Superstar tenor Franco Corelli made his Seattle Opera debut in one of his signature roles. Nobody had ever heard anything so glorious in Seattle, and the ovations were tremendous. In his memoirs, Glynn Ross remembers actually having to “shove him on stage"--Corelli was highly charismatic, but also extremely nervous. The English-language Frère Laurent was Leon Lishner, professor at the University of Washington for many years.

Franco Corelli (Roméo), Maestro Emerson Buckley, and Haraldo Lara (Capulet) backstage after a performance of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, 1967 © Des Gates

Franco Corelli (Roméo) in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, 1967 © Des Gates

John Duykers (Mercutio) in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, 1967. © Des Gates

Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, 1967. © Des Gates

Haroldo Lara (Capulet) in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet, 1967. © Des Gates

Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, 1967 © Des Gates

Carol Todd (Juliette) and Leon Lishner (Frère Laurent) in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette, 1967 © Des Gates