Gabor Carelli

Who was Gabor Carelli?

Gabor Carelli was a Hungarian classical tenor who had an important career in operas and concerts in North America during the mid 20th century. He was notably committed to the Metropolitan Opera in New York City from 1951 to 1974 where he gave a total of 1,079 performances. Music critic Elizabeth Forbes stated that he had a "a lyrical voice, a stylish technique and an aptitude for comedy." In 1964 he joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music where he taught singing and worked as an ensemble instructor until his death in Manhattan at the age of 83.

Born in Budapest, Carelli was the son of an Italian father and a Hungarian mother. He studied singing at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music while simultaneously attending Eötvös Loránd University where he earned a law degree. He pursued further studies in opera in Rome where he was a pupil of Beniamino Gigli for two years.

Carelli made his stage debut in 1938 in Florence as Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème. He spent the next year performing in a variety of Italian theaters before moving to New York City in 1939. He spent the 1940s touring with various opera companies and performing as a recitalist and concert performer throughout North America. He was particularly admired for his work as a soloist in Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem, Gioachino Rossini's Stabat Mater, Zoltán Kodály's Psalmus Hungaricus, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. In 1951, he sang the role of Dr. Caius for an NBC Radio broadcast of Verdi's Falstaff with conductor Arturo Toscanini and the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The performance was recently re-issued on CD by the RCA music label. In 1952 he was the tenor soloist for the United States premiere of Puccini's Messa di Gloria in Chicago.