Franco Corelli - Di quella pira (Birthday Tribute)

Franco Corelli (1921-2003) was an Italian tenor active in opera from the 1950s to 1976. He was noted for his charismatic stage presence and physical attractiveness as well as his powerful voice. Here he sings ’Di quella pira’ from Verdi’s Il trovatore. This video is in honor of his 87th birthday, which was precisely 7 days ago. Happy birthday, Maestro Corelli! An interesting story about one of Corelli’s ’Trovatore’ performances: In a ’Trovatore’ production in Naples, Corelli angrily attacked a student in a third-tier box who heckled him during the performance. Outraged, Corelli bounded backstage, ran up three flights of stairs to the box and, finding the door locked, broke it down with his shoulder. In his Manrico costume, complete with sword, Corelli charged at the young man, but was restrained by two ushers. He was so infuriated that he lost his voice for 20 minutes, returning to the stage just in time to sing what he always considered his greatest ever