Pavarotti had some pipes on him

I know absolutely nothing about Opera singing but my local NPR station is playing a lot of his stuff this afternoon and he is awesome.

Fair Winds to the Great One!

It's old -- recorded sometime in 70's or early 80's -- but still available at Amazon and, I imagine, ebay.
On edit: iTunes too

Tracks:

1. O sole mio!
2. 'A vucchella
3. 'O surdato 'nnammurato
4. 'O marenariello
5. Fenesta vascia
6. Marechiare
7. Torna a Surriento
8. Pecchè?
9. 'O paese d' 'o sole
10. Piscatore 'e Pusilecco
11. Tu, ca nun chiagne
12. Maria, Marì
13. Funiculì-funiculà

He made it sound easy. I just made the dog vomit. C above high C is tough for most sopranos, so in a tenor it's nearly fuggin' impossible.

I don't know about the C and high C and other such stuff but it sounds pretty cool.

thus shocking the opera world and making it clear that Luciano would rule as a tenor. I've been spending the afternoon viewing Pavarotti YouTube videos.... Yeah, the quality sucks, but I just wanted to see a range of performances that were out there. It is really amazing the range, but also the types of singers he would deign to perform with. He really did know how to make that voice accessible beyond opera. Heaven is a much more musical place now... Since my girlie dog has always seemed to like hearing his voice, I like to think my sweeties who have gone ahead are enjoying the serenade now (as well as my human loved ones).

BBC has some great video links including a free concert.

God Bless you My Dear

My perverse mind read your post and thought, yeah, damn near every thing NPR plays is by dead people.

Like you I'm trying to stay away from hurricanes. :D

They play that stuff a lot.

I've never been a big fan of opera, but for Pavarotti I'd make an exception. What an incredible voice. And his charisma made opera kind of "cool."

Bake

Still when a great older singer dies, we suddenly hear lots of their songs.

It was part of filming for the movie "Yes, Giorgio." The audience was treated to a free concert after we spent the day acting as extras for the crowd shots. Early in the day Pavarotti did some test runs for the film audio before the actual concert and he could project all the way to the far side of the crowd. Opera singers are all good at this, but it was still something to hear him belt it out.

I always remembered a lesson from my Old High School Speech Class; if you are talking to a large audience, talk loud enough so the person farthest away from you can hear easily. I had volume, but no quality.

Thank you for this thread. :(

I've spent quite a bit of time watching the many youtube versions of Nessum Dorma and yes, I can really see that his voice did deteriorate a bit over time. Yet, his last performance is so far and above anything most of us get the chance to hear that I find it just amazing.

I also watched a youtube of his entrance to the funeral for Diana. He had been asked to sing, but was so broken up he didn't decide to even come until the last minute and then, only supported by two young women, who I think may have been his daughters. When he arrived, the crowd was so cheered by him, it was quite poignant. I knew that Diana had become friends with him, despite her strong love for rock music. I hadn't remembered exactly why he hadn't performed at her funeral, but now I know... I'm sure he is singing for her, now... RIP, maestro.

it's like someone opened a spiggot in me. :cry:

:hug:

that there is this phenomenom in Europe where people are literally overcome when they are first exposed to the works the the great masters -- damn if I can't remember the name of this. My response to Luciano singing that song is exactly that -- everytime I hear it I am just overcome by the beauty of it all. I guess he's the "bell" and I am just the slobbering "dog". :D

How lucky we are to live in a time when we can pop in a DVD or CD and re-experience such magic.

:hug:

:hi:

:hug: