Franco Corelli and a Revolution in Singing: Fifty-four Tenors Spanning 200 Years, vol. 2

On the "Rome Walkout": "Callas was a little sick, and that didn't permit her to sing at her best. Some in the audience heckled her. When she came offstage after Act I she was completely calm, but then she began to stew and announced she was canceling. The management went to her, to push her to continue the performance. She became a lioness and began to scream. She threw some vases and a chair. Little by little she lost her voice. When she left the theater, however, she looked elegant, as if nothing had happened.... She was in possession of a fabulous voice and an excellent technique. As late as 1958 she always was able to sing. She could have continued." On rivalry among costars: "There's always rivalry onstage. To go up against Nilsson I had to learn how to put forth 110 percent of the voice that I had. At La Scala in 1964 they screamed "hams" at us because we held high notes so long, trying to outdo each other in Turandot. Nilsson was born dominant-her voice was, too.... In the Faust recording Ghiaurov screamed and was only good in the laugh. Sutherland hooted. I was the only one who truly sang, with a free voice and an expressive top." On his appearance: "Besides voice, musicality and physique du rôle are important.... If I hadn't had my voice my appearance wouldn't have helped. But if I were a hunchback I would not have had the career that I did." Also: Corelli's personal life and how it affected his singing, including interviews with his wife and mistresses; a look at unsatisfactory Corelli biographies; Corelli's no-holds-barred rivalry with Mario Del Monaco and more. Written with the help of The Metropolitan Opera Archives, the three volumes are a collector's item with 350 lithographs and photographs, many published for the first time, of tenors from the 1820s to today.