Rest in Peace, Pavarotti

[knight66]

Then there was the ego, the libido and the appetite. Giants all three, no room for the actual thinking bits.

Mike

[Bogey]

I wish someone would change the subject heading for this thread ........ 

Funny you posted this....I just came on to the thread to request the same thing.

[yashin]

Just watched Il Trovatore with Pav from then Met - truly terrible singing and production.  BUT, one thing you can say about him was that he was never one for the extended high note like Bonisolli, there was nothing to prove.  So he could not act, he was massively overweight- but he had a voice from the gods.

Throw away the Il Trovatore and bring me his Nemorino, his Pinkerton and his Rodolfo.  In DVD i very much enjoyed his Canio from the Met.  There was real passion in his eyes that night.

[MishaK]

Funny Pavarotti story.

[knight66]

It is indeed a funny story and seemingly a typical one. His manager was supposedly quoted this week saying something along the lines of, he was a fantastic voice controlled by a man of ruthless determination, unwise appitites and who ultimately was an unhappy superstar.

In the same item there was mention of him giving Renata Scotto a dressing down in public; using language more expected at a football match. Callas was reported to regret she could not sing with him, but she maintained she would have not put up with the abuse he gave his leading ladies.

Mike

[Tsaraslondon]

It is indeed a funny story and seemingly a typical one. His manager was supposedly quoted this week saying something along the lines of, he was a fantastic voice controlled by a man of ruthless determination, unwise appitites and who ultimately was an unhappy superstar.

In the same item there was mention of him giving Renata Scotto a dressing down in public; using language more expected at a football match. Callas was reported to regret she could not sing with him, but she maintained she would have not put up with the abuse he gave his leading ladies.

Mike

Funny you should mention Renata Scotto. In her autobiography, she doesn't mention Pavarotti by name once, but makes sure we know exactly whom she is talking about, when she refers to "this man" and "this tenor". There are references to him throughout the book. She relates one story of how when she was to sing with him in I Lombardi, he turned up to rehearsal not having learned his final scene, in which he sings as a spirit, his character, Oronte, having died in the previous scene. He had apparently not bothered to read any more of the score after his death scene, having assumed he would have no more to do. She also states that he could not read music, and had to be taught all his roles by a repetiteur. I don't know if this is true or not, but, if it is, how different from another giant of the opera world, Callas, who was able to sight sing the whole of the role of Isolde at a run through with Serafin.