The Very Best of Franco Corelli (2003)

About this title: Just a generation ago, posterity hadn't quite made up its mind about Franco Corelli. Corelli was an operatic oddity, a self-trained singer with movie star looks who largely learned his craft from listening to old records of his predecessors. Corelli made up for what he may have lacked in conventionally trained, "beautiful" tone with an approach that emphasized power and electric energy over all, and gradually rose through the ranks of tenors to become a major star of Italian opera. This EMI collection, The Very Best of Franco Corelli, concentrates its focus on recordings Corelli made in the ... read more

Tracks:

1. I Puritani, opera: Act 1. A te, o cara
2. Norma, opera: Act 1. Meco all'altar di Venere...Me protegge, me difende
3. Il Trovatore, opera: Act 3. Ah sì, ben mio...Di quella pira
4. Aida, opera: Act 1. Se quel guerrier io fossi!...Celeste Aida
5. Aida, opera: Act 3. Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida
6. Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act: Intanto amici...Viva il vino spumeggiante
7. Cavalleria rusticana, opera (melodramma) in 1 act: Mamma, quel vino è generoso
8. Pagliacci, opera: Act 1. Recitar!...Vesti la giubba
9. Pagliacci, opera: Act 2. No, Pagliaccio non son
10. Andrea Chénier, opera: Act 1. Colpito qui m'avete...Un dì all'azzuro spazio
11. Andrea Chénier, opera: Act 2. Credo a una possanza arcana
12. Andrea Chénier, opera: Act 3. Legray!...Andrea Chénier!...Sì, fui soldato
13. Andrea Chénier, opera: Act 4. Come un bel dì di maggio
14. Andrea Chénier, opera: Act 4. Vicino a te
15. Manon Lescaut, opera: Act 1. Donna non vidi mai
16. Tosca, opera: Act 1. Recondita armonia
17. Tosca, opera: Act 3. E lucevan le stelle
18. Turandot, opera: Act 1. Non piangere, Liù...Ah! per l'ultima volta!
19. Turandot, opera: Act 3. Nessun dorma
20. La favorita, opera: Act 4. Favorita del Re!...Spirto gentil
21. La Gioconda, opera in 4 acts: Act 2. Cielo e mar
22. Adriana Lecouvreur, opera: Act 2. L'anima ho stanca
23. Les Huguenots, grand opera in 5 acts: Act 1. Non lunge della torre...Bianca al par di neve alpina
24. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act 1. Ange adorable
25. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act 2. L'amour, l'amour...Ah! lève-toi, soleil!
26. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act 2. O nuit divine!
27. Roméo et Juliette, opera: Act 5. C'est là! Salut! tombeau!
28. Serse (Xerxes), opera, HWV 40: Act 1. Fronde tenere...Ombra mai fu (Largo)
29. Ellens Gesang III ("Ave Maria"), song for voice & piano, D. 839 (Op. 52/6)
30. Petite messe solennelle, for soloists, 2 pianos, harmonium & choir: Domine Deus
31. Core 'ngrato (Catari), for voice & orchestra
32. Torna a Surriento, for voice & piano (or orchestra)

Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is further described below.