Word: corena
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DIED. Fernando Corena, 67, Swiss-born buffo opera star who sang 726 performances with New York City's Metropolitan Opera from 1954 to 1978, specializing in such roles as Falstaff and Dr. Bartolo in The Barber of Seville and winning the delighted chuckles of audiences and critics, one of whom dubbed him "the greatest scene stealer in the history of opera"; of a heart attack; in Lugano, Switzerland...
...weekend in Paris, the prop men were unable to find any whipped cream to use in the Barber's shaving mug. Baritone Robert Merrill experimented with a gooey mixture of sour cream and beaten egg whites, finally, in keeping with the stage directions, had to smear Basso Fernando Corena's face and mouth with the fluffy filling from French cream puffs...
...everyone was ready to join the Union. The Barber of Seville went smoothly enough, though Soprano Roberta Peters as Rosina was in woefully bad voice. At the end of one of her arias, someone shouted "Vive la Callas!"; Merrill, Corena and the 38-piece orchestra under Thomas Schippers got the most enthusiastic applause...
...must give him an edgy feeling to see that Enrico Caruso, silent these many years, is right behind him, having posthumously grown in popularity from 20 to 36, thanks to reissues of old recordings. Mario Del Monaco is the most recorded tenor with 39, Fernando Corena the most recorded basso (38), and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, with an astonishing jump from 46 to 82 recordings, the busiest baritone...
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (Birgit Nilsson, Carlo Bergonzi, Cornell MacNeil, Giulietta Simionato, Sylvia Stahlman, Fernando Corena; Chorus and Orchestra of L'Accademia di Santa Cecilia conducted by Georg Solti; London). A rather studied approach and over-resonant sound take some of the flash out of this performance, but Soprano Nilsson and Mezzo Simionato remain joys to the ear, and Tenor Bergonzi sings with distinction...