Westport Public Library MOVIE & MUSIC Blog

It would be negligent of me to overlook the recent passing of opera star Luciano Pavarotti. He was the people's tenor who strived to bring opera to the masses with his television appearances, stadium concerts, popular collaborations, and active social life. He championed his crossover abilities and techniques by collaborating with classical artists and popular music icons.

The "King of the High Cs" was born to a baker who was also an amateur singer. As a teenager, Pavarotti joined his father in the Modena church and opera chorus. After the group won an international singing competition in Wales, he gave up his teaching aspirations and threw himself into operatic singing. His subsequent successes in the smaller European opera houses led to his 1963 debut at London's Covent Garden where he substituted for Giuseppe Di Stefano as Rodolfo in Puccini's La Boheme. That acclaimed role led him to an accomplished, fruitful partnership with soprano Joan Sutherland and conductor Richard Bonynge. His voice was exemplary of Italian tenor artistry with the sublime touch of a baritone.

The Library's recordings include La Fille Du Regiment, Manon, I Puritani, Turandot, etc. You may read about his life and music in Herbert H. Breslin's The King and I, Martin Mayer's Grandissimo Pavarotti, and Luciano Pavarotti's Pavarotti, My Own Story and Pavarotti, My World.

As a tribute to Mr. Pavarotti and his legacy to the musical world, please enjoy him in his prime with Joan Sutherland from this 1965 Australian version of Verdi's La Traviata.