Luciano Pavarotti 1935-2007

Luciano Pavarotti died two hours ago of pancreatic cancer, around 5AM this morning Italian time (11PM Wednesday night New York time) in his homewtown of Modena in Northern Italy. He was 71.

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Italian newspaper La Repubblica's website headline is "The World Mourns" and it is indeed difficult to name a contemporary Italian who is more famous around the world than Pavarotti.

The fact that Pavarotti owes a sizable chunk of his worldwide fame to his later projects, from the Three Tenors to the crossover concerts with pop artists, does not change -- can not change -- the fact that in a 30-year-long career Pavarotti has left behind recordings, from the mid-1960s to the late 1980s, that are unmatched, and will probably remain so.

Whenever we mention a phenomenon such as Juan Diego Florez, and his sometimes uncanny ability to produce a sound that we consider similar to the Platonic ideal of a tenor voice -- such as Tito Schipa's was -- we sometimes forget that Pavarotti's voice will be remembered as another gold standard just like Schipa's, and Gigli's, and no other -- the clear-as-a-bell sound, the natural beauty of the timbro, the truly awesome power, let me repeat, the unmatched power, the perfect diction, the apparent effortlessness of that heavenly sound.

Listening to vintage Pavarotti is truly to be exposed to a sound that -- for all its limitations in technique, for all the lack of width in his repertorio, that never moved beyond the classic Italian opera roles -- has no match in the history of recorded music.

Opera Chic never had the privilege to meet il maestro in person, but knows people who have: and they remember the warm man, quick to laughter, conscious of his fame but unwilling to throw tantrums because of the still-present memory of his humble origins as a ragazzo di paese, a smalltown young man. A man of great appetites -- for food, obviously, for fame, for money, yes, and for life -- a man capable of engineering his career with great vision and determination but also capable of great acts of generosity -- we do not know of many international stars who would spend an entire day personally on the phone, with great urgency, flying in the best specialist vet in Europe from the UK to Italy to try to save a friend's dying family dog.

Opera Chic wants to remember his performances, his recordings, his special grace, his bravery when struck by illness, his refusal to commiserate himself after all the success and the blessings of a good life -- he was even blessed with a baby in old age with his second wife Nicoletta -- and his insistence of celebrating life, still, even in illness (a recent dinner at the end of July with Juan Diego Florez who found the maestro in high spirits is the most recent evidence) -- these are the things she wants to remember him by. These are the things we will remember him by, in the end, more than the Three Tenors, and the crossover "Pavarotti & Friends" stuff with U2 and James Brown and others (an initiative that at least raised much money for charity, another example of the late maestro's generosity).

As a New Yorker, Opera Chic wants to remember Big Luciano, a huge NYC lover, walking down Central Park South  -- where he still keeps an apartment --  in the wintertime, right before Xmas, his golden voice wrapped in layer upon layer of the silk scarves he loved so much and he considered his lucky charms, a smile on his face, and all that wonderful music ready to be created by his voice.

Opera Chic bets he was thinking of dinner, too.

Now, Opera Chic is no fan of YouTube posts for the sake of, you know, whatever -- but this is why we say that OC doubts that even her grandchildren will have the opportunity to listen to another voice such as this one:

*****

"Sometimes they ask me, tell me the most significant performance of your life". Pavarotti and his father, with a vintage clip of young Luciano with Freni:

*****

And by the way, you might be familiar with that obscure, seldom-heard aria from an obscure opera; it's called "Che Gelida Manina". We've heard, what, a million of them? And we'll hear millions more. Well, this is how it's done.

***** "Prendi per me sei libero", with another natural phenomenon, la signora Kathleen Battle. Because we don't want to commemorate Pavarotti in a minor key.

Comments

[Mimi]

Thank you for your eloquent and moving words -
I am crushed by the profound maestro's loss but consoled to know his great light and talent will never be forgotten and will have a beautiful place in opera and humanitarian history.

[Bill Koslosky, MD]

Very nice tribute.

I'm linking to this from my URBivore blog.

[dino]

Well written and heartwarming-unlike the disgraceful article in the NY Times by Bernard Holland.

[RachDminor]

I, too, am deeply saddened on this sleepless night ... this news serving as some explanation for something feeling wrong in the world. I heard him sing in 1978 during a time when he was a beloved and treasured guest at the Beverly Hills home of an Italian leather designer and his chef wife, who treated my ex as a son and me as a daughter-in-law. Oh, how they loved to cook for him and regale each other with stories of their adventures in that elegant dining room. Your tribute is poignant and reverently touching, OC. What a profound loss to his family, friends, and the world. Breathing rarely means as much as when such silken phrases are spun with it into the artful tales he left behind for us to hear forever. The cessation of his breath has deprived us all of a measure of oxygen his voice breathed into us. 71 were too few years ... peace to his family.

[Siris]

Thanks so much for the tribute, OC. Your youtube pick are so heart-warming... it's v moving to see him holding the program of his pro debut - I mean, how many of them(singers) would like to remind himself/the public a humble beginning?

[Jerry]

I met Pavarotti only once, in the morning after a performance of "Fille" with the Met in Cleveland in 1972, when he was wandering around the coffee shop of the Hollanden House hotel, asking people if he had been any good the night before.

"If you get a standing ovation in Cleveland, you are good," I said to him. And indeed he was wonderful as Tonio and every time I saw thereafter in the 1970s and early 1980s. A larger-than-life personality and in early and mid-career a fabulous singer.

Addio, Luciano. You were one of the greatest and thanks for the heartfelt tribute, Opera Chic.

[amneris]

Thank you, OC, for this beautiful tribute. I am devastated for Luciano was truly big in every sense of the word and I will miss him. He was beloved by so many and did much to further the love of opera. IMHO, the legendary trio of Sutherland, Horne and Pavarotti will never be equaled. Even as I type I'm listening to their 1981 Lincoln Center recital. Addio carino...

"oh terra addio, addio vale di pianto...."

[Reinet]

This was such a wonderful tribute to one of the most incredible tenors known to us, EVER. I had the honor of seeing him perform a recital in England in 1994. He will be missed!

[deadtenors]

Dear OC, thank you for all your work - particularly for your comments regarding Maestro Pavarotti's diction and also for the Youtube highlights.

I am always struck by the freshness and clarity of Pavarotti's voice. This was a man who wanted to "give out" to his audience at all times. Yes, there is emotion, but it is rarely introspective. This open emotion, this fearlessness, so rare in a tenor, gives a sense that something in the sound is right, is true. The voice is set free - and what a treasure that this freedom has been captured on so many recordings - especially those early bootleg live recordings. "Una Furtiva Lagrima" may well be in a minor key, but I don't feel sad listening to it. The honesty in the sound assures me that this Nemorino will get his girl. Such willing vulnerability, such generosity of spirit could never go unrewarded. Time for a cd marathon. A one-off.

[Linda]

Dear OC,
Thank you for this very moving tribute to Pavarotti. It helped me to channel some of the emotions surrounding the news of his passing. I can't seem to hear enough of listening to his voice today.

[Minji]

Dear OC,
It is such a wonderful tribute to Maestro Pavarotti, one of the greatest tenors ever. It is a very sad day, indeed.
May him rest in peace. We will miss him dearly.

[Les Mitchell]

A very, very sad day for those of us who love opera. I spent this afternoon listening to the Decca recordings of "Pavarotti in Concert" and the "Ave Maria" Album - both dating from the early 1970's ---- and I cried like a baby. That voice was so gorgeous that it is easier experienced than described. Many of us are feeling devasted today. May our sublime Luciano sing in heaven for all of eternity.

[Manrico]

What technical limitations of his voice?