Luciano Pavarotti
One of the most successful and admired opera singers of all time, Luciano Pavarotti was king among tenors from the late 1960s through the 1990s. His voice was noted for its exciting upper register, and tailor-made for the operas of Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, and Puccini, and as it darkened slightly over the years, for the verismo composers as well. His vocal longevity, which kept him singing youthfully well into his sixties, and still beautifully after that, was a credit to his commanding technique and artistry, and remarkable considering his nearly 40 years of performing.
Pavarotti's father was a baker, and his mother worked in a cigar factory. As a boy, he sang alto in the cathedral choir, and when his voice changed he joined the Modena city choir. He had brief careers as a schoolteacher and an insurance agent; during that time, his major extracurricular activity was not music but soccer, and his play made him a local star. However, increased involvement in the choir (which took prizes in international competitions) led him to pursue vocal studies, and he eventually settled on singing as his aspiration.
Pavarotti studied voice with Arrigo Polo in Modena, then with Ettore Campogalliani in Mantua. His operatic debut was as Rodolfo in La Bohème in Reggio Emilia (April 19, 1961), and soon increasing success led to a debut in Amsterdam on January 18, 1963, as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. After singing the same role with Joan Sutherland in Miami in 1965, he was engaged to travel with her in the Sutherland Williamson International Grand Opera Company, touring Australia. In 1966 he appeared at Covent Garden as Tonio in La fille du régiment, where his seemingly effortless handling of the nine successive high Cs in the aria "Pour mon âme" sent his career into high orbit. He repeated the feat at the Metropolitan Opera in 1972, and for more than two decades after that he was a fixture on the operatic scene, appearing in nearly every major European and American house, and even China, where he performed Puccini's La bohème in the 1980s.
Pavarotti appeared in the first "Live from the Met" broadcast on the PBS network and was the most consistent draw on that series for years. His outstanding catalogue of recordings on the London (Decca) record label preserves nearly every role he ever performed and is hard to match for its quality and scope. His charity work included AIDS benefit concerts and world hunger gala events, as well as his "Pavarotti and Friends" concerts to benefit children, especially in the former Yugoslav states. He also founded a quadrennial contest to identify talented young singers and boost their careers. And, as one of the "Three Tenors," he brought operatic singing to a wider popular audience than previously might have been thought possible. In 2003 he released his first solo crossover CD, Ti adoro. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2006, yet remained positive and hopeful of still being able to record and perform until his death.
© TiVo
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Giordano: Andrea Chénier
Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Leo Nucci, Welsh National Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1984
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tenor Arias from Italian Opera
Luciano Pavarotti, Wiener Opernorchester, Nicola Rescigno, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Leone Magiera
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti Sings Rare Verdi Arias ((Remastered))
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 1 Jan 1980
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti: Italian Arias
Classical - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 24 Jan 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Requiem
Riccardo Muti, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Luciano Pavarotti
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 30 Jul 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Giuseppe Patané
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 3 Dec 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: The Great Operas
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Pavarotti Story
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bellini: La Sonnambula
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1982
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rossini: Petite messe solennelle; Stabat Mater
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia Di Lammermoor (Complete Opera) (Live)
Classical - Released by Music Manager on 31 Aug 2020
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Il Trovatore
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Neapolitan Songs
Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, Giuseppe Di Stefano
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: L'Elisir d'Amore
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, English Chamber Orchestra, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live at the Sydney Opera House (Live from Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House, 1983)
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Marilyn Horne
Opera - Released by ABC Classic on 1 Jan 1999
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Donizetti: Maria Stuarda
Dame Joan Sutherland, Huguette Tourangeau, Luciano Pavarotti, Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1976
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Rigoletto
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti's Greatest Hits
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Decca (UMO) on 1 Jan 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Pavarotti Edition, Vol.8: Arias
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ti Adoro
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verismo Recital
Luciano Pavarotti, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Oliviero de Fabritiis
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1980
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo