Online Encyclopedia
Luciano Pavarotti
The Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), one of the most famous living opera singers, along with Placido Domingo.
Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena, Italy. His father, a gifted amateur singer, baked bread in Mussolini's army. Signor Pavarotti made his operatic debut on April 29, 1961, as Rodolfo in La Bohème, at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. This is his signature role. His American debut came in February 1965, in Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland in Miami.
However, his major breakthrough came on February 17, 1972, in a production of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment 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.
Pavarotti became a household name through frequent television performances, such 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 many Grammys and platinum and gold recordings to his credit.
In the 1990s, Pavarotti became famous for his well-attended outdoor concerts. His televised concert in London's Hyde Park was the first concert in the history of the park featuring classical music and drew a record attendance of some 150,000 people. 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. The most famous of these, however, have been the Three Tenor concerts, bringing Pavarotti together with the other two famous tenors, Placido Domingo (once his rival) and Jose' Carreras. The recordings and videos of these concerts have outsold Elvis Presley and, the Rolling Stones. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001. Recently he married his assistant, who bore him twin sons, one of whom survives. His ex-wife and three daughters are not viewed with favor, as they reportedly diverted for their personal use, funds from Signor Pavarotti's many charity concerts. He was a close friend to the late Princess Diana. They raised money for the elimination of land mines worldwide. He was invited to sing at her funeral services, but declined, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat". This year, he will be 70 years old, but is on his farewell tour, which has received many kudos.