Best Known As: Italian tenor with the white dinner napkin
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was the most well-known opera singer of his lifetime. The son of an amateur tenor, Luciano gave up a career in teaching in the mid-1950s and, after years of study, began his professional singing career in 1961. His force of personality and seemingly effortless ability to hit and hold a high C made Pavarotti a crowd favorite, and during the 1970s and '80s his TV performances helped make him one of the few singers whose celebrity extended beyond the opera house. His rendition of "Nessun Dorma" (from Giacomo Puccini's Turandot) was used as the theme song of the World Cup in 1990 and became a minor hit record (as well as Pavarotti's signature song). Throughout the 1990s Pavarotti maintained his star status with frequent performances, including as one of "The Three Tenors" in concerts with fellow opera greats Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. He also made headlines for show cancellations and periodic health problems. His last performance at New York's Metropolitan Opera House was in 2004, and after 2005 his health declined due to pancreatic cancer. Possibly the most celebrated opera singer who ever lived, Pavarotti died a few weeks before his 72nd birthday.
Pavarotti starred in a famously bad movie, 1982's Yes, Giorgio... His signature prop on stage was a white dinner napkin... His charity concerts, "Pavarotti and Friends," began in 1992 and featured international celebrities from Liza Minnelli to Ricky Martin.
Oct 12, 1935. Born at Modena, Italy, Pavarotti made opera accessible for a wide audience. The most popular tenor of his time, he was known for his perfect tone, especially in the highest ranges. A regular performer at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York for decades, he brought his music to a wider audience in the 1980s and ’90s by performing as one of the Three Tenors. He, along with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, crossed into mainstream pop music with television appearances and nationwide tours and sold millions of records. A philanthropist, Pavarotti was active in raising funding and awareness for many humanitarian causes. Widely considered to be the best bel canto singer of the 20th century, he died at Modena Sept 6, 2007.
(born Oct. 12, 1935, Modena, Italy — died Sept. 6, 2007, Modena) Italian tenor. He started out as a schoolteacher and began his vocal training only in his 20s. He made his professional debut in 1961 and then debuted at La Scala in 1965 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1968. He retained the beautiful tone and thrilling high notes that his audiences loved into his 60s, nurturing his broad appeal by recording many light pieces in addition to the traditional Italian repertoire in which he specialized. The most famous male classical singer of the late 20th century, he came to personify the Italian tenor worldwide.
(b Modena, 12 Oct 1935). Italian tenor. He made his début in Reggio Emilia in 1961 and from 1963 sang outside Italy, appearing at Covent Garden in La bohème and in 1965 sang Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor in Australia with Sutherland. He made his La Scala début that year as Verdi's Duke and his USA début as Edgardo in Miami; at the Met, he sang Rodolfo in 1968. In the central Italian repertory (Bellini, Verdi, Puccini) and Mozart, his rich, even, vibrant voice, with splendid high notes, produced with great fluency and idiomatic musicianship, establishes him as one of the finest and most appealing Italian tenors of the century.
Probably the most popular tenor since Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) combined accuracy of pitch and quality of sound production with a natural musicality. His favorite roles were Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Bohème", Nemorino in Donizetti's "L'Elisir d'Amore", and Riccardo in Verdi's "Un Ballo Maschera".
Luciano Pavarotti was born on the outskirts of Modena in north-central Italy on October 12, 1935. Although he spoke fondly of his childhood, the family had little money; its four members were crowded into a two-room apartment. His father was a baker who, according to Pavarotti, had a fine tenor voice but rejected the possibility of a singing career because of nervousness. His mother worked in a cigar factory. World War II forced the family out of the city in 1943. For the following year they rented a single room from a farmer in the neighboring countryside, where young Pavarotti developed an interest in farming.
Pavarotti's earliest musical influences were his father's recordings, most of them featuring the popular tenors of the day - Gigli, Martinelli, Schipa, and Caruso. At around the age of nine he began singing with his father in a small local church choir. Also in his youth he had a few voice lessons with a Professor Dondi and his wife, but he ascribed little significance to them.
After what appears to have been a normal childhood with a typical interest in sports - in Pavarotti's case soccer above all - he graduated from the Schola Magistrale and faced the dilemma of a career choice. He was interested in pursuing a career as a professional soccer player, but his mother convinced him to train as a teacher. He subsequently taught in an elementary school for two years but finally allowed his interest in music to win out. Recognizing the risk involved, his father gave his consent only reluctantly, the agreement being that Pavarotti would be given free room and board until age 30, after which time, if he had not succeeded, he would earn a living by any means that he could.
Pavarotti began serious study in 1954 at the age of 19 with Arrigo Pola, a respected teacher and professional tenor in Modena who, aware of the family's indigence, offered to teach without remuneration. Not until commencing study with Pola was Pavarotti aware that he had perfect pitch. At about this time Pavarotti met Adua Veroni, whom he married in 1961. When Pola moved to Japan two and a half years later, Pavarotti became a student of Ettore Campogalliani, who was also teaching the now well-known soprano, Pavarotti's childhood friend Mirella Freni. During his years of study Pavarotti held part-time jobs in order to help sustain himself - first as an elementary school teacher and then, when he failed at that, as an insurance salesman.
The first six years of study resulted in nothing more tangible than a few recitals, all in small towns and all without pay. When a nodule developed on his vocal chords causing a "disastrous" concert in Ferrara, he decided to give up singing. Pavarotti attributed his immediate improvement to the psychological release connected with this decision. Whatever the reason, the nodule not only disappeared but, as he related in his autobiography, "Everything I had learned came together with my natural voice to make the sound I had been struggling so hard to achieve."
A measure of success occurred when he won the Achille Peri Competition in 1961, for which the first prize was the role of Rodolfo in a production of Puccini's La Bohème to be given in Reggio Emilia on April 28 of that year. Although his debut was a success, a certain amount of maneuvering was necessary to secure his next few contracts. A well-known agent, Alesandro Ziliani, had been in the audience and, after hearing Pavarotti, offered to represent him. When La Bohème was to be produced in Lucca, Ziliani insisted that Pavarotti be included in a package deal that would also provide the services of a well-known singer requested by the management. Later Ziliani recommended him to conductor Tullio Serafin, who engaged him in the role of the Duke of Mantua in Verdi's Rigoletto.
Pavarotti's Covent Garden debut in the fall of 1963 also resulted from something less than a direct invitation. Giuseppe di Stefano had been scheduled for a series of performances as Rodolfo, but the management was aware that he frequently canceled on short notice. They therefore needed someone whose quality matched the rest of the production, yet who would learn the role without any assurance that he would get to sing it. Pavarotti agreed. When di Stefano canceled after one and a half performances, Pavarotti stepped in for the remainder of the series with great success.
His debut at La Scala in 1965, again as Rodolfo, came at the suggestion of Herbert von Karajan, who had been conducting La Bohème there for two years and had, as Pavarotti said, "run out of tenors." He was somewhat resentful that the invitation did not come from La Scala management. Also in 1965 Pavarotti made his American debut in Miami as Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Illness troubled him during his New York debut at the Metropolitan Opera in November 1968 and compelled him to cancel after the second act of the second performance.
Nineteenth-century Italian opera comprised most of Pavarotti's repertoire, particularly Puccini, Verdi, and Donizetti, who he found the most comfortable to sing. He treated his voice cautiously, reserving heavier roles until later years. Still his rendering of Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca was criticized, both for the light quality of his voice and for his misinterpretation of the role. He sang few song recitals, as he regarded them as more strenuous than opera. Very few opera singers are convincing actors and Pavarotti is not among them. He improved considerably over the years, however, and by the mid-1980s he spent nearly as much time on his acting as on his singing. Although by that time he felt that he had covered the range of roles possible for him, he had not exhausted everything inside that range. Among the roles he hoped to add were Don Jose in Bizet's Carmen and the title role in Massenet's Werther. In 1972 he starred in a commercial film, Yes, Giorgio. His solo album of Neapolitan songs, "O Sole Mio," outsold any other record by a classical singer.
Throughout the 1980s Pavarotti strengthened his status as one of the opera world's leading figures. Televised performances of Pavarotti in many of his greatest and favorite roles not only helped him maintain his status, but to broaden his appeal. He was able to reach millions of viewers each time one of his opera performances and solo concerts was seen. He also began to show increasing flexibility as a recording artist. He recorded classical operas, songs by Henry Mancini and Italian folk songs, thus becoming the world's third highest top selling musician, right behind Madonna and Elton John. By the time he proposed and staged the first "Three Tenors" concert at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Pavarotti was unabashedly thrilled with his immense popularity. "I want to be famous everywhere" he told Newsweek and he continually showed his appreciation to the fans that made him. "I tell you, the time spent signing autographs is never enough" he continued in the same interview.
He received his share of criticism and rejection as well. He was barred from contracts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago 1989 because he canceled performances excessively due to bad health. He was sued by the BBC in 1992 for selling the network a lip-synched concert. He was booed at La Scala during a performance of Don Carlo. He finally canceled tours and took several months off to rest.
Pavarotti returned to the stage with concerts before 500,000 people in Central Park. Critics accused him of blatant commercialism, but the crowds loved the performances. He learned a new role, Andrea Chenier, for a 1996 Metropolitan Opera broadcast. Pavarotti was praised for both his diligence, his survival, and the fact that he undertook a new role at the age of 61. In 1997 the three tenors - Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Pavarotti - toured to mixed reviews but delighted audiences who seemed unwilling to let Pavarotti even think of retiring.
Further Reading
Pavarotti's popularity was such that he was in the media constantly. Unfortunately, the information ranged widely in its credibility. Recommended are articles by R. Jacobson appearing in Opera News (March 14, 1981 and February 14, 1979). A short and fairly objective profile by Giorgio Gualerzi appeared in the British publication Opera (February 1981). An autobiography, Pavarotti: My Own Story, with William Wright (1981) is comprised of articles by Pavarotti and by those around him, including his wife, his accompanist, and his manager. While the book contains information, and even wit and charm, one must do a lot of sifting to find it. The discography and list of first performances appearing as appendices are helpful. Critic Alan Blythe regards his Rodolfo in La Bohème conducted by Karajan (London) and his Arturo in Bellini's I Puritani conducted by Bonynge (London) to be among his finest recordings.
Happy 70th birthday to famed tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Born in Italy, Pavarotti made his operatic debut in 1961 in Puccini'sLa Bohème playing Rodolfo, what would become his signature role. Pavarotti became known for his interest in bringing opera to the masses, and his performances in London's Hyde Park, New York's Central Park, and beneath Paris' Eiffel Tower brought record numbers of people. His collaboration with José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, the Three Tenors, produced hit recordings and videos. In 2001, Pavarotti was awarded with a Kennedy Center Honor.
Pavarotti, Luciano (lūchä'nō pävōrä'tēē), 1935-2007, Italian tenor. He made his debut in Italy in 1961, in London in 1963, and in the United States in 1965. He appeared regularly at New York's Metropolitan Opera from 1968 to 2004. A popular favorite, Pavarotti was noted for the rich and ringing clarity of his lyric tenor voice as well as for his immense personal charm. His brilliance and style were particularly notable in his performances of works by Bellini, Donizetti, Puccini, and Verdi. During his later career he frequently sang for huge audiences in stadiums and other large venues, and also appeared on television. In the 1980s he reached an enormous public through the Three Tenor concerts and recordings, in which he was joined by Placido Domingo and José Carreras. In the 1990s he participated in numerous charity concerts, often sharing the bill with rock stars.
Bibliography
See his autobiographies (with W. Wright, 1981 and 1995).
A twentieth-century Italian tenor who made his operatic debut in La Bohème in 1961. He has sung worldwide in various operas and concert performances, including those featuring “The Three Tenors” — Pavarotti, José Carreras, and Plácido Domingo.
Born Luciano Pavarotti on October 12, 1935, in Modena, Italy; married Adua Veroni; children: Lorenza, Christiana, Guiliana.
Began singing at the age of five in church; performed in the Modena opera chorus growing up; first professional performance as Rodolfo in La Boheme, 1961; sang Idamente in Mozart’s Idomeneo at Glyndebourne Festival, 1964; U.S. debut in Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965; signed with Decca Records, 1967; sang nine high C’s in La Fille du Regiment, 1972; performed and recorded debut with Three Tenors, 1990.
Addresses:Record company—Decca/Polygram Records, 825 8th Ave., New York, NY 10019.
Opera singer
Luciano Pavarotti is one of the only contemporary opera singers to gain so much fame that he became a household name. He inspired opera fans and intrigued other listeners to discover an interest in opera. He even developed a program to encourage young opera singers. But he also received a significant amount of criticism throughout and because of his success. Critics and others in the industry chastised him for his popularity and concert performances, television appearances, and film roles. However, even his detractors cannot deny the power of his reach as the most listened to opera singer in history. Alain Levy, president/CEO of Polygram Records summed up the span of his influence to Paul Verna in Billboard." Pavarotti’s remarkable talents have encouraged both a new generation of music lovers and an older generation which hadn’t listened to opera for a long time," he said.
Pavarotti was born in Modena, Italy, on October 12, 1935. His father was a baker, and sang in the chorus at the local opera house on the side. His mother worked in a cigar factory. Pavarotti discovered his love for music at a young age. He began singing in the church choir at the age of five. He also spent his childhood as the neighborhood entertainer. "As a little boy in my apartment house, they would fight to have me for dinner because I was funny—the way I imitated the grownups," Pavarotti told Mary Ellin Barrett in Cosmopolitan." But at home, I imitated the voices on the Victrola—Caruso, Bjoerlin, Gigli, and my father."
Pavarotti struggled with a blood infection at the age of 12. He fell into a coma for 20 hours before regular doses of antibiotics saved his life. "These tragedies leave you sensitive to the beauties of the world," Pavarotti explained to Sarah Moore-Hall in People. Although he continued his singing by joining his father in the opera chorus, he didn’t consider a career in music until later. He played soccer as a teenager and had decided to become a teacher of math and gymnastics.
The Modena opera chorus won first prize in an international music festival in Wales, when Pavarotti was a teenager. After that, his mother began encouraging him to pursue his singing. He eventually decided to follow her suggestion, and he took a job as an insurance salesman to help pay for his voice lessons.
Prized Professional Debut In 1961, Pavarotti won the Concorso Internazionale, along with the prize of a professional performance of a complete opera. On April 29, 1961, he claimed his reward with his debut appearance as Rodolfo in Puccini’s
La Boheme at Reggio Emilia. During the same year, he married Adua Veroni, his wife of nearly 35 years. He repeated the role of Rodolfo in Vienna in 1963. Establishing himself as a professional opera singer, Pavarotti went on to sing Lucia di Lammermoor in Amsterdam, Vienna, and Zurich.
The World Appreciates Pavarotti He gained worldwide notoriety in September of 1963, when he filled in for an ailing Giuseppe de Stefano in La Boheme at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. This experience led to his first appearances on television and a growing popularity. By the end of the year, he had sung in Spain, Czechoslovakia, Poland, and Hungary. His performances caught the attention of conductor Richard Bonynge, husband of the Australian opera singer Joan Sutherland. The exposure led Sutherland to ask Pavarotti to sing with her on a 14-week tour of Australia.
Pavarotti continued his notoriety in the role of Idamante in Mozart’s, Idomeneo at the prestigious Glyndebourne Festival. In February of 1965, he made his U.S. debut with Joan Sutherland in a performance of Donizetti’s, Lucia di Lammermoor. He also sang the role of Rodolfo at La Scala in Milan with his childhood friend Mirella Freni, under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. He-continued to sing, La Bohemes Rodolfo, with appearances in San Francisco in 1967 and at New York’s Metropolitan Opera (the "Met") in 1968. It became his signature role in the early years of his career.
Luciano Pavarotti moved to a whole new level in his career in 1972, with a performance at the Metropolitan Opera. In his role of Tonio in, La Fille du Regiment ("Daughter of the Regiment") he belted out nine high C’s in a row, impressing every audience that season. His accomplishment led to an appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, where he gained a whole new legion of fans. From then on, he became known as the "King of High C’s."
Pavarotti explained how he felt during those famous opera nights at the Met to David Remnick in the New Yorker. "I was so scared, I didn’t know which muscle to use most, the throat or the sphincter," he said. When he sang his first formal recital on February 1, 1973, in Liberty, Missouri, Pavarotti began what one critic called "Pavarotti Pandemonium." His performances and records began to sell out regularly. In 1976, he became the first classical artist to receive a platinum album with, O Holy Night. The following year, he sang, La Boheme with Mirella Freni in the first "Live from the Met" telecast. Mary Ellin Barrett described Pavarotti in, Cosmopolitan as, "The charismatic who, in the ’Live from the Met’ telecast of, La Boheme—another historic first—proved that a fat man with a receding hairline and a jovial round face, pouring forth heavenly song, could become a sex symbol."
Although he continued to sing in opera houses all over the world, such as his 1977 performance of, Turandot at the San Francisco Opera, he also perpetuated his records and television appearances. His album release, Hits from Lincoln Center won a Grammy Award in 1979. Along with his popularity, Pavarotti felt a distinct connection with his audiences. He referred to his public as his "boss." He was in the midst of his role as Nemorino in, L’Elisir d’Amore, when he had one of his most memorable experiences from the appreciation of his "boss." "In Chicago, when I was age 44, after, L’Elisir d’Amore, the orchestra played ’Happy Birthday, ’ and the audience sang," Pavarotti recalled to Leslie Rubenstein in, Opera News. "It was so unexpected; I wept."
From Arias to Academy Awards Pavarotti won another Grammy Award in 1980 for his hit album, O Sole Mb. The new decade led to even more exposure and rising comparisons to the tenor Enrico Caruso. In June of 1980, he sang the role of the duke in, Rigoletto for more than 200,000 people on the Metropolitan Opera’s summer stage in Central Park. He went on to perform a successful stint of, Turandot at the Met the following season. "The attention is like a drug to him," his wife Adua Pavarotti told, Life. "He likes to feel grand." Indeed, his quest for more attention did not wane, nor did the public’s willingness to give it to him. In 1981 Pavarotti received an invitation to sing "Torna a Sorrento" at the Academy Awards. The following year, he initiated an international competition for young, aspiring opera singers to fuel the interest in the art form. The winners of the competitions would receive the opportunity to sing on stage with Pavarotti himself.
In 1982 Pavarotti ventured into another medium with his starring role in the $18 million movie, Yes, Giorgio. He played an Italian opera singer who had fallen in love with a young American woman. As Pavarotti approached his early 1950s, his schedule of singing appearances slowly diminished. He began to receive more criticisms of his commerciality and his changing voice. "Unfortunately, there are those who don’t take me seriously because I make commercials or cook spaghetti on a talk show," Pavarotti told Sarah Moore-Hall in, People." But these are things that will bring this little world of opera to a larger audience, and I don’t care how we do it. We have to go to the people, and if someone doesn’t understand, it’s too bad."
The Globetrotting Tenor Luciano Pavarotti spent the mid-1980s traveling across the globe. In 1986, he sang, La Boheme in Beijing, China. The performance was broadcast to a Chinese audience of more than 250 million. The film Distant Harmony depicts his journey to China along with footage of the show. He returned to the Met before the end of the year to play the role of Radames in, Aida. Two years later, he opened the opera season at the Metropolitan Opera with, II Trovatore,which he sang with Eva Marton and Sherril Milnes.
The 1990s brought Pavarotti into a new era of his musical career, less focused on opera and more on commercial records and concerts. He participated in the recording of, Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti in Concert, which became known as "The Three Tenors," and sold over a million copies. The trio sang at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome for the closing ceremonies of the World Cup Soccer Championship. In July of 1991, he sang a concert for Prince Charles and Princess Diana of Wales, along with an audience of 150,000 others, in London’s Hyde Park.
The Metropolitan Opera continued to host Pavarotti during its season. In 1990 the Met organized a new production of, Un Ballo in Maschera for the famous tenor. The following year, he starred with Kathleen Battle in, Elisir d’Amore. Mostly, though, Pavarotti increased his concerts and peppered them with opera shows.
In February of 1992, he sang the role of Canio for the first time in a concert performance of, Pagliacci,with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Then, he opened La Scala’s next season with Verdi’s, Don Carlo. He presented another concert in Central Park in June of 1993. This time, he sang to a crowd of 500,000 in person and to millions more in the telecast on PBS and throughout Europe.
That same year, he celebrated his 25th anniversary season of singing at the Metropolitan Opera. On the season’s opening night, Pavarotti sang the first act of Verdi’s, Otello on stage for the first time in his career. Recognizing his longevity, Pavarotti and others in the opera community also noted a lack of young potential replacements in the genre. "When I was growing up, there were 30 great tenors, not three," Pavarotti told David Remnick in the, New Yorker. "I don’t know why things are now the way they are."
Pavarotti’s long-time record label, Polygram’s Decca Records, extended his contract in 1994. Since he first signed with them in 1967, the opera tenor sold more than 50 million albums and had made more than 60 recordings. On July 16, 1997, The Three Tenors returned to the World Cup Soccer Championship for an encore performance. They sold-out the Los Angeles concert and sang to about 56,000 people at Dodger Stadium. Telecast live all over the world, the trio actually performed for an estimated audience of about 1.3 billion. Decca released the performance as, Three Tenors II.
Collaborated with Friends Luciano Pavarotti organized several more collaborations for his, Pavarotti & Friends albums, which included duets with pop star Bryan Adams, soprano Nancy Gustafson, tenor Andrea Bocelli, and new age artist Andreas Vollenweider. In September of 1995, he organized a benefit concert for the children of Bosnia, which included Michael Bolton, Brian Eno, U2’s Bono, and the Chieftains. The concert was also released on an album.
With the help of writer William Wright, Pavarotti published his autobiography called, My World’in November of 1995. The book exemplified the extent of Pavarotti’s success as a singer and as a celebrity. Michael Walsh wrote in, New York, "With stadium concerts, TV specials, and a chatty new autobiography, Pavarotti is bigger—way bigger—than opera itself."
In 1996, Pavarotti sang Giordano’s, Andrea Chenier at both the Met and at Lincoln Center. Terry Teachout wrote in, Opera News, "The remarkable thing about Pavarotti, of course is not merely that he is still singing, but that his essential vocal qualities remain, for the most part, intact."
The Three Tenors returned in 1997 with a 12-city world tour, beginning on New Year’s Eve. The mid-to late-1990s began to produce more and more critical reviews of Pavarotti’s performances. Heidi Waleson wrote in a review of his recital at the Metropolitan Opera, "Listening to Mr. Pavarotti today is like looking at a well-made mummy. The shape is there, but the blood and breath that gave the creature life have withered away."
Pavarotti announced his retirement date as the year 2001. By that time, he will have worked as a professional opera singer for 40 years. "I am always a student till the last day of my profession, when perhaps I will think [I know] what I am," Pavarotti told Barrett in, Cosmopolitan. "But now, that is not my character. My character is to take life as it is. The mutual love I have with the public is everywhere. But I am ready to accept this situation when the public will not love me. Then, I will stop."
Selected discography O Holy Night, Decca Records, 1976. Hits from Lincoln Center, Decca Records, 1978. O Sole Mio, Decca Records, 1980. Arias, Airs, Arien, Decca Records, 1982. Mamma, Decca Records, 1984. Passione, Decca Records, 1985. In Concert, Decca Records, 1987. Volare, Decca Records, 1987. At Carnegie Hall, Decca Records, 1988. Carreras Domingo Pavarotti in Concert, Decca Records, 1990. Live Recordings (1964-1967), Decca Records, 1991. Pavarotti in Hyde Park, Decca Records, 1991. Pavarotti Songbook, Decca Records, 1991. Ti Amo, Decca Records, 1993. My Heart’s Delight, Decca Records, 1993. Early Years, Volume 1, Decca Records, 1994. Three Tenors II, Decca Records, 1994. Early Years, Volume 2, Decca Records, 1995. Pavarotti & Friends 2, Decca Records, 1995. Verdi: II Travatore, Decca Records, 1995. Pavarotti Plus, Decca Records, 1995. Pavarotti & Friends for War Child,Decca Records, 1996. Pavarotti & Friends Together for the Children of Bosnia, Decca Records, 1996. Los Angeles, Decca Records, 1996. The Great Luciano Pavarotti, Decca Records, 1996.
Sources Billboard, November 16, 1985; April 9, 1994; May 13, 1995. Cosmopolitan, November 1980. Entertainment Weekly, December 13, 1996. Harper’s Bazaar, September 1988. Information Please Almanac, 1995. Life, October 1980. Maclean’s, January 13, 1997. New York, May 18, 1981; November 13, 1995. New Yorker, June 21, 1993. Opera News, September 1982; March 29, 1986; September 1993; December 14, 1996. People, November 17, 1980; September 29, 1986; March 11, 1996. Time, March 4, 1996. Wall Street Journal, January 23, 1997.
Arguably no other opera singer in music history achieved the same level of international celebrity as tenor Luciano Pavarotti; his voice -- robust, resonant, and immediately recognizable -- launched him into the stratosphere of household recognition usually reserved for pop stars and Hollywood icons, and in the process spurred opera itself on to new peaks of mainstream popularity. Born in Modena, Italy, on October 12, 1935, as a boy he enjoyed local fame as a member of the town's soccer team, and first sang in the chorus with his father, himself a fine amateur tenor and devoted opera buff. After the chorus won first prize in an international competition, the young Pavarotti's future was cemented: his solo debut came in 1961, portraying Rodolfo in a performance of La Boheme at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. His early success led to engagements throughout Italy and eventually Amsterdam, Vienna, Zurich, and London; Pavarotti's American debut came in February 1965, in a Miami production of Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland (the first of their many pairings).
History suggests that the Pavarotti phenomenon began in earnest on February 17, 1972 during a performance of La Fille du Regiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera; after his effortless completion of an aria containing nine high Cs, the audience erupted in prolonged applause, and his stardom was assured. In the years to follow, Pavarotti essayed the roles of Arturo, Massenet's Des Grieux, Alfredo, the Duke, and Nemorino; as his voice darkened and grew, he also appeared as Manrico, Ernani, Radames, Calaf, and Otello. In 1977, Pavarotti reprised the role of Rodolfo for the premiere episode of the long-running Live at the Met television series, going on to appear in over a dozen broadcasts from the Lincoln Center; his entire stage repertory eventually reached record, and he also sold millions of copies of his solo albums of opera arias, traditional music, and holiday favorites. Pavarotti's live performances included many stadium dates, as well as numerous other attention-grabbing spectacles; additionally, some of his greatest success was achieved in the company of Placido Domingo and José Carreras, performing together as the Three Tenors. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in Strelna, 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.
Luciano Pavarotti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatictenor, who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, and established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century.[1] He was one of The Three Tenors and became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others.
Pavarotti began his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy. That same year, he made his first international appearance in La traviata in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.[2] He sang in opera houses in addition to Italy, in the Netherlands, Vienna, London, Ankara, Budapest and Barcelona. The young tenor earned valuable experience and recognition while touring Australia at the invitation of sopranoJoan Sutherland in 1965. He made his United States debut in Miami soon afterwards, also on Sutherland's recommendation. His position as a leading lyric tenor was consolidated in the years between 1966 and 1972, during which time he first appeared at Milan's La Scala and other major European houses. In 1968, he debuted at New York City's Metropolitan Opera as Rodolfo in Puccini's La bohème. At the Met in 1972, in the role of Tonio in Donizetti's La fille du régiment he earned the title "King of the high Cs" when he sang the aria "Ah mes amis ... pour mon âme". He gained worldwide fame for the brilliance and beauty of his tone, especially into the upper register.[3] He was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-AidaVerdi roles and Puccini works such as La bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly. The late 1970s and 1980s saw Pavarotti continue to make significant appearances in the world's foremost opera houses.
Celebrity beyond the world of opera came to Pavarotti at the 1990 World Cup in Italy with performances of Puccini's "Nessun dorma",sample (help·info) from Turandot, and as one of The Three Tenors in their famed first concert held on the eve of the tournament's final match. He sang on that occasion with fellow star tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, bringing opera highlights to a wider audience. Appearances in advertisements and with pop icons in concerts furthered his international celebrity.
His final performance in an opera was at the Metropolitan Opera in March 2004. Later that year, the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) inducted him into its Italian American Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifetime of work. During a ceremony held at the Foundation's Anniversary Gala just four days after his 69th birthday, singer Faith Hill presented Pavarotti with a birthday cake and sang "Happy Birthday" to the opera legend.
The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, saw Pavarotti on stage for the last time, where he performed "Nessun dorma", with the crowd serving as the aria's chorus, and he received a thunderous standing ovation.[4]
Luciano Pavarotti was born in 1935 on the outskirts of Modena in Northern Italy, the son of Fernando Pavarotti, a baker and amateur tenor, and Adele Venturi, a cigar factory worker.[5] Although he spoke fondly of his childhood, the family had little money; its four members were crowded into a two-room apartment. According to Pavarotti, his father had a fine tenor voice but rejected the possibility of a singing career because of nervousness. World War II forced the family out of the city in 1943. For the following year they rented a single room from a farmer in the neighbouring countryside, where the young Pavarotti developed an interest in farming.
After abandoning the dream of becoming a footballgoalkeeper, Pavarotti spent seven years in vocal training. Pavarotti's earliest musical influences were his father's recordings, most of them featuring the popular tenors of the day - Beniamino Gigli, Giovanni Martinelli, Tito Schipa and Enrico Caruso. Pavarotti's favourite tenor and idol was Giuseppe Di Stefano.[6] He was also deeply influenced by Mario Lanza, saying, "In my teens I used to go to Mario Lanza movies and then come home and imitate him in the mirror".[7] At around the age of nine he began singing with his father in a small local church choir.
After what appears to have been a normal childhood with a typical interest in sports — in Pavarotti's case football above all, he graduated from the Scuola Magistrale and faced the dilemma of a career choice. He was interested in pursuing a career as a professional football goalkeeper, but his mother convinced him to train as a teacher. He subsequently taught in an elementary school for two years but finally allowed his interest in music to win out. Recognising the risk involved, his father gave his consent only reluctantly.
Pavarotti began the serious study of music in 1954 at the age of 19 with Arrigo Pola, a respected teacher and professional tenor in Modena who offered to teach him without remuneration. Not until he began these studies was Pavarotti aware that he had perfect pitch.[citation needed]
In 1955, he experienced his first singing success when he was a member of the Corale Rossini, a male voice choir from Modena that also included his father, which won first prize at the International Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. He later said that this was the most important experience of his life, and that it inspired him to become a professional singer.[8] At about this time Pavarotti first met Adua Veroni. They married in 1961.
When his teacher Arrigo Pola moved to Japan, Pavarotti became a student of Ettore Campogalliani, who at that time was also teaching Pavarotti's childhood friend, Mirella Freni, whose mother worked with Luciano's mother in the cigar factory. Like Pavarotti, Freni was destined to operatic greatness; they were to share the stage many times and make memorable recordings together.
During his years of musical study, Pavarotti held part time jobs in order to sustain himself - first as an elementary school teacher and then as an insurance salesman. The first six years of study resulted in only a few recitals, all in small towns and without pay. When a nodule developed on his vocal cords, causing a "disastrous" concert in Ferrara, he decided to give up singing. Pavarotti attributed his immediate improvement to the psychological release connected with this decision. Whatever the reason, the nodule not only disappeared but, as he related in his autobiography, "Everything I had learned came together with my natural voice to make the sound I had been struggling so hard to achieve".
Career
1960s–1970s
Pavarotti began his career as a tenor in smaller regional Italian opera houses, making his debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Teatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia in April 1961.
Very early in his career, on 23 February 1963, he debuted at the Vienna State Opera with the same role. In March and April 1963 Vienna saw Pavarotti again as Rodolfo and as Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto. The same year saw his Royal Opera House debut, where he replaced an indisposed Giuseppe di Stefano as Rodolfo.[9]
While generally successful, Pavarotti's early roles did not immediately propel him into the stardom that he would later enjoy. An early coup involved his connection with Joan Sutherland (and her conductor husband, Richard Bonynge), who in 1963 had sought a young tenor taller than herself to take along on her tour to Australia.[10] With his commanding physical presence, Pavarotti proved ideal.[11] The two sang some forty performances over two months, and Pavarotti later credited Sutherland for the breathing technique that would sustain him over his career.[12]
Pavarotti made his American début with the Greater Miami Opera in February 1965, singing in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor opposite Joan Sutherland on the stage of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium in Miami. The tenor scheduled to perform that night became ill with no understudy. As Sutherland was traveling with him on tour, she recommended the young Pavarotti as he was well acquainted with the role.
Shortly after, on 28 April, Pavarotti made his La Scala debut in the revival of the famous Franco Zeffirelli production of La Bohème, with his childhood friend Mirella Freni singing Mimi and Herbert von Karajan conducting. Karajan had requested the singer's engagement. After an extended Australian tour, he returned to La Scala, where he added Tebaldo from I Capuleti e i Montecchi to his repertoire on 26 March 1966, with Giacomo Aragall as Romeo. His first appearance as Tonio in Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment took place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 2 June of that year. It was his performances of this role that would earn him the title of "King of the High Cs".
He scored another major triumph in Rome on 20 November 1969 when he sang in I Lombardi opposite Renata Scotto. This was recorded on a private label and widely distributed, as were various recordings of his I Capuleti e i Montecchi, usually with Aragall. Early commercial recordings included a recital of Donizetti (the aria from Don Sebastiano was particularly highly regarded) and Verdiarias, as well as a complete L'Elisir d'Amore with Sutherland.
His major breakthrough in the United States came on 17 February 1972, in a production of La Fille du Régiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera, in which he drove the crowd into a frenzy with his nine effortless high Cs in the signature aria. He achieved a record seventeen curtain calls.
Pavarotti sang his international recital début at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, on 1 February 1973, as part of the college's Fine Arts Program, now known as the Harriman-Jewell Series. Perspiring due to nerves and a lingering cold, the tenor clutched a handkerchief throughout the début. The prop became a signature part of his solo performances.
He began to give frequent television performances, starting with his performances as Rodolfo (La Bohème) in the first Live from the Met telecast in March 1977, which attracted one of the largest audiences ever for a televised opera. He won many Grammy awards and platinum and gold discs for his performances. In addition to the previously listed titles, his La Favorita with Fiorenza Cossotto and his I Puritani (1975) with Sutherland stand out.
In 1976, Pavarotti debuted at the Salzburg Festival, appearing in a solo recital on 31 July, accompanied by pianist Leone Magiera. Pavarotti returned to the festival in 1978 with a recital and as the Italian singer in Der Rosenkavalier, in 1983 with Idomeneo, and both in 1985 and 1988 with solo recitals.
In 1979, he was profiled in a cover story in the weekly magazine Time.[13] That same year saw Pavarotti's return to the Vienna State Opera after an absence of fourteen years. With Herbert von Karajan conducting, Pavarotti sang Manrico in Il Trovatore. In 1978, he appeared in a solo recital on Live from Lincoln Center.
1980s–1990s
At the beginning of the 1980s, he set up The Pavarotti International Voice Competition for young singers, performing with the winners in 1982 in excerpts of La Bohème and L'Elisir d'Amore. The second competition, in 1986, staged excerpts of La Bohème and Un Ballo in Maschera. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of his career, he brought the winners of the competition to Italy for gala performances of La Bohème in Modena and Genoa, and then to China where they staged performances of La Bohème in Beijing (Peking). To conclude the visit, Pavarotti performed the first ever concert in the Great Hall of the People before 10,000 people, receiving a standing ovation for nine effortless high Cs. The third competition in 1989 again staged performances of L'Elisir d'Amore and Un ballo in Maschera. The winners of the fifth competition accompanied Pavarotti in performances in Philadelphia in 1997.
In the mid-1980s, Pavarotti returned to two opera houses that had provided him with important breakthroughs, the Vienna State Opera and La Scala. Vienna saw Pavarotti as Rodolfo in La Bohème with Carlos Kleiber conducting and again Mirella Freni was Mimi; as Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore; as Radames in Aïda conducted by Lorin Maazel; as Rodolfo in Luisa Miller; and as Gustavo in Un Ballo in Maschera conducted by Claudio Abbado. In 1996, Pavarotti appeared for the last time at the Staatsoper in Andrea Chenier.
In 1985, Pavarotti sang Radames at La Scala opposite Maria Chiara in a Luca Ronconi production conducted by Maazel, recorded on video. His performance of the aria "Celeste Aïda" received a two-minute ovation on the opening night. He was reunited with Mirella Freni for the San Francisco Opera production of La Bohème in 1988, also recorded on video. In 1992, La Scala saw Pavarotti in a new Zeffirelli production of Don Carlo, conducted by Riccardo Muti. Pavarotti's performance was heavily criticized by some observers and booed by parts of the audience.
Pavarotti became even better known throughout the world in 1990 when his rendition of Giacomo Puccini's aria, "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot was taken as the theme song of BBC's TV coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. The aria achieved pop status and remained his trademark song. This was followed by the hugely successful Three Tenors concert, held on the eve of the World Cup final at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome with fellow tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and conductor Zubin Mehta, which became the biggest selling classical record of all time. A highlight of the concert, in which Pavarotti hammed up a famous portion of di Capua's "O Sole Mio" and was mimicked by Domingo and Carreras to the delight of the audience, became one of the most memorable moments in contemporary operatic history. Throughout the 1990s, Pavarotti appeared in many well-attended outdoor concerts, including his televised concert in London's Hyde Park, which drew a record attendance of 150,000. In June 1993, more than 500,000 listeners gathered for his free performance on the Great Lawn of New York's Central Park, while millions more around the world watched on television. The following September, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, he sang for an estimated crowd of 300,000. Following on from the original 1990 concert, the Three Tenors concerts were held during the Football World Cups: in Los Angeles in 1994, in Paris in 1998, and in Yokohama in 2002.
In 1995, Pavarotti's friends, the singer Lara Saint Paul (as Lara Cariaggi) and her husband showman Pier Quinto Cariaggi, who had produced and organised Pavarotti's 1990 FIFA World Cup Celebration Concert at the PalaTrussardi in Milan,[14] produced and wrote the television documentary The Best is Yet to Come, an extensive biography about the life of Pavarotti.[15] Lara Saint Paul was the interviewer for the documentary with Pavarotti, who spoke candidly about his life and career.[16]
Pavarotti's rise to stardom was not without occasional difficulties, however. He earned a reputation as "The King of Cancellations" by frequently backing out of performances, and his unreliable nature led to poor relationships with some opera houses. This was brought into focus in 1989 when Ardis Krainik of the Lyric Opera of Chicago severed the house's 15-year relationship with the tenor.[17] Over an eight-year period, Pavarotti had cancelled 26 out of 41 scheduled appearances at the Lyric, and the decisive move by Krainik to ban him for life was well-noted throughout the opera world, after the performer walked away from a season premiere less than two weeks before rehearsals began, saying pain from a sciatic nerve required two months of treatment.
In 1998, Pavarotti was presented with the Grammy Legend Award. Given only on special occasions, as of 2007 it has only been awarded 15 times since its first presentation in 1990.
In 2004, one of Pavarotti's former managers, Herbert Breslin, published a book, The King & I.[17] Seen by many as bitter and sensationalistic, it is critical of the singer's acting (in opera), his inability to read music well and learn parts, and of his personal conduct, although acknowledging their mutual success. In an interview in 2005 with Jeremy Paxman on the BBC, Pavarotti rejected the allegation that he could not read music, although he acknowledged he did not read orchestral scores.
In late 2003, he released his final compilation - and his first and only "crossover" album, Ti Adoro. Most of the 13 songs were written and produced by the Michele Centonze who had already helped produce the "Pavarotti & Friends" concerts between 1998 and 2000.[19] The tenor described the album as a wedding gift to Nicoletta Mantovani.
Pavarotti began his farewell tour in 2004, at the age of 69, performing one last time in old and new locations, after more than four decades on the stage. Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera on 13 March 2004, for which he received a long standing ovation for his role as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. On 1 December 2004, he announced a 40-city farewell tour. Pavarotti and his manager, Terri Robson, commissioned impresario Harvey Goldsmith to produce the Worldwide Farewell Tour. His last full-scale performance was at the end of a two-month Australasian tour in Taiwan, in December 2005.
In March 2005, Pavarotti underwent neck surgery to repair two vertebrae. In early 2006, he underwent further back surgery and contracted an infection while in the hospital in New York, forcing cancellation of concerts in the U.S., Canada and the UK.[20]
On 10 February 2006, Pavarotti sang "Nessun Dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy at his final performance. In the last act of the opening ceremony, his performance received the longest and loudest ovation of the night from the international crowd. Leone Magiera, who directed the performance, revealed in his 2008 memoirs, Pavarotti Visto da Vicino, that the performance was prerecorded weeks earlier.[21] "The orchestra pretended to play for the audience, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing. The effect was wonderful," he wrote. Pavarotti's manager, Terri Robson, said that the tenor had turned the Winter Olympic Committee's invitation down several times because it would have been impossible to sing late at night in the sub-zero conditions of Turin in February. The committee eventually persuaded him to take part by pre-recording the song.
Other work
Film and television
Pavarotti's one venture into film, a romantic comedy called Yes, Giorgio (1982), was roundly panned by the critics. He can be seen to better advantage in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's adaptation of Rigoletto for television, released that same year, or in his more than 20 live opera performances taped for television between 1978 and 1994, most of them with the Metropolitan Opera, and most available on DVD.
He was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. They raised money for the elimination of land mines worldwide. He was invited to sing at her funeral service, but declined to sing, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat". Nonetheless, he attended the service.
In 1999, Pavarotti performed a charity benefit concert in Beirut, to mark Lebanon's reemergence on the world stage after a brutal 15 year civil war. The largest concert held in Beirut since the end of the war, it was attended by 20,000 people who travelled from countries as distant as Saudi Arabia and Bulgaria.[25]
In 2001, Pavarotti received the Nansen Medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees for his efforts raising money on behalf of refugees worldwide. Through benefit concerts and volunteer work, he has raised more than any other individual.[26]
While undertaking an international "farewell tour", Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006. The tenor fought back against the implications of this diagnosis, undergoing major abdominal surgery and making plans for the resumption and conclusion of his singing commitments.[30] He died at his home in Modena on 6 September 2007. Within hours of his death, his manager, Terri Robson, noted in an e-mail statement, "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness".[31][32][33]
Pavarotti's funeral was held in Modena Cathedral. Romano Prodi and Kofi Annan attended.[35] The Frecce Tricolori, the aerobatic demonstration team of the Italian Air Force, flew overhead, leaving green-white-red smoke trails. After a funeral procession through the centre of Modena, Pavarotti's coffin was taken the final ten kilometres to Montale Rangone, a village part of Castelnuovo Rangone, and was Buried near his parents' grave. The funeral, in its entirety, was also telecast live on CNN. The Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival Hall flew black flags in mourning.[36] Tributes were published by many opera houses, such as London's Royal Opera House.[37] The Italian football giant Juventus F.C., of which Pavarotti was a lifelong fan, was represented at the funeral and posted a farewell message on its website which said: "Ciao Luciano, black-and-white heart" referring to the team's famous stripes when they play on their home ground.
Personal life
On 13 December 2003, he married his former personal assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani (born 1969), with whom he already had a daughter, Alice. A second child, Riccardo, did not survive, because of complications at the time of birth in January 2003. Pavarotti is also survived by three other daughters by his first wife Adua, to whom he was married for 34 years: Lorenza, Cristina, and Giuliana. At the time of his death, he had one granddaughter.
Settlement of estate
His first will was opened the day after his death and a second will, within the same month of September.[38] He left an estate outside his native Modena, a villa in Pesaro, a flat in Monte Carlo and three flats in New York City.[39]
Pavarotti's widow's lawyers Giorgio Bernini, Anna Maria Bernini, and manager Terri Robson announced on 30 June 2008 that his family amicably settled his estate – 300 million euros ($ 474.2 million, including $15 million in U.S. assets). Pavarotti drafted two wills before his death: one divided his assets by Italian law, giving half to his second wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, and half to his four daughters; the second gave his U.S. holdings to Mantovani. The judge confirmed the compromise by the end of July 2008. However, a Pesaropublic prosecutor, Massimo di Patria, investigated allegations that Pavarotti was not of sound mind when he signed the will.[40][41][42] Pavarotti's estate has been settled "fairly", a lawyer for Pavarotti's widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, said in statements after reports of a dispute between Ms. Mantovani and his three daughters from his first marriage.[43]
^ Warrack, John and Ewan West (1996). "Luciano Pavarotti."The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera. (3rd Ed.), ... an excellent technique, and a conquering personality.")
^ ab Herbert H. Breslin, The King and I: The Uncensored Tale of Luciano Pavarotti's Rise to Fame by His Manager, Friend and Sometime Adversary, New York: Doubleday Publishing, 2004 ISBN 978-0-385-50972-5ISBN 0-385-50972-3
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