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
Similar artists
-
The Three Tenors - In Concert - Rome 1990
José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Orchestre du Mai Musical Florentin , Zubin Mehta
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1990
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti & Friends for War Child
Luciano Pavarotti, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Elton John, Liza Minnelli
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti & Friends For The Children Of Guatemala And Kosovo
Pop - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Macbeth
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1993
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
The Three Tenors - The Best of the 3 Tenors
José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, James Levine, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2002
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Madama Butterfly
Mirella Freni, Christa Ludwig, Luciano Pavarotti, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1974
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: La Bohème
Mirella Freni, Luciano Pavarotti, Elizabeth Harwood, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, Berliner Philharmoniker, Herbert von Karajan
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1964
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Opera Arias
Renée Fleming, Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Puccini: Turandot (Highlights)
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1973
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti The 50 Greatest Tracks
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: La Traviata - Highlights
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Matteo Manuguerra, The London Opera Chorus, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1981
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vincenzo Bellini : I Puritani
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolaï Ghiaurov, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1975
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Rigoletto - Highlights
Dame Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Alexander Faris, London Symphony Orchestra, Richard Bonynge
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Aida
Maria Chiara, Ghena Dimitrova, Luciano Pavarotti, Coro Del Teatro Alla Scala Di Milano, Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano, Lorin Maazel
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1969
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti Forever
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Three Tenors in Concert, 1994 (Live)
The Three Tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Zubin Mehta, Los Angeles Philharmonic
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on 1 Aug 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Best Of Pavarotti & Friends - The Duets
Classical - Released by Decca on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Arias - Nessun Dorma - Casta Diva - O Mio Babbino Caro
Luciano Pavarotti, Dame Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Pavarotti & Friends For The Children Of Liberia
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana/Leoncavallo: Pagliacci (2CDs)
Full Operas - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 1978
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
O Holy Night
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo