Corena endured several
false starts in his career until his
breakthrough in the early 1950s. Thought
of as a prototypical Italian buffo he
was in fact nothing of the sort. For
a start he was born in Geneva in 1916
and though his mother was Italian his
father was Turkish. Vittorio Gui suggested
he further his studies and so Corena
went to Milan but the war interrupted
the little progress he’d made and it
wasn’t until success in Verona in 1948
that he became noticed, not least by
La Scala. Competition was tough – Siepi
and Christoff being the two most formidable
– and Corena began to specialise in
the more modern repertoire, Menotti,
Petrassi and Prokofiev, but eventually
he burgeoned onto the international
stage. His Edinburgh, Glyndebourne,
and Salzburg performances were greatly
admired, to say nothing of his twenty-six
uninterrupted seasons at the Met.
Corena’s performances
are not necessarily rare but Preiser
have collated some Decca and Urania
discs from 1951-53 to exhibit him in
a fair chunk of his most notable roles.
Decca LX3095 grouped together his Mozart
and they make very pleasing, sympathetic
listening. Forward sibilants are noticeable
in Se vuol ballare and also theatrically
that he doesn’t do too much. His buffo
instincts were always tidily reined
in – doubtless a conscious decision
on stage but one that comes across equally
strongly on disc. Non più
andrai is neatly characterised –
attractive and warm and whilst not stellar
an indication of his well-focused musical
instincts. Similarly Madamina,
one of two examples of his way in Don
Giovanni, is not at all rushed and there’s
not too much buffo business but Corena
shades his tonal reserves with commendable
wit and intelligence. He has an attractive
spring – and enough personality – for
Donne miei from Così and
his Magic Flute has the requisite balance
of simplicity and dignity. These Mozart
extracts reveal an attractive, unsensational
but greatly attractive and likeable
musician.
Turning to his Italian
repertoire we find a treasurable example
of his Barber of Seville from 1951.
Collectors will know that he recorded
the opera complete in 1959 with Leinsdorf
conducting and fellow cast members including
Peters, Merrill and Tozzi, though it
was certainly not a universally admired
set. His Donizetti is colourful and
his Don Pasquale an advance souvenir
of the complete set he was to record
with Kertesz over a decade later (here
he makes a good team with Afro Poli).
The Forza del destino actually derives
from the complete Urania album recorded
in 1952 in which he partnered Modesti,
Guerrini, Pirazzini, Campora and Colzani
under the baton of Armando la Rosa Parodi.
The Deccas and Urania
LPs used were clearly in fine condition
and they’ve been well transferred, along
with some good biographical information.
Mozart and the Italians represents a
fair distribution of Corena’s mature
operatic career and this disc shows
why he was in such consistent demand.
Jonathan Woolf