.
He was the king of all tenors
@@natalinomiani2075 certainly one of thee greatest tenors
@@natalinomiani2075 Corelli was an unbelievable talent and your exuberance is well noted, but proclamations are rarely accurate. In My Opinion, the King of all tenor's sang lyric opera's like Elisir D'Amore, Lucia, Pearl Fishers, Rigoletto, Ballo, Traviata, Martha, La Sonnambula and Boheme, before his voice transcended to a Lyric Spinto and finally a spinto or perhaps a spinto dramatic tenor, singing a similar repertoire like Corelli with some exception. Manon Lescaut, Trovatore, Gioconda, Faust, La Juive, Tosca, I Pagliacci, Samson Forza etc. He sang 970 performances at the Met alone with many encores in an 18 year period He averaged about 6 performances a month. He was the original interpreter and foundation for every tenor that followed.
@@sugarbist This is your opinion..not mine. Corelli still the best .This is my opinion...regardes
@@natalinomiani2075 I'm just sharing information
I first heard Franco at the Old Met
about 1967, right before it was razed (most assuredly by people who
didn't love opera the way I did).
I was new to opera and didn't know what
to expect. The opera was Romeo and Juliet by Gounod. Juliette was
Mirella Freni. There are moments in life when we leave day to day
consciousnesses and routines and go to a place of lasting memory.
This was one of them.
I sat in the Family Circle, way back
where I liked to joke the usher has to give an oxygen mask. But it
didn't matter one bit. I could hear Franco Corelli like he were a
singing a few rows in front of me. And he didn't need a microphone!
He was a big man and as handsome as any Hollywood actor. I was
smitten and attended the Metropolitan for the next 50 years, at least
once a year.
Lucky you. I heard Corelli first time (and last time, unfortunately) when I was 16 years old, at La Scala in 1959 in Erracle by Handel (traveled from Yugoslavia). I never heard of him and was very young and couldn't enjoy much since I was in awe just for sitting at La Scala and was not able to concentrate (it was not easy from the country I lived in to travel outside the border at that time ). Only later I became aware how lucky I was to see hi and hear him singing. He was a beautiful man. After that I became more knowleagable of him and bought several records and fell in love with him. Now I'm old and am still in love with him.
Judith Bereczky Beautiful story. Lucky you!
Judith Bereczky You were blessed to hear him & at La Scala too!! I heard him at the old Met in Don Carlo. He’s still my favorite operatic tenor. Just a thrill to watch & hear. I empathize with your feelings about him.God bless you.
OMG! How lucky you are! I discovered Corelli on you tube. I bought what CD/DVD I could find with him. I have one DVD recorded by RAI (B&W) with Turandot that includes some later recorded arias (these are in colour). Image is poor (except the later recordings), but Corelli is drop gorgeous, and his voice was the Niagara of tenors, even on recordings.I could only imagine how amazing he was live.
@@ancamg Is the DVD Forza with Bastianini and Tebaldi? If you haven't listen to his 'Vittora, VITTORIA' live from Parma, which had to be one of the most spine-tingling moments in operatic history.
Mio Dio , questa non era voce terrena !
Вот он секрет итальянского вельканто - воздух в голосе ..."воздушная подушка" ! Ни одна лишняя мышца не подключается в процессе звукоизвлечения ...только воздух ! Отсюда эта безграничность диапазона , эта естественность и красота ! Будь благословенен Мир подаривший нам Золотую Оперу !
Almost 20s of “diminuendo”. Who else could do that? Fantastic
Nobody else could or can
@@viverito Mais est-ce le plus important ici ?
@@sylviebasyl2835 oui c'est le plus important ici
@@viveritonon, vraiment non. Mes oreilles saignent. Quel massacre !
Marvelous singing by the great Franco Corelli!!!
Oh my GOD!!!!!!
Who cares about the prompter? That's real life in the opera house, and Corelli was traditionally extremely nervous and needed the prompter in the pit, as many other singers do. That's the best unequalled version ever.
MAGNIFICO !
SUBLIME !
UNICO !
DIVINO .
no, è completamente fuori stile non scherziamo, non è la valkiria, non sono opere per il suo tipo di emissione
@@eclipsemodel-agenziadellav2463 meglio Grigolo Vero?
@@eclipsemodel-agenziadellav2463
Parli dello stile ?!...
Dal momento in quale parliamo dei stili diversi fuori la vocalità e la personalità del cantante la vera arte lirica è morta.
Parlando di questo repertorio di quale stile interpretativo lei sta parlando , di quello di Alagna ?!...
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣⚡️
@@bodilotoLa cosa più divertente è che il signorotto sopra ha creduto che il repertorio di Corelli, quale tenore spinto, fosse quello del tenore drammatico il cui repertorio include la Valchiria...
@@bodiloto Forse di quello de Georges Thill....
How handsome his voice, 1967, Wow, young Romeo, still the very best if standing on stage Today, sold out whole house! Thank You.
Non ci sono parole per commentare la sua interpretazione perfetta .
Estoy escuchando al gran Franco Corelli, en un sábado nublado de invierno en Buenos Aires....que más puedo pedir !!!!
I apologize on behalf of the complainers. It's like receiving a diamond and complaining there is dust on it. I think this is a wonderful recording of Corelli.
Thanks for posting it!
I agree
I saw him sing this role in Seattle in the late 60's. When he made his first entrance - all 6 foot plus in black tights - there was a loud gasp from the audience! I also remember his top B flats - sounded like the ceiling of the opera house was in danger!
for me, it actually makes this rendition more raw and irresistible. I wouldn't be lying if I told you this is about the 30th time I'm listening to this record
Franco Corelli had a Stradivarius in the throat
iGEN Ő VOLT A LEGNAGYOBB TENOR,......
yea
Luifernal un tv BT CF
a wonderful comparison
Magda Eiler asiático que se
Ormai solo in paradiso si canta così
Bonjour merveilleux Mr Corelli une voix unique incomparable comme le superbe ténor immortel qu il était grâce a vous il est tellement encore présent il manque beaucoup aujourd'hui merci a vous vraiment et bravo a l immortel étoile qui brille a jamais merci
The most exciting tenor with the most beautiful voice that ever graced the opera stage . Thank you for posting this gem.
I'm listening to this in 2019 and I have a GOOSEBUMPS!
Lord have mercy! Just to hear an artist decide to go for the finesse. .... Priceless.
il francese non proprio perfetto ma gli si perdona per il suo canto sempre un gradino più su di tutti gli altri. Corelli è sempre inarrivabile da chiunque anche in queste opere. ❤❤❤❤
vous parlez français ? Apparemment pas. Mes oreilles saignent, j'ai l'impression qu'il braille des paroles qui lui sont incompréhensibles. Pourtant, je sais qu'il parlait français, assez pour répondre aux interviews. La beauté et la poésie du texte n'est plus...
absolute perfection
Amazing diminuendo at the end, especially after such a long sustain.
Another blockbuster performance! It was great to hear him make the last note magically change color. He nestled into it and found a comfortable position and lingered-all to our delight. Thanks -this made my day!
Franco had a fantastic voice
hazelssister uLa
Voice, technik, expression - everything
@@filipszyga7394 expression ?
Io riesco soltanto a pensare che è stato UNICO.
Cio che penso io.
Hoy con la gran tecnología de audio podemos oír y con claridad la hermosa voz de Franco Corelli una voz sin límite hoy se hacen comparaciones con otros tenores pero no se encuentran en esa calidad vocal Corelli es un bell cantista escuchar como afina como trata las frases las hace delicadas tiernas como un susurro al oído y cuando termina te quedas en un extasis y te haces una pregunta como pueden existir seres humanos que con su voz al escucharla te sacan de este mundo eso el gran Franco Corelli soy un gran admirador desde la primera vez que lo escuché
"Comment il affine la façon dont il traite les phrases ?"
Ou plutôt comment il les maltraite...Quand vous prononcez mal les mots, mettez les intonations n'importe où et faites des pauses où il ne faut pas, cela devient difficile à écouter pour les francophones.
@@sylviebasyl2835 Все франкоговорящие, кому не нравится Франко :-) Корелли могут пойти на три весёлые буквы.... Туда.... Далеко.... А такого голоса они никогда уже в жизни больше не услышат!!!!
@@LorandPercsiC'est idiot ce que vous dites, je n'aime pas Corelli dans le rôle de Roméo, mais ça ne veut pas dire que je ne l'aime pas du tout.
Ici, j'ai l'impression qu'il braille des mots qu'il ne comprend pas. Pourtant, je sais qu'il parlait suffisamment bien le français pour répondre à une interview en français.
Ici, ce n'est pas Otello ou Manrico, c'est Roméo, un tout jeune homme qui guette le moment où la fille qu'il aime apparaîtra à son balcon.
@@sylviebasyl2835 Сильвия, дорогая!!!! Ну, вы и пойте тогда Ромео, а я буду и впредь продолжать слушать Корелли.... Такого диминуэндо сам Ромео не смог бы спеть своей возлюбленной Джульетте!!!! А вы придирайтесь к французскому произношению Франко Корелли....
This could almost be held up as the ultimate Corelli 'track'. If you came from another planet and had never heard of him, this is what I would play.
semplicemente un dio.......
Franco, je t'adore!
So beautifull, just brings tears in My eyes, just for The beauty of that last note
This could be me - if only I had such a voice, good looks, charisma and breath control - ah well!
ha
😁
De los mejores tenores, por no decir, el mejor.
Well, from your picture your looks are similar; so that's one down anyway 😊
Funny!! Well said!
Glorious, his end of aria is not be found anywhere, Bravo!
I came back here after watching the Live in HD transmission of Roméo et Juliette from the Metropolitan Opera on January 21, 2017, almost 50 years after this magnificent recording. Thanks for this magnificent Corelli moment!
Palermo Huerto i
I love the prompter giving him the lines for the recit! Ha!
One of the greatest tenors ever... Bravo Franco !
Stopped me in my tracks ! His voice is a revelation.
incredible
Pode ser que exista ou tenha existido - e quem me dera que voltasse a existir - um tenor que conseguisse os desempenhos de Franco Corelli. Confesso que nunca ouvi nada comparável. Sei que gostos não se discutem, mas creio que Corelli preencheu todos os requisitos para poder ser considerado algo divino. Sublime!
If I could travel back in time, going to hear Franco Corelli at the Met would be the second thing that I would do right after telling Captain Smith about the iceberg.
Me too, and telling John and Yoko about the guy with the gun.
Love his voice !
J'ai beaucoup aimée !!!
Très belle voix !
DARIO FRANCO CORELLI HAD THE MOST GORGEOUS VOICE OF ANY SINGER EVER ! WONDER IF HE IS SINGING TO THE COMPOSERS IN HEAVEN .
Questa era la tecnica di Melocchi : chiaroscuro e appogio perfetto. Se a tutto cio agiungiamo i consigli del grande Lauri Volpi otteniamo un (bari)tenore spinto che cantava a 46 anni con una freschezza e una maestria da favola.
La nota finale è STRAORDINARIA!
I never had the chance to hear Corelli in person. But I have several internet friends who did.
All have told me that he never sounded harsh in the theatre, with live acoustics --
The great critic Conrad L. Osborne observed, in High Fidelity magazine circa 1964, that Corelli's voice had "a certain sharpness and harshness" from time to time in his studio recordings, but not in the theater.
I agree. Big, high-intensity voices are not easy to record advantageously now in the studio. And doing so was bloody damn hard in the 1960s.
In Corelli's live recordings, however, we hear tonal beauty and some sweetness during lyrical passages. As we do here.
MDM at his best was even more exciting, and a powerful, moving artist. But having heard them both in live recordings, I believe Corelli definitely had a superior technique and a much more beautiful voice. Also quite as much sheer passion.
So beautiful and personal♡♥♡
Certamente il migliore, sempre.
Simplemente maravilloso !!....que en paz descanse en la gloria de Dios !!!!
Amazing, incredible. I heard the diminuendoes of many singers, Fleta, Di Stefano in Salut Demeure, Anselmi, Kiepura... but this b flat filatura is the most spectacular I ever heard. Such a huge high b flat, fading out in that thread of voice, floating like that. Corelli, prince of tenors, but very close to the king, almost there!!!
My God did the sun phone in the last note? Amazing decrescendo....
He's just extraordinary. Outstanding.
la voz seductora, el timbre seductor, el volumen luminoso, te transporta al extasis!!!
Sublime Corelli! Thank you so much!
Gosh! He held that last note out forever!
grande corelli-il migliore di tutti i tempi trascorsi...in passato...
Como siempre maravilloso en italiano como en frances sublime lo amo con el corazón
En italien sublime, mais certainement pas en français.
@@sylviebasyl2835 Я писала уже комментарий , прочитайте, грамотей !
Unico e inigualable Franco Corelli una de los mejores tenores spinto de la historia
One of the great tenor voices.
Corelli sometimes sounds harsh, the result of this huge, vibrant, high-inensity
voice being microphoned closely
Divino!!
Roberta you are so gracious no explanation is desired or required for your generosity and posting these beautiful incredible gems💎. My wife and I in particular appreciate deeply the amount of time you spend posting these masterpieces. We thank you so much sincerely Arnold and Linda Amaral. 💏
Ineguagliabile Corelli!
Bravissimo Corelli.
Nessuno ha cantato quest'aria comme il Grandissimo Corelli.
Plinio Ramacciotti
Mi dispiace contraddirla: la parte non è certo da tenore eroico !!! Il pur grande Corelli scompare di fronte all'interpretazione di Ivan Kozlowski: provi a sentirla ...
@@stefanoferrari8781 Ver también George Thill . No se puede cantar en francés con un tal acento y Corelli la canta demasiado fuerte y desentona la lengua francesa con su fuerte acento.
Fantástico Franco Corelli...es todo un huracán con ese timbre y vozarrón que Dios le dió. El final es apoteotico... sin embargo recomiendo y prefiero escuchar a Jussi Bjorling en el papel de Romeo...
non solo lária ma tutta l;ópera. infatti, questa opera é ritornata ai cartellloni del Met per molte staggione giusto per lui ed la Freni..
@@stefanoferrari8781 or Lemeshev, he was an even better Romeo than Kozlovsky. Corelli was extraordinary but not in lyric French parts. ruclips.net/video/pWOzdrm6hd8/видео.html
Magnifico Franco Corelli uno de los mejores tenores "spinto" de la historia de la öpera.
For those of us who listened to Met broadcasts in the 60’s and 70’s, the prompter was an intrinsic part of the performance. I don’t recall the name of the woman who did most of the prompting in those days, but she too was an artist with great skill. An eye on the score, an eye on the singer,s, and both ears on the music to know exactly when to throw out lines - and when they were not needed. This is how it was done, so chill and enjoy one of the great voices of the last century. What a privilege to hear this voice in any recording.
Finale con nota altissima e il finendo a mezza voce.mai sentito niente di simile.la Rai per ricordarlo dovrebbe dedicargli almheno
La RAI dimentica presto le voci piu' celebri.....vorrei ricordarrglielo io, una signora di 76 anni. Fatemi sentire FRANCO CORELLI. omaggiatelo come merita. 10 anni consecutivi alla SCALA voglion pur dir qualcosa. P avarotti alla SCALA non ha mai cantato eppure non si fa che sentir. Pavarotti pavarotti pavarotti...
INSUPERABLE CANTANDO Y ACTUANDO, EL TENOR QUE MÁS ME GUSTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There's a recording SOMEWHERE of a Philadelphia performance of Corelli's Romeo where at the end he takes the entire final note, and softens it into a soft piano sooooooooooooo long that you could hang a week's laundry on it. I wish that was posted here as well. Someone must have it. I DID have it, and I don't know what happened to it.
please please please find it and give us this one too thanks grazzie tanto
Las Facultades de Corelli hacen de este ROMEO el mejor de la HISTORIA!!!
Will there ever be a voice close to Mr Corellis? ❤
such a treat. bless you !
Prompter or not, we should be lucky to have this wonderful document......I am lucky to have ❤❤❤
No matter how often I listen - I just don't understand how he could possibly manage that. It's possibly on oft the most superhuman sounds ever to be uttered by a man.
This man makes me weep.😍😍
rcheleleeba, muchas gracias por compartir esta valiosa grabación. MAGNIFICO Y SUBLIME COMO SIEMPRE EL GRAN MAESTRO FRANCO CORELLI., ademàs, con si figura estupenda y juvenil, a la edad de estas actuaciones, SOLO ÈL A PODIDO HACERLO. BRAVO GRAN MAESTRO.
As Palermo Huerto mentioned, the Live from the Met HD b'cast was just this past Saturday, 21 January 2017, which I heard and loved. Corelli has a much different timbre than Grigolo, Alagna, other notable Romeo-s. Corelli was in a class by himself..virile, sexy, and thrilling to hear. I heard him sing Calaf to Nilssen's Turandot "back in the day" when the Met used to tour...this was at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, and it changed my life.
Glad you enjoyed the HD-so did I. Grigolo was vocally and physically attractive-but obviously no Corelli The irony is that with all the grief Corelli takes by some for not being in the French style and too dramatic sounding for the role, the Sat. performance was very Italianate in style and spirit-and some complained about that.
My brother was in the house, and enjoyed it, but suffered some let down recalling these very Romeos with Corelli, Freni et al that we attended together
Hello - as a professional singer and voice teacher myself, there are always going to be dilettantes grousing over "style" and appropriateness for a role. I say BS to that...all that matters is the beauty of voice and as much commitment as possible to text/diction. As a Wagnerian mezzo myself, I had never felt particularly in love with French opera, but I am coming around to appreciate it more and more...who better than the French (Berlioz, Gounod, Massenet) to express love and longing for love?
+Labienus I love my Romeo et Juliette DVD with Roberto Alagna and Valentina Veduva, but I do regret not being around to have seen Corelli and Freni.
Oh, yes Alagna was great in this role-as in Faust, and Romeo-with his
beautiful French. Also Kraus, Gedda, did these roles well, and many people
admire Bjorling, for good reason, but it sounds as Italianate as
Grigolo's.
At the recent Met HD I was talking to a friend about Franco's Romeo, of
which I had seen a bunch -and she probably all! We agreed he worked hard on his
French and it wasn't that bad (you remember Bing's famous quip about a critic
who disdained his French), but who cared when you were there in person. She
recalled that when Franco lifted Freni up, every women in the audience was
swooning.
The "French style" has certainly faded, and as a singer you'll know that
French is rarely sung well by anyone not a native French speaker. I guess I take
issue with the idea that "grousing" over style,appropriateness of voice etc. are
only the thoughts of dilettantes. The acceptance of great voices in an earlier
area was less concerned with proper historic practice-much of it was
unknown.Great voices, talents were their own justification, and we've
lost that now. (do counter tenors make up for great mezzos?) But as much as I
love the great Vickers singing Handel's Samson, it would be impossible-even with
such a voice, for that sort of vocal approach to Baroque music to be acceptable
today. Not the same kind of problem, with this example here- with
Corelli's Romeo-IMO
The French repertoire has contracted, and all the many other operas of
Massenet, Gounod are rarely, if ever performed. Meyerbeer, who was huge in the
nineteenth century is nearly extinct. But a small compensation, has been the
discovery of Berlioz, particularly of one of the greatest of all operas and one
of my favorites-Les Troyens. But the French operatic tradition, and with it,the
French singing style increasingly diminished during the last century. No wonder
the ones that remain are sung in a more international=Italian style, and there
is a much smaller number of French singers, or French speakers singing
internationally. Even when this production was new, in that size house, it
would have been hard to find other voices to fill it with passion.
racheleleeba, la ringrazio molto per la condivisione di questa registrazione prezioso. Magnifico e sublime come SEMPRE IL GRAN MAESTRO FRANCO CORELLI., Ci consiglia anche se grande e giovanile figura, all'età di queste azioni, solo la A potrebbe farlo. BRAVO Gran Maestro.
Thanks so much for this great piece of musical history! So very cool!
In this aria franco gave us everything!
And show his tremendous quality.
His collosal voice travel further than any other.
He was and still is chosen one
Much to colossal for Roméo, perhaps. Roméo is not Manrico, Turridu...