Editing Franco Corelli (section)

===The Metropolitan Opera years: 1961–1975===
Corelli made his debut at [[New York City|New York]]'s [[Metropolitan Opera]] on 27 January 1961 as Manrico in ''[[Il trovatore]],'' opposite soprano [[Leontyne Price]] as Leonora who was also making her house debut at the Met that evening.<ref name="Opera News"/> He would sing to great acclaim at the Met until 1974 in roles such as [[Turandot|Calaf]] (with [[Birgit Nilsson]] as [[Turandot]]), [[Tosca|Cavaradossi]], [[Adriana Lecouvreur|Maurizio]], [[Ernani]], [[La bohème|Rodolfo]] and [[Lucia di Lammermoor|Edgardo]]. He also undertook French parts in new productions of ''[[Roméo et Juliette]]'' and ''[[Werther]]''. He sang at a number of historic nights at the Met including: the closing gala at the old Met, the concert honoring Sir [[Rudolf Bing]]'s retirement, and Callas's legendary comeback Tosca.<ref name="Opera News"/>  His last performance at the Met was on 28 December 1974 as Calàf with [[Ingrid Bjoner]], also singing her last performance at the Met, as Turandot. However, Corelli did tour extensively with the Metropolitan Opera in 1975, singing in performances in cities throughout the United States and in Japan.<ref>[http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/frame.htm] {{dead link|date=April 2025}}</ref>

While singing at the Met, Corelli continued to be a presence on the international stage. In 1961 he made his debut with the [[Deutsche Oper Berlin]]. He returned to La Scala in 1962, for a revival of [[Giacomo Meyerbeer|Meyerbeer]]'s ''[[Les Huguenots]]'', opposite [[Joan Sutherland]], and that same year appeared as Manrico in a lauded production of ''Il trovatore'' at the [[Salzburg Festival]] under [[Herbert von Karajan]] and opposite Leontyne Price, [[Giulietta Simionato]], and [[Ettore Bastianini]].<ref name="Opera News"/> Also in 1962 he made his first appearance with the [[Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company]] as Mario Cavaradossi. He returned to Philadelphia almost every year through 1971 portraying close to a dozen different roles.<ref>[[Free Library of Philadelphia]]: ''Box: Phila. Lyric Opera Company'': 782.1 P5326p Bal Two [1968–1975]</ref> He made his debut at the [[Palais Garnier|Paris Opéra]] in 1964 opposite Callas in Tosca and Norma. He also earned high acclaim while collaborating with the Italian-American conductor [[Alfredo Antonini]] in several gala concerts in New York during the mid 1960s.<ref>The New York Times, 6 December 1964, p. 114</ref><ref>The New York Times, 14 November 1965, p. 101</ref>

In the early 1970s, Corelli's voice began to show some signs of wear after years of hard use in a demanding repertory. As a result, the resultant nerves surrounding performances became increasingly difficult to handle for the tenor. He made his last opera appearance as Rodolfo in 1976 in [[Torre del Lago]] at the age of 55.<ref name="Opera News"/> Corelli later said of the decision, "I felt that my voice was a little tired, a little opaque, less brilliant than before. The singer's life cost me a great deal. I was full of apprehension and mad at everyone. I was a bundle of nerves, I wasn't eating or sleeping."<ref name="NYT"/>