Luciano Pavarotti – the Great Italian Tenor

Luciano Pavarotti, a world-renowned celebrity, was an Italian opera singer with exceptional pitch and a wide vocal range. He gained prominence as one of the three tenors and performed on stage for over 40 years, also imparting masterclasses in several conservatories worldwide.

Biography

Luciano Pavarotti was born on October 12, 1935, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, specifically in Modena.

Family

The head of the family, Fernando, worked at a bakery and had a deep passion for music, while his mother, Adele Venturi, worked at a cigarette factory. The family lived modestly in a small two-room apartment, but Luciano and his younger sister Gabriella (1940-2013) remembered their childhood with warmth. As the only male child among the 15 families residing in their building, he received special attention.

Fernando Pavarotti had a good tenor voice but a difficult temperament, which prevented him from becoming a popular singer despite his involvement in the Modena choir “Coral Rossi.” He had a collection of recordings by Beniamino Gigli, Enrico Caruso, and Tito Schipa, which he listened to daily, often accompanied by his son.

Childhood and Youth

Like many Italians, the young boy loved music and constantly sang, dreaming of becoming famous. Using the kitchen table as his makeshift stage, he would climb on top and passionately sing the aria “La donna è mobile” (“Woman is fickle”) from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Rigoletto,” portraying the Duke of Mantua. Initially, Luciano’s first audience, the neighbors in the apartment building, did not appreciate his vocal performances and demanded silence.

However, at that time, the little boy found more interest in catching lizards and frogs and playing soccer than pursuing music.

During World War II, difficult times arrived, and the family decided to change their place of residence. In 1943, they settled in a nearby village, renting a small room for everyone and starting work on a farm.

While attending school, Luciano, at his parents’ request, began singing in church with his father. However, his love for soccer prevailed, and he became the captain of the city’s youth team. His zest for life and belief in victory spread to the entire team, leading them to triumphs.

Finding yourself

Having completed his studies at Scuola Magistrale, Luciano aspires to enter the Sports Academy and seriously considers becoming a goalkeeper. However, his parents do not share their son’s intentions and convince him that being a primary school teacher is better and more serious. For two whole years, the young educator taught children at school. Luciano did not enjoy this job; sometimes the children wouldn’t listen, and he had to shout, straining his voice. He wanted to sing.

At the age of 19, in 1954, Luciano starts singing with his father in the “Corale Rossi” choir. The head of the family said that his son was not Caruso, and he needed a more serious profession. At his son’s request, the father reluctantly agrees to provide him with financial support until the age of 30. After that, Luciano would have to earn a living on his own by any means.

The future star begins taking lessons from tenor Arrigo Pola, who noticed Luciano’s exceptionally beautiful voice and remarkable ear. Despite the family’s difficult financial situation, Pola agrees to give the young man free lessons.

In 1955, the choir from the small town achieves a prize-winning position at the Eisteddfod performers’ competition in Wales. Encouraged by this success, Luciano makes the final decision to become a singer. During the same period, he meets his future wife, aspiring opera singer Adua Veroni, and they soon announce their engagement.

In 1956, Arrigo Pola leaves Italy and permanently moves to Japan. Luciano’s new mentor becomes Ettore Campogalliani.

While pursuing his music studies, Luciano continues teaching at school and later transitions to the insurance sector. The six years of education were not marked by any significant events in his musical career. Luciano gave a few concerts with free admission in small towns, and that was all.

One of such concerts in Ferrara turned out to be a failure: a fold appeared on the tenor’s vocal cords, and he decided that he would no longer pursue music. However, his future wife persuaded Luciano not to give up. After some time, the fold disappeared, and the singer’s voice sounded even stronger and better.

Career

In 1960, the budding singer becomes a participant in the competition of the Teatro Reggio Emilia. He wants to obtain the leading role in a new opera, but a throat illness prevented him from hitting all the notes.

In 1961, Luciano tries again, succeeds, and receives the role of Rudolph in Giacomo Puccini’s “La Bohème.”

Dmitry Nabokov, the son of Vladimir Nabokov, also participates in the competition with him. Vladimir, with great responsibility, captured his son’s performance on film, and Luciano ended up on the tape as well.

Luciano spends his entire fee from the first premiere on his wedding with Adua.

Opera theater soloist

• In 1962, Pavarotti performed at the National Theatre in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, singing the role of Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi’s “La traviata.”
• In 1963, the singer made his debut at “Covent Garden.” Tenor Giuseppe Di Stefano was unable to sing the familiar role of Rudolph due to illness, and Luciano successfully and eagerly replaced him.
• In the same year, he performed the same aria at the Wiener Staatsoper for the first time.
• In 1963, the first solo concert of Luciano Pavarotti was organized in Ireland.

• In 1965, Pavarotti was invited to perform at the Florida Grand Opera in Miami, where he once again replaced a tenor, singing the aria of Edgar in Gaetano Donizetti’s opera “Lucia di Lammermoor.” His stage partner was soprano Joan Sutherland. Joan was so impressed by Luciano’s voice that she proposed organizing a joint tour. Over the course of two months, they performed in 40 concerts, allowing the rising tenor to gain tremendous vocal and performance experience.
• In 1966, Pavarotti achieved his long-cherished dream of becoming a soloist at the renowned opera center in Italy, Teatro alla Scala, performing the role of Tybalt in Vincenzo Bellini’s opera “I Capuleti ed i Montecchi.” Previously, he had been rejected twice by the theater, but conductor Herbert von Karajan insisted on his inclusion. Karajan would later refer to him as the world’s greatest tenor.

• In 1967, everyone from high society came to hear Pavarotti sing the role of Tonio, with his famous aria “Quel destin,” in Gaetano Donizetti’s opera “La figlia del reggimento” at Covent Garden. From that day on, Luciano earned the title of the “king of high C’s.” He effortlessly and effortlessly sang nine consecutive high C’s, a feat that no other singer had accomplished before. The audience was mesmerized, as no one had witnessed such a performance by any other singer.
• In 1968, Luciano Pavarotti made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. He repeated the success of the aria “Quel destin,” and the applause was so thunderous that the theater had to raise the curtain 160 times. This moment of recognition was recorded in the Guinness Book of Records.

Starting with lyrical arias such as Elvino in Bellini’s “La sonnambula” and Arturo in “I puritani,” Pavarotti gradually transitioned to dramatic arias, including Riccardo in Verdi’s “Un ballo in maschera,” Manrico in “Il trovatore,” Radames in “Aida,” and Cavaradossi in Puccini’s “Tosca.” However, there came a time when the confines of the theater stage were no longer enough for the tenor.

World famous Luciano Pavarotti

In the 1970-80s, Pavarotti became a media personality, constantly appearing on television, giving solo concerts in concert halls and parks, and participating in mixed performances. He became a regular participant in the “Arena di Verona” festival and performed at the famous Verona Arena.

In 1974, the tenor visited Moscow for the first time with the La Scala Theatre.

In 1980, a concert performance of “Rigoletto” in Central Park, New York, was broadcasted to an audience of 200,000 listeners. Afterward, Pavarotti established the Pavarotti International Voice Competition for unknown vocal talents. The competition’s finalists were given the opportunity to perform with the maestro in Modena, Beijing, and Philadelphia.

In 1984, Luciano Pavarotti performed at Covent Garden in front of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, marking the beginning of their friendship. However, he refused to sing at Diana’s funeral as he took the tragedy to heart.

In 1988, the tenor broke his own record while performing at the “Deutsche Oper Berlin.” His participation in Gaetano Donizetti’s “L’elisir d’amore” was so brilliant that the curtain was raised 165 times.

The Three Tenors

The aria “Nessun Dorma” from Giacomo Puccini’s “Turandot” brought Pavarotti fame once again in 1990, not only in the theatrical world but also in popular culture. The song was featured at the opening of the FIFA World Cup and became a hit.

During the tournament’s final match, the first concert of “The Three Tenors” was held, featuring Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti. The backdrop for their performance was the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome (Terme di Caracalla).

The recording of their performance broke all global music sales records, also noted in the Guinness Book of Records. The trio performed at several other football championships: in the United States in 1994, in France in 1998, and in Japan in 2002. The “Three Tenors” project lasted for 15 years and enjoyed overwhelming success worldwide. The opera singers were able to bring serious music to a wide audience, stepping out of the confines of the theater.

In 1992, Luciano Pavarotti performed for the last time at La Scala in Franco Zeffirelli’s production of “Don Carlo.” It was the only instance where neither the audience nor the critics enjoyed the performance.

Luciano and Friends

The series of charity concerts called “Pavarotti and Friends” started in 1992 and continued until 2005.

Pavarotti collaborated with renowned pop and rock musicians during these concerts. Artists such as Zucchero, Brian May, Sting, Roger Taylor, Céline Dion, Bryan Adams, U2, Mariah Carey, and other celebrities performed alongside the tenor.

The proceeds from these concerts were dedicated to assisting refugees worldwide. The album recordings of these concert performances became a pleasant surprise for music lovers and sold in huge numbers.

Farewell to the Stage and Life

In 2004, Pavarotti officially bid farewell to the stage. After announcing his final appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, he performed the aria “E lucevan le stelle” from the opera “Tosca.” The audience responded with a standing ovation that lasted for 11 minutes, acknowledging the esteemed singer.

On February 10, 2006, he made his last public performance during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Turin.

In the same year, Pavarotti was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his pancreas. He underwent surgery to remove the tumor. On August 8, 2007, he was hospitalized for two weeks due to a high fever.

On September 6, 2007, at 5 o’clock in the morning, Luciano Pavarotti passed away at his home. According to his will, he was buried in the family mausoleum at the “Montale Rangone” cemetery, where his parents and son from his second marriage were also laid to rest.

Family

Luciano’s first wife, Adua, was his guardian angel, a faithful companion, helper, and homemaker. When their first daughter, Lorenza, was born in 1962, Luciano missed the occasion as he spent the night celebrating his successful debut in “Rigoletto” with friends. In 1967, Adua gave birth to Cristina, followed by Giuliana in the same year. The family’s patriarch learned about these news over the phone, never becoming an actively involved father.

After the divorce, Adua was devastated that her ex-husband would spend an entire night caring for a sick mare but would never do the same for any of their daughters.

Luciano’s numerous love affairs didn’t provoke anger from his wise wife. While he earned millions, she invested them wisely in real estate, stocks, and businesses. She was aware of his income. Meanwhile, Luciano attempted to appease his indulgent behavior with expensive gifts.

To prevent his wife from interfering in his seven-year affair with his secretary, Madeline Renee, Luciano presented her with a bracelet worth $250,000. Later, Madeline found another man, and they got married. When Luciano learned about it, he almost threw himself out of the window.

Many of Luciano’s secretaries had more than just a professional relationship with their boss, but none of them publicized it like Nicoletta Mantovani did. At 27 years old, she caught the attention of the 61-year-old Luciano, and their photographs from Barbados spread throughout Italy. Luciano openly declared his happiness with a woman younger than his own daughter. Nicoletta, on her part, told everyone that she wanted to have a son with him.

In March 1996, Luciano and Adua announced that they were no longer together. Adua kicked Luciano out of their home. The divorce was highly publicized and officially took place six years later. The division of assets posed many difficulties since the marriage was based on separate ownership.

At the age of 65, Luciano completed the construction of a new house where he planned to live with his young wife. However, a streak of misfortunes began: Nicoletta was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and Luciano’s parents passed away in 2002 due to cancer. In 2003, Mantovani gave birth to fraternal twins, Ricardo and Alice. Unfortunately, one of the boys died shortly after birth.

Nicoletta and Luciano are bound by the ties of marriage. However, the young wife turned out to be no angel. She couldn’t establish a warm relationship with her husband after he was diagnosed with cancer. Due to his wife’s lack of respect, Luciano considered divorcing her, but their 4-year-old daughter became an obstacle to such a decision.

At the same time, Luciano’s relationship with his first wife started to improve. In the last days of his life, he radically rewrote his will, dividing his entire inheritance (houses, art collection, perfume business, and 11 operating enterprises) among his four daughters and sister.

Interesting Facts about Luciano

1. Friends and colleagues jokingly called Luciano “Big P.” According to the tenor’s confession, he hailed from a “city of gourmands” and was unable to go on a diet no matter how much he paid his dieticians. His weight of 150 kilograms once caused a chair on the stage of the Paris Grand Opéra to collapse during a performance of “Tosca,” despite the furniture being reinforced with metal in advance.
2. Luciano missed the birth of all three daughters from Adua. He found out about them over the phone.
3. Luciano’s first woman was his neighbor Sandra. He was 15 years old at the time, while she was 20.
4. Luciano’s love for football was such that he would cancel concerts if he was afraid of missing an important match.
5. At a vocalists’ competition in 1961, Luciano’s mother wished him luck and placed a nail in his jacket pocket, hoping that the metal would prevent envious individuals from ruining her son’s performance. For many years, Luciano carried this nail with him to all his performances, believing it brought him success.
6. According to Luciano himself, he didn’t know how to read sheet music, and he relied on his own markings to memorize the music.
7. Once, a snake crawled into Luciano’s room in Bali, but Nicoletta saved him from death by driving it away.
8. Since 1973, Luciano always had a handkerchief as his accessory during solo performances. The first time he appeared on stage with a handkerchief in his hands was in Missouri when he was extremely nervous and sweating.
9. The singer was very superstitious: he avoided walking under ladders, had an aversion to the color purple, and believed that spilled salt was a bad omen.

FAQ about Luciano Pavarotti