tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post7962111235322306846..comments2024-03-05T22:44:45.962-05:00Comments on Great Opera Singers: Luciano Pavarotti: The Artist And The PersonaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-70198567062954767602011-10-25T08:22:48.817-04:002011-10-25T08:22:48.817-04:00Yes, you make good points; the role of Sutherland ...Yes, you make good points; the role of Sutherland and her husband in promoting Pavarotti cannot be over-estimated. They were a crucial influence, and also, importantly, they stoked the flames of bel canto once again, a great and important contribution to opera, which had for so many years been held captive by verismo.Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-78804094836107023822011-10-25T07:19:36.833-04:002011-10-25T07:19:36.833-04:00Thank you once again,very interesting article on P...Thank you once again,very interesting article on Pavarotti. It's interesting to note that Richard Bonynge picked him to tour Australia with Sutherland and company in 1965. In Australia at the time this was an incredibly important tour. I think it was Sutherland's first extensive time back home since the great success of Lucia at covent Garden in 1959. Pavarotti got exposure and his career was off on it's upward trajectory. I also gather he learned quite a lot from Sutherland about supporting the voice with correct abdominal muscle support. It's a pity he got diverted by the fame game. But a beautiful voice nonetheless.Verdiwagneritenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-60964531182951170782011-07-01T11:12:00.549-04:002011-07-01T11:12:00.549-04:00Very well said, my friend! It was pretty much the...Very well said, my friend! It was pretty much the same here. Public interest in Pavarotti began to decline, largely as a result of over-exposure. The "Three Tenors" business had the unfortunate effect of of trivializing his art. Some people began to consider him "lazy." But, nevertheless, as you correctly observe, the early Pavarotti was a wonder!Edmund StAustellhttp://gmail.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-40151576337093525662011-07-01T06:20:56.745-04:002011-07-01T06:20:56.745-04:00It is a little hard, to write about Pavarotti. You...It is a little hard, to write about Pavarotti. You are correct, let us focus on the young Luciano Pavarotti, let us watch with diminished interest after 1985, and, after 1990, let us smile politely and say nothing. <br /><br />My main problem with Pavarotti is his characterizations were not good after about 1970. His early Arturo, Rodolfo and Tonio were actually reasonable characterizations, but into the 1970s and he seemed only to concentrate on singing. <br /><br />I also add that the partnership between Luciano Pavarotti and Dame Joan Sutherland was wonderful because of the brilliant recordings they made: they were often pure vocalists, not attempting to build characters, but these recordings are the complete scores and make a good reference.Gioacchino Fiurezi-Maragiogliohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08962732548145492243noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-32989263555462987632011-03-29T11:12:02.366-04:002011-03-29T11:12:02.366-04:00Thank you very much for your comments! Much appre...Thank you very much for your comments! Much appreciated, as always. What you have to say about fame per se is interesting and very much to the point. It is indeed a fairly recent phenomenon, and I would venture that it reflects the technological advances in the communications media as much as anything else. Any technology can be manipulated, for better or for worse. And yes, it certainly can be made to create a show business creature who is nothing but fame. (Lady Gaga, perhaps?) Of course, in Pavarotti's case, it accompanied prodigious vocal talent. That, to recall The Wizard of Oz, is a horse of a different color:D<br />Thanks again for your always-astute comments.Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-22555789745787902122011-03-29T10:35:26.749-04:002011-03-29T10:35:26.749-04:00Perceptive, wonderful writing, Edmund. Your though...Perceptive, wonderful writing, Edmund. Your thoughts on Pavarotti's fame got me thinking about the Australian wit Clive James and his "Fame in the 20th Century" (TV series and coffee table book). He makes a strong (and funny) case for the notion that fame, as we experience it today, is really a very 20th century phenomenon - having a great deal to do with speed of communication, clash of cultures, and other factors that have arisen in the modern world. He says fame can be totally detached from any form of talent whatsoever. But creating fame may now have become a talent in and of itself.(Paris Hilton?) He quotes Rilke: "Fame is the sum total of all the midsunderstandings that can gather around one name." I like your mention of Tony Curtis - fame indeed has to be managed - for better or for worse.<br /><br />I found myself surprised and very moved by the brief reflections from Juan Diego Florez about calling Pavarotti right before going on stage in "Fille" - really very touching - his wonder and gratitude to Pavarotti and the older tenor's selfless encouragement. They both emerge from that encounter as immensely appealing human beings. Thanks Edmund!!JINGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-86047367390014945222011-03-28T12:34:22.333-04:002011-03-28T12:34:22.333-04:00Thank you, Mr. Hobbes, as always. I appreciate yo...Thank you, Mr. Hobbes, as always. I appreciate your comment, and your reference to Lanza and Tibbett is exact. Broad exposure indeed, which can sometimes be a mixed blessing! In the old days, it was an accepted practice for a singer to retire at a certain point and open a studio and accept some good students. That is a well-known and respected post retirement occupation. The world of popular music has plenty of expert performers:)Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-28633166275072925282011-03-28T11:13:46.572-04:002011-03-28T11:13:46.572-04:00I agree with your assessment and think you handled...I agree with your assessment and think you handled it very well. I have heard rumors about Pavarotti's personal life that support what you say was a zest for life and popularity in a larger-than-life character. And I do agree about his latter days in trying to be a crossover singer like Bocelli. The same thing happened when Mario Lanza, Lawrence Tibbet and others discovered movies and the quick money and easy fame that came with broad exposure.JD Hobbeshttp://cinci.rr.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-84766121551487574152011-03-28T07:06:24.501-04:002011-03-28T07:06:24.501-04:00Thank you very much indeed, my friend. I really a...Thank you very much indeed, my friend. I really appreciate your comment. Yes, it is so very difficult to write on this particular topic. I avoided it for the longest time, and yes, your analogy is exact: ever watchful of the whirlpool, the encroaching flashing teeth emerging from the cave are all too easy to miss. Many see Pavarotti as THE tenor, and much of the reputation-especially at the beginning--would seem to support that idea. I am grateful, very much so. I do so adore bel canto, and while such full-throated bravura many not be historically correct, it worked for the 20th century, and just when I--and others--had given up and decided it must be Cavalleria Rusticana and Paglicci forever, light burst through. For that, Luciano, Thank you and God bless you!Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-30526906510950141362011-03-28T00:50:08.323-04:002011-03-28T00:50:08.323-04:00a delicate topic here -- delicate in the dilemma i...a delicate topic here -- delicate in the dilemma it presents: do i strive to be charitable, or do i maintain my professional integrity here?<br /><br />you good sir have avoided both scylla and charybdis, and my hat is off to you. it is not surprisingly done, but masterfully.coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-20993535475660669892011-03-27T19:50:27.663-04:002011-03-27T19:50:27.663-04:00Thank you very much for your comment! How nice to...Thank you very much for your comment! How nice to hear from you again! Yes, you have it, I believe. It was a wonderful voice, even though it did darken and get a little ragged around the edges later on. But that is common. He did perform a great service for bel canto opera...no doubt about that. The old style of singing such operas as "The Daughter of The Regiment" and "I Puritani" would not have been acceptable in the 20th century. It took extraordinary singers who could sing full voice in arias as demanding as the big arias in those operas. It took the voices of Pavarotti and Sutherland to bring these masterpieces alive for a modern audience, and that, for me, justifies a career. There were certainly things about Pavarotti that I, and others, did not particularly like, but that is irrelevant. He was a great tenor and an impressive personality. That's more than enough for one man! :D Thanks again for the comment.Edmund St. Austellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14490721790447218365noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6166918155946600787.post-78957340189998420292011-03-27T19:12:46.093-04:002011-03-27T19:12:46.093-04:00The article is brilliant. I knew that you don'...The article is brilliant. I knew that you don't like the Three tenors project, but you gave a very ‘balanced’ and profound portrayal of Pavarotti. I didn’t know about his great services to belcanto. Perhaps because I knew him only as one of the Tree tenors – he was shown on the Russian TV for the first time in the 1990’s. I also remember his duets with rock stars (Bono from ‘U-2’). They preformed a good song together, but the general impression was that Pavarotti was a ‘ pop-star' among opera singers. Even when I listened to him singing opera or concerts ,the Tree tenors came to mind. <br />Anyway, his voice is of rare beauty, a truly ‘golden’ voice, and with his ability to sing many high C’s he made a very strong impression. Besides, his ‘presence’ and personality on stage was powerful – all this is enough to be a great tenor. Perhaps, to know what a great tenor he was it’s better to listen to his early recordings.<br /><br /><br />n.a.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com