The Echo of an Angel’s Voice

Luciano Pavarotti, the prodigy who could charm angels with a melodious voice…the tenor whose arias brought forth nine effortless high Cs…a double Guinness World record holder, one for receiving a record breaking 165 curtain calls and the other for the best selling classical album, ‘In Concert’ by the Three Tenors, sharing this coveted prize with the noted singers, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras…winning the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. With the reputation as one of the leading tenors, Luciano Pavarotti’s voice resounds through the globe today.

Gifted with a golden voice, Luciano Pavarotti was born on October 12th, 1935 in Modena, Italy. With musical genes from his father, Fernando who was a baker and a singer, Luciano was the only offspring. Both versatile in sports as well as singing, Luciano earned local fame as a soccer player while still young. With an innate spring of talent, young Luciano had a melodious tenor quality that included him in a Modena chorus with his father, who also had a love of opera being a tenor himself. When the chorus took part in the Llangollen International Singing Competition in Wales and won the first place, young Pavarotti knew that this was his future.

Following his passion and his intuition, Luciano trained under Arrigo Pola in Modena and Ettore Campogalliani in Mantua. As the beginning of many successes, Luciano’s first operatic debut came in the form of Rodolfo in La Bohème in the Reggio nell'Emilia Theater in 1961. With applause resounding in his wake, Luciano mesmerized audiences in Zurich, London, Italy and Vienna. Making an impression in America, Pavarotti made his American debut in 1965 in a Miami production of Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland, an association that was to last a lifetime. In a very coincidental move, Joan Sutherland recommended Pavarotti as the tenor who was supposed to perform was ill. Pavarotti who had been traveling with Joan Sutherland was familiar with the role. The performance took place on the stage of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium in Miami. The famous accolade that was to etch Pavarotti’s name in the history of musical annals occurred in 1972. After a stint in Australia, Pavarotti appeared and performed at the Metropolitan House in a production of La Fille du Regiment in 1972. It was this performance that rocked the music world as Pavarotti’s nine absolutely impeccable high Cs brought him the accolades of a standing ovation with 17 curtain calls and a record breaking reputation as a tenor.

A Record Breaking History

After this awesome experience, the sky was the limit as Pavarotti’s fame echoed around the globe with record breakers and sell-out concerts. Debuts in La Boheme, La Scala, San Francisco and New York brought an on pour of fans and publicity. In March 1966, he sang at La Scala where he added Tebaldo to his repertoire with Giacomo Aragall as Romeo. With triumph after triumph, Pavarotti left a trail of accolades right from Convent Garden to Rome where he sang I Lombardi with Scotto. His musical career unlike his predecessors and peers has the most recorded history ever in the musical industry. I Lombardi was recorded as was his Capuleti e Montecchi with Aragall. The commercial recordings include a recital of Donizetti and Verdi arias (the aria from Don Sebastiano), as well as Elisir d'amore with Sutherland. Pavarotti appeared in many television operatic performances that pulled in a huge record breaking audience with his role as Rodolfo in the first ‘Live from the Met’ telecast in March 1977. With talent, persistence and confidence, Pavarotti forged ahead with success winning Grammy awards and platinum and gold discs for his performances with oustanding accolades for his La Favorita with Cossotto and his I Puritani with Sutherland.

Pavarotti’s best sellers recorded consistently by London/Decca Records include collections of arias, recital programs, a live concert from Carnegie Hall, anthologies of Neapolitan and other Italian songs with the most recent being Verdi's Il Trovatore. In a television program, both Pavarotti and Placido Domingo celebrated their 25th anniversaries with an Opening Night Gala performance in the fall of 1993. Traveling around the world, Pavarotti drew crowds with sell-out concerts. This included a televised concert in London's Hyde Park attended by the Prince and Princess of Wales. Making headlines, this particular concert was the first to feature classical music attended by 150,000 people. In June 1993, more than 500,000 fans came together to enjoy and watch his performance on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, while millions more around the world watched the spectacular show on television. The following September saw a performance where more than 300,000 people watched Pavarotti perform at the Eiffel Tower in France.

Pavarotti’s celebrity status has continued from 1990 with his fantastic rendition of Giacomo Puccini's aria, "Nessun Dorma" (from Turandot) which became the theme song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. As his trademark song, this aria has reached Pop music celebrity status. The renowned Three Tenors concert held on the eve of the World Cup Final at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome with the famous tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras with the conductor Zubin Mehta, became the best and the largest selling classical record. Through the 1990s, Pavarotti performed in many otdoor concerts that included the Three Tenors concerts held during the Football World Cups, in Los Angeles in 1994, in Paris in 1998 and in Yokohama in 2002. The recordings and videos of these concerts have record breaking outcome and have been out-sold more than those by Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones. Pavarotti’s humane and simple demeanor has been displayed in his charity performances with the ‘Pavarotti and Friends’ charity concerts held in his hometown in Modena, Italy. Pavarotti has joined with other singers from all parts of the world for fundraisers for the United Nations’ causes. These include concerts held for Bosnia, Guatemala and Kosovo, and Iraq. December 12th of the year 1998 saw him becoming the first and so far the only opera singer to perform on Saturday Night Live, singing alongside Vanessa Lynn Williams. He also sang ‘Miss Sarajevo’ with Bono from U2, in 1995. Luciano Pavarotti and Barry White performed a duet at a fundraising concert in Modena, Italy, May 29, 2001.

A Tenor with Tenacity

In the year 2002, Pavarotti and his manager, Herbert Breslin went their own ways due to differences over a book written and published by Breslin. Later Pavarotti married his assisstant and has a daughter called Alice. Along with the Princess of Wales, he raised money for noble causes. He refused to sing at her funeral because he could not sing , “with his grief in his throat”. Pavarotti at the age of 69, started his farewell tour in 2004, performing for the last time in old and new places after over four decades of stage performances. On December 1, 2004, he announced a 40 city farewell tour to be produced by Harvey Goldsmith. His last performance was an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera with a standing ovation for 11 minutes, where he performed as the painter, Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's ‘Tosca’ on March 13, 2004. The tour cities include, Sarajevo, Bosnia, Vienna, Austria, Lisbon, Portugal, Zurich, Switzerland, Helsinki, Finland, Glasgow, Toronto, United Kingdom-Bakewell, United Kingdom-Warwickshire, United Kingdom, Budapest and Hungary. His last performance is scheduled to be held in the second half of 2006, in either New York or Italy, his home country.

Receiving the accolade of, “He is the outstanding tenor of his generation, noted for his mastery of the highest notes of a tenor's range”, Pavarotti sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy on February 10, 2006. The final act saw the crowd giving the longest and most resounding applause. Pavarotti’s success through the’70s saw him play the roles of Arturo, Massenet's Des Grieux, Alfredo, the Duke, and Nemorino. His voice grew richer and he took on the roles of Manrico, Ernani, Radames, Calaf, and Otello. He went on to appear in over a dozen broadcasts from the Lincoln Center. Pavarotti’s performances have been record breaking, selling millions of copies of his solo albums of opera arias, traditional music, and other favorites. Reaching the peak of popularity, Pavarotti with his style and resonance has reached a level which no other celebrity has seen. Practically being a household name all over the world, Pavarotti has brought a new light to opera. Including open-air concerts in New York and London city parks, the most popular tenor in the world has also performed works by Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini and Verdi.

Pavarotti and Eric Clapton performed “Holy Mother” together at Pavarotti’s War Child Benefit Concert in Modena for the children of Bosnia. This was releaseed through albums and videos. Luciano shares his talents by taking an interest and involving himself in refining and fine tuning young singers’ talents. In doing so, he conducts master classes and hosts international competitions. He has given spectacular concerts to benefit charities, including War Child. During the beginning of the 1980s he created ‘The Pavarotti International Voice Competition’ for young singers. He performed with the winners in 1982 in excerpts of La Bohème and L'Elisir d'amore. The second competition in 1986 featured staged excerpts of La Bohème and Un Ballo in Maschera. In order to celebrate the 25th anniversary of his career he brought the winners of the competition to Italy for huge performances of La Bohème in Modena and then in Genoa and finally to China for performances of La Bohème in Beijing chronicled in the film Distant Harmony. The end of the visit saw Pavarotti performing for the first time at the Great Hall of the People witnessed by 10,000 people, again, receiving a standing ovation for nine superhuman high Cs. The third competition in 1989 featured staged performances of L'Elisir d'amore and Un Ballo in Maschera. The winners of the fifth competition went with Pavarotti for performances in Philadelphia in 1997.

Now, in a historical move, Pavarotti gives singing lessons to students enrolled in a two-year course at the Orazio Vecchi music school in northern Modena. This is a first for him, as Giovanni Indulti, a teacher at the school. ''It's the first time he is teaching at an Italian university,'' he said. ''It's important.'' Pavarotti’s passion will now be imparted to help twenty four students with all aspects from arias to acting. The great Pavarotti comes down to ground levels as he understands the difficulties of struggling musicians, ''You have to set them to work in lyrical productions straight away,'' he says, understanding the fact that they have to support themselves. Pavarotti himself never forced to let his voice go beyond his natural range. His entire career is recorded on tape and video with memorable hits and spectacular performances such as, Ti Adoro, Pavarotti, A Portrait of Pavarotti, Three Tenors: Best Loved Arias, The Great Pavarotti, The Best of Luciano Pavarotti, The best is yet to come, O sole mio, Mamma, Passione, Tutto Pavarotti, Aida, Ti amo: Puccini’s greatest love songs, the album: Easter Hymn and countless songs and arias. Pavarotti has carved a niche for himself as a great tenor with the accolade of etching an infinite place in the hearts and minds of people.