One of the most successful and admired opera singers of all time, Luciano Pavarotti was king among tenors from the late 1960s through the 1990s. His voice was noted for its exciting upper register, and tailor-made for the operas of Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, and Puccini, and as it darkened slightly over the years, for the verismo composers as well. His vocal longevity, which kept him singing youthfully well into his sixties, and still beautifully after that, was a credit to his commanding technique and artistry, and remarkable considering his nearly 40 years of performing.
Luciano Pavarotti was blessed with one of the most individual, unmistakable and beautiful voices there has ever been. This album contains over 3 hours of music and includes all Pavarotti's opera hits - including Nessun Dorma, his signature aria used as the 1990 FIFA World Cup theme tune and the track that made him a household name as well as all his famous popular songs: O sole mio, Caruso, Santa Lucia, Volare and many more. Other highlights include great duet collaborations with superstar friends Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, Bono, Eric Clapton,Sting and Lionel Richie plus fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras in the live Three Tenors version of Nessun Dorma. Pavarotti The Greatest Hits is truly the definitive collection of the music of a true legend.
Universal's ubiquitous Twentieth Century Masters series is mostly oriented toward popular music, offering no-frills but generally reliable greatest-hits collections for artists whose catalogs may often present a variety of compilations, confusing for the buyer. There's nothing really wrong with this group of Luciano Pavarotti selections, but the great Italian tenor is not especially accurately represented here. Nearly half the selections are Neapolitan songs or come from related semi-popular genres. Pavarotti has a good time with these, but he is less noted for singing them than are other operatic figures.
Er war Impresario, Librettist, Komponist und ein hervorragender Theorbenspieler – doch in erster Linie fühlte sich Benedetto Ferrari als Musiker. Um 1604 in Reggio Emilia nordwestlich von Modena geboren, studierte er in Rom. 1637 ging er das Wagnis ein, mit dem Teatro S. Cassiano das erste öffentliche Opernhaus und selbsttragende Unternehmen in Venedig zu gründen. Die Logen wurden an Adlige und reiche Bürgerfamilien verpachtet. Das Parkett war zunächst unbestuhlt, frei auch für Turniere und Umzüge; die Plätze konnte jedermann kaufen. Verlängert wurde der Zuschauerraum durch die Bühne, der Orchestergraben blieb lange versenkt. An sämtlichen Opern, die für dieses und die anderen Häuser, die plötzlich wie Pilze aus dem Boden schossen, benötigt wurden, war Ferrari als Komponist und Librettist beteiligt. Doch gelten seine Partituren größtenteils als verschollen, weshalb wir Ferrari als Komponisten lediglich aus seinen drei Büchern mit Kammerkantaten, den Musiche varie a voce sola, kannten.
Luciano Pavarotti will always be associated with the role of the painter Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. His interpretations of the arias "Recondita armonia" and "E lucevan le stelle" became two of his greatest hits, which he sang at all his stadium concerts .
Filmed in 1981, live from the Metropolitan Opera, Luciano Pavarotti sings Nemorino in Donizetti's comic opera. This one of his Pavarotti's most famous roles and here he sings it in his prime joined by an all-star ensemble: Judith Blegen sings the role of Adina and the great comic baritone Sesto Bruscantini plays the wily Dr Dulcamara. Nicola Rescigno conducts. Kirk Browning's production is traditional and entertaining.