Franco Corelli - Ren Seghers

His exceptional good looks made him a matinee idol
and Franco Corelli
the Prince of Tenors
was dubbed
Mr. Soldout
for 20 consecutive years. In 1958
just seven years after beginning his career
he was already the highest-paid tenor in Italy. Following his Met debut in 1961
he was celebrated as the greatest tenor in the world
a position that he retained until his departure from the Met in 1975.His charismatic performances in such operas as La Vestale and Fedora (both in collaboration with Maria Callas)
coupled with a formidable mystique
as well as a number of notorious and colorful incidents
including his real-life sword fight with Boris Christoff in Rome
the Callas walkout there
the beating up of a spectator in Naples
and the alleged biting of Birgit Nilsson on a Boston tour of Turandot
created a mania for Corelli.Nearly a decade in the making
this definitive biography is based on the author's extensive research of theater archives and interviews with the opera star's numerous friends
family members
colleagues (Nilsson
Pavarotti
and many others)
as well as the management of some of the world's leading opera houses.