Dario Corelli ('Franco' was an adaptation for the stage) was born in Ancona, Italy, in 1921. The exact date of birth is uncertain, but sources commonly hold it to have been 8 April, even though the date 23 August 1923 has been suggested.

For a short period he studied at the Music Conservatory of Pesaro, Rossini's birthplace, attending classes with soprano Rita Pavoni, but gave up his studies as he discouragingly seemed to be losing his high notes, believing the baritone repertory could be more suited to him. A friend, who also studied at the conservatory, eventually led his attention towards maestro Arturo Melocchi, who had been Del Monaco's vocal tutor, and showed him the technique that had made Del Monaco famous, which consisted in lowereing the larynx. Corelli met with Melocchi sporadically, and relied mostly on his proper intuition.¹

With the help of Maestro Ottavio Ziino he made his debut at the Sperimentale festival of Spoleto in August 1951. He sang Don José in Carmen, and rave reviews immediately followed, praising Corelli's voice and range. Shortly after, in January 1952, he was engaged for three performances of Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo at Rome's Teatro del Opera, and he returned four months later for a single performance of Adriana Lecouvreur with Maria Caniglia, Maria Benedetti and Tito Gobbi. Corelli's compelling performance convinced the direction of the theater into permanently engaging Corelli, and he was retained for performances of Carmen at the theater's summer season at Caracalla. He also performed in Carmen at Trieste's Castello di San Giusto, in San Remo and in Torino, all with Giulietta Simionato.

Corelli had by now rapidly gained acknowledgment and sang Boris Godunov with Boris Christoff at the Teater del Opera in December 1952, now a major force to be reckoned with at the opera. In March 1953 he was chosen for the world premiere of Guerrini's Enea with Antonietta Stella and Christoff, and in April he entered the stage with Maria Callas in Bellini's Norma. The cast also included Fedora Barbieri, Giulio Neri and Gabriele Santini and reviews were overwhelming.

Notes:

¹) Romantically put, Corelli was largely self taught with the 78s of his grand predecessors as his best guide, and he greatly admired Pertile and Gigli and in many ways assimilated Pertiles qualities as tenor. However, there were a handful of encounters with Melocchi where Corelli was taught to lower the larynx and he also received constant advice from coach Giuseppe Bertelli. Late 1950s and early 1960s he also associated with Lauri-Volpi. They prepared I Puritani, Trovatore, Bohème, Tosca and Poliuto together, apparently focussing on the passagio (middle to upper register), and the result was that Corelli's voice turned lighter - too light, Corelli himself said at a later stage.