Magyar News, 1998. szeptember-1999. augusztus (9. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1998-09-01 / 1. szám
In addition to the colors on their respective flags, Italians and Hungarians have other important characteristics in common: excellent cuisine and a great passion for music come to mind quickly. This does not guarantee, however, that an Italian can "feel" or be Hungarian, or vice-versa. Until recently I had never met a Hungarian I would consider Italian nor an Italian I would consider Hungarian. Then I met Gábor Carelli, a multilingual and multicultural Hungarian tenor with an Italian surname who is enjoying the current phase of a long career as a singer and teacher in the opera world. As an indication of his capacity to fully absorb other cultures and languages, just consider that our entire two-hour interview was conducted in the Italian language. His name makes one ask whether he is Italian or Hungarian or both. He is Hungarian by birth, even though he left Hungary many years ago to follow his musical destiny in many parts of the world. The surname change (from Crausz) occurred many years ago at the request of the great Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli, a close friend of Gábor's for many years and possibly the most important influence on him, musically and personally. When I interviewed the Maestro recently, Gigli's name came up continually. Gábor believes it was his destiny to meet Gigli and to follow him to Italy and then to the United States. One of Mr. Carelli's most cherished possessions is a small photograph of Gigli with an inscription in Italian on the back side, "To the young future tenor Gábor Crausz, with the certainty that you will have a great career. Beniamino Gigli, 1934". Gábor Carelli was bom in Hungary and in his early years had already mas-Gábor Carelli as Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly tered German and French, two of the six languages he speaks fluently, with the domestic help his family provided. Destiny, he believes, led him to the study of the Italian language; in historical terms, the reason was the close political relationship between Italy and Hungary in the 1930s and it's influence on education in Hungary. A part of the general scholastic curriculum in Hungary changed from emphasis in the Greek language to modem languages, such as Italian, which Gábor studied for five years, culminating in the interpretation of Dante's The Divine Comedy. A good knowledge of Italian language and poetry is a big help to any serious opera singer. In addition to his studies with Ferenc Székelyhidi, at the time the leading lyric tenor of the Budapest Operaház, Carelli also received a degree in law. At the age of 17, he auditioned in Vienna and was subsequently asked to audition for Gigli. The already famous Italian quickly took a great liking to Carelli, announcing, "Tu vieni con me!" ("You will come with me"). So Gábor left Hungary in 1936 for Italy, where he made his professional debut in Florence in 1938 as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme. He remained Gigli's close friend and was almost a Gigh family member for about three years in Italy. Maestro Carelli showed me many photographs where they are together in social situations and with many of the great opera performers and conductors of the first half of the century. Through Gigh Carelli met some of the great living composers of the time, including Pietro Mascagni (composer of La Cavalleria Rusticana), Umberto Giordano (Andrea Chénier) and Francesco Cilea. Again upon Gigli's invitation, Carelli left Italy for the United States in late 1938, arriving in early 1939. He appeared in opera, oratorios and radio concerts during his first years here. One of his early major achievements occurred when he performed as tenor soloist for the American debut of Puccini's Messa di Gloria in Chicago. This was followed by another moment of destiny, an audition for the legendary Arturo Toscanini, who eventually had Carelli sing in the nowfamous recording of Verdi's Falstaff. The Metropolitan Opera was the next step in Carelli's career, where he remained from 1950 to 1975. These years at the Met brought him great success in both lyrical tenor and character roles within the range of a wide repertoire. The oratorio remained in Gábor's repertoire during these years; Carelli collaborated with renown Hungarian conductor Antal Doráti in the first recording of Zoltán Kodály's masterpiece Psalmus Hungaricus. The Maestro recounted with great pride many of the interesting events of his career. During one of his many return trips to Hungary, performances of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermour were being prepared at the Budapest Operahouse. Carelli was asked by theater director Aladár Tóth for his opinions on the production in general. Carelli's suggestions covered many aspects of the opera, with particular detail paid to costumes, and resulted in outstanding critical review. Having lived for many years outside Hungary, he was, like Mozart, able to synthesize many different points of view Page 6 Carelli among the memorabilia in his apartment. The large picture on the wall is of Gigli
