Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935) is an Italian tenor who is one of the best known vocal performers in contemporary times, in the world of opera and across multiple musical genres. He was born in Modena (Emilia-Romagna), in northern Italy.
CAREER
1960s-1970s
Pavarotti made his opera debut on April 29, 1961 in the role of Rodolfo in La Bohème, in Reggio Emilia.
He made his American debut in February 1965 with the Greater Miami Opera alongside Joan Sutherland on the stage of the Miami-Dade County Auditorium in Miami. The tenor scheduled to perform that night was ill and had no understudy. Sutherland recommended the young Pavarotti, who was travelling with her on her tour, since he was well acquainted with the role. Shortly after that, on April 28, he made a debut at La Scala in La Bohème. After an extended Australian tour he returned to La Scala where he added Tebaldo from I Capuleti e i Montecchi to his repertoire on March 26, 1966, with Giacomo Aragall as Romeo. His first Tonio took place at Covent Garden on June 2 of that year.
He scored another major triumph in Rome on November 20, 1969 when he sang I Lombardi opposite Scotto. This was recorded on a private label and widely distributed, as were various takes of his I Capuleti e i Montecchi, usually with Aragall. Early commercial recordings included a recital of Donizetti and Verdi arias (the aria from Don Sebastiano was particularly good), as well as a complete Elisir D'amore with Sutherland. His major breakthrough in the United States came on February 17, 1972, in a production of Donizetti's 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 17 curtain calls. From then on he began to make frequent television performances, such as in his role as Rodolfo in the first Live From The Met telecast in March of 1977, which attracted one of the largest audiences ever for a televised opera. He has won many Grammy awards and platinum and gold discs for his performances. In addition to the previously listed titles, his La Favorita with Cossotto and his I Puritani with Sutherland stand out.
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. 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.
Pavarotti's pivotal step in becoming an internationally known celebrity occurred in 1990 when his rendition of Giacomo Puccini's aria, "Nessun Dorma" (from Turandot) became the theme song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. The aria achieved pop status and has, to date, 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. Throughout the 1990s, Pavarotti appeared in many well-attended outdoor concerts, his televised concert in London's Hyde Park being the first concert in the history of the park featuring classical music, drawing a record attendance of 150,000. In June 1993, more than 500,000 listeners gathered for his 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, there have been subsequent 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 out-sold those by Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones.
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 fifteen year relationship with the tenor [1]. Over an eight year period, Pavarotti had cancelled 26 out of 41 scheduled appearances at Lyric, and the decisive move by Krainik to ban him for life was well-noted throughout the opera world.
Pavarotti annually hosts the "Pavarotti And Friends" charity concerts in his home town of Modena in Italy, joining with singers from all parts of the music industry to raise money for several worthy UN causes. Past concerts have been held for Bosnia, Guatemala & Kosovo, the War Child and Iraq.
He was a close friend to the late 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, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat".
On December 12, 1998 he became the first (and, so far, only) opera singer to perform on Saturday Night Live, singing alongside Vanessa L. Williams. He also sang with Bono from U2, in the band's 1995 song Miss Sarajevo.
In 1998, Pavarotti was presented with the Grammy Legend Award. Presented only on special occasions, this award has only been presented 15 times since its first presentation in 1990.
2000 to present
Luciano Pavarotti and Barry White performing a duet at a fundraising concert in Modena, Italy, May 29, 2001.In 2002 Pavarotti split with his manager of 36 years Herbert Breslin. The breakup, which was acrimonious, was followed in 2004 with the publication of a book by Breslin entitled The King & I, seen by many as sensationalist and largely critical of the singer's acting (in opera), his ability to read music 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 acknowledging he sometimes had difficulty following orchestral parts.
He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and currently holds two Guinness World Records: one, for receiving the most curtain calls at 165; and two, for the best selling classical album (this album is 'In Concert' by The Three Tenors and is thus shared by fellow tenors, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras).
In 2003 he released his latest and quite possibly his final compilation, Ti Adoro, which has Pavarotti singing in more of a 'popera' style.
More recently he married his assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani, who bore him twins. However, due to complications at the time of birth, only one, Alice, survived. He started his farewell tour in 2004, at the age of 69, performing one last time in old and new locations, after over 4 decades on the stage.
Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera on March 13, 2004 for which he received a 12 minute standing ovation for his role as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. On December 1, 2004, he announced a 40 city farewell tour to be produced by Harvey Goldsmith.
On February 10, 2006, Pavarotti sang "Nessun Dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy. The final act of the opening ceremony, his performance received the longest and loudest ovation of the night from the international crowd. The aria had to be transposed a step lower, in consideration of the singer's age.
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