Luciano Pavarotti

Biography

The Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), is one of the most famous living singers, not only in the world of opera, but across all genres.

Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena, Italy. His father, a gifted amateur singer, was a baker. Pavarotti made his operatic debut on April 29, 1961 at the opera house in Reggio Emilia as Rodolfo in La Bohème which would later become his signature role. His American debut came in February 1965, in Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland in Miami.

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.

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 Boheme and L'Elisir d'Amore. The second competition in 1986 staged excerpts of La Boheme 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 Boheme in Modena and Genoa and then to China where they staged performances of La Boheme 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, Placido 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 also 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.

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, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras).

More recently he married his assistant, who bore him twins. However, due to complications at the time of birth, only one, Alice, survived. 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". 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 an 11 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. His swan song is to be some time in the second half of 2006, in either New York, where he got his first big break, or Italy, his home country.