Franco Corelli and a Revolution in Singing

Across the years more forceful, less subtle singing styles won out over sweeter and more nuanced interpretations. In the mid-twentieth century superstar tenors Mario Del Monaco and Franco Corelli came forward with a new technique that involved singing with the larynx lowered. They competed fiercely with each other but had a common objective: to sound more virile. They became the models for many others and ultimately changed the world's expectations of what tenors should sound like in Verdi and Puccini. Together they relegated sweet tenor singing to the junk heap of history. Corelli, with his more "masculine" approach, became opera's greatest sex symbol. The singer himself was consumed with sexual desire but believed that to sing well he had to suppress it. Over the years he engaged in a series of affairs, despite his eagle-eyed wife.

The book includes extensive interviews with Corelli about singers and singing--as well as interviews with some of his women. Featured are more than one hundred photos, some of great rarity, some full of personality. Because of both its analyses and its revelations, the book will be of interest to opera lovers everywhere.