Customer Reviews

Luciano Pavarotti

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Decca has reissued this, the first Pavarotti recital recording. Forget all the recent hype, innumerable recent CDs (both studio and live) and extramusical noise be it admirable or otherwise. Turn the clock back and enjoy what all the excitement was originally about. Here is the voice - warm, sincere, pure, unspoiled and undeniably Italian. This is how I like to think of Mr. P as the handsome, whiskered, dimpling, lovely fellow in the gold scarf peeking around the corner. The original LP issue knocked me out when I first heard it, and it still does.

I listened to this CD today in hommage after hearing of Pavarotti's passing. This recording was made in June 1968, when Pavarotti was just 32 and at the start of a remarkable career, with many exciting moments still to come. His pure, ringing tone thrills and was tailor-made for Verdi and Donizetti. Was I moved? Definitely. This is singing of a very high calibre. It's difficult to single out any one aria on this disc because he interprets all of them with honesty, authority and conviction. No histrionics here, but subtle nuance. One wishes that his voice had been recorded minus the reverb and more forward to give it a bit more presence but the glory still shines through. Edward Downes and the Wiener Opernorchester provdide sympathetic accompaniment throughout. A great essential recording. Thank you, Luciano -- you'll be missed.

The insults directed towards Pavarotti in previous reviews seem to me to be gratuitous and in bad taste, especially since he is no longer with us. I don't necessarily applaud the showman antics of his declining years, but even then he often had something beautiful to offer and he sang engagingly well into his sixties.

Leaving that aside, remember that his arrival on the international operatic scene created a sensation - and on this 1968 recital disc you can hear why. The expressiveness and sheer elan of a voice in its youthful prime are irresistible - and you are listening to a real artist, regardless of whether he ever learned to read music properly. Everything in these arias is right; marvel at his breath control, the seamless legato, the perfect intonation, the joy his singing exudes: this is probably Pavarotti's finest monument. There is some overlap with the Decca Donizetti recital disc - equally desirable - but it's worth acquiring this just to hear a lirico-spinto tenor of this quality tackle the Verdi items so convincingly. This is how I like to remember Big Lucy - and how he should be remembered.

What a beautiful sound for aching ears!
I missed the tumultuous applause that
always followed his glorious renditions!

Forget the wheezing & bellowing of the Three Tenors performances, or getting booed at La Scala. This will remind you that, once upon a time, there was a good reason that Pavarotti was the most celebrated Italian tenor of his generation. All one gets to enjoy is a pure, uncorrupted voice of the most stellar nature. The sound quality on these recordings is sometimes less than perfect --- there are times he sounds like he singing from inside a box --- but this is a minor quibble. A magnficent tone, good phrasing --- it will make one almost forgive Luciano for become the besotted grotesque that he is today.