HOWZAT

Also during the 1990s, Pavarotti put his fame to good use in staging six concerts entitled Pavarotti and Friends, raising money for the children of Bosnia, Liberia, Cambodia and Tibet. These performances brought together such performers as Jon Bon Jovi, the Corrs, Stevie Wonder and Andreas Vollenweider.

Pavarotti’s open-air solo concerts of popular arias and songs were not unprecedented: Jussi Björling had played to audiences of thousands in his native Sweden, and earlier John McCormack had done the same worldwide. The new elements were the avalanche of publicity and the recordings permanently documenting many of the performances. Herbert Breslin, the American manager and public relations representative for many celebrated classical artists, helped to create and maintain the image of Pavarotti as the poor country boy who made good with a golden voice. Breslin also negotiated fees beyond those of the tenor’s rivals, beginning at $20,000, moving to $50,000, then on to $100,000 and beyond.

In 1990, just before the World Cup finals in Rome, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and the conductor Zubin Mehta joined Pavarotti for a concert at the Baths of Caracalla. It was presented to raise funds for the foundation that Carreras, a leukaemia survivor, had established to combat the disease. Decca’s recording of the performance sold more than 10 million copies. The wild enthusiasm accorded The Three Tenors, as they soon became known, in their initial venture in Rome inspired them to reunite periodically in other venues. Their concerts included three held during subsequent World Cups (Los Angeles in 1994, Paris in 1998, Yokohama in 2002). Other recordings were released, and the gains for each tenor in world popularity were enormous.

Pavarotti’s activities during his years of greatest fame included master classes throughout the world. His intense interest in the development of young artists prompted him to start an international vocal competition, named for him and based in Philadelphia. Many competition winners were invited to perform opposite Pavarotti in concerts and opera productions worldwide.

The life of Pavarotti

Life and times of Luciano Pavarotti

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BACKGROUND

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• Luciano Pavarotti

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In later years Pavarotti’s singing retained many of the qualities that brought him renown: the superbly clear timbre, the spectacular secure upper register, the exquisite Italian diction. Pavarotti also continued to fit precisely the popular image of the Italian tenor, claiming that he loved music, women, wine, football, horses and pasta. Physically he resembled a tenor of an almost Victorian kind, especially on the concert platform. The huge white handkerchief to mop his brow and the watch-chain in his waistcoat were part of the persona. There was also Pavarotti’s girth, which caused him significant difficulties in the final years of his operatic career, when productions had to be altered to accommodate his increasing inability to move easily on the stage.

Pavarotti’s financial success brought him unwelcome headlines in 1999, when it was stated in a Finance Ministry report that he owed the Italian tax authorities about £1.5 million. He argued that his main residence was in Monaco but magistrates rejected his appeal. Pavarotti agreed to pay the Government 24 billion lire (£7.5 million) in back taxes and penalties on civil tax evasion charges.

The tenor had planned to retire from performing by his 70th birthday. He sang his final Met performance (Tosca) in March 2004, beginning an international tour of farewell appearances. Health problems disrupted his concert schedule, initially with complications after a back operation. In July 2006 he was found to have pancreatic cancer, which required immediate surgery. He announced that he would reschedule concerts in Britain, Finland, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, and Portugal for 2007.

Despite the cancellations and other setbacks in Pavarotti’s later career, a huge public worldwide maintained its devotion to him. His popularity will surely endure for many decades, thanks largely to a remarkable legacy of recordings. Lovers of fine singing are fortunate that the tenor documented virtually his entire repertoire, whether in commercial releases or pirated performances. The shining voice of his youthful prime can be heard in his initial operatic recital disc for Decca. One of the first of the more than 40 complete operas in his discography, Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz, is early evidence of the magic that could ensue when Pavarotti performed opposite his lifelong friend Mirella Freni (the two recorded seven other operas together, including a glorious Bohème under Karajan). Another thrilling partnership, between Pavarotti and Sutherland, can be relished in no fewer than 13 operas recorded for Decca, ranging in character from L’elisir d’amore to Turandot. The confident style and sheer effortlessness of Pavarotti’s singing yields especially memorable results in his Donizetti roles, as well as in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera and Rigoletto. The many recitals and live concerts give a taste of Pavarotti’s persuasive way with a vast array of Italian arias and songs. There are seemingly innumerable performances of his Nessun dorma from Turandot, which became something of a signature piece for him. His version of it became the theme song of the BBC TV coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy.

Pavarotti’s unique popularity worldwide ensured broad video documentation of his career (although best forgotten is his starring role in a 1981 Hollywood film, Yes, Giorgio). Despite much excellence in the concerts and recitals that figure prominently in his videography, the performance that perhaps remains most indelibly in the memory is La bohème, captured live at the Metropolitan Opera in 1977. Here Pavarotti sings gloriously while presenting an exceptionally endearing portrayal of Rodolfo, the role with which he is perhaps most closely identified.

Pavarotti and his first wife, the former Adua Veroni, whom he married in 1961, were the parents of three daughters. The couple divorced in 2001, five years after the revelation of an affair between Pavarotti and his secretary, Nicoletta Mantovani. In 2003 Mantovani gave birth to a twin boy and girl (only the latter survived). Later that year Pavarotti and Mantovani were married before 600 guests on the stage of the Teatro Comunale in Modena.

The magnificence of Luciano Pavarotti’s singing has secured an exalted position for him among the finest tenors of the 20th century. No one did more in our time to bring a new public to opera. The wave of the fluttering white handkerchief will be missed within the theatre, as well as in the wider world of those who have never set foot inside an opera house.

Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor, He was born on October 12, 1935. He died of pancreatic cancer on September 6, 2007, aged 71