Franco Corelli

His exceptional good looks made him a matinee idol and Franco Corelli ä the Prince of Tenors ä 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.ÞHis charismatic performances in such operas as ÊLa VestaleÊ and ÊFedoraÊ (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 ÊTurandotÊ created a mania for Corelli.ÞNearly 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.