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Considered one of the greatest tenors of all time, Pavarotti is the main character of the documentary directed by Ron Howard in 2019.
Through a series of unpublished videos and testimonies, the biopic tells the story of the myth but also that of man, showing in particular his emotional bond with the characters he played.
Son of a baker fond of singing, Luciano Pavarotti was introduced by his father to the world of music.
Despite his great passion for opera, he decided to pursue a safer career from an economic point of view, becoming a physical education teacher for elementary schools. In his spare time, however, he took part in choirs and singing lessons, which led him in 1961 to perform as Rodolfo, character of La bohème, at the Municipal Theatre of Reggio Emilia. This occasion made him known as a singer of opera music in Italy and, thanks to subsequent performances, also to the English public who had seen him perform at Covent Garden.
In addition, he was lucky enough to be part of productions filmed on television, which made him even more known to international audiences.
Since his aim was to bring as many people as possible to the world of opera, he participated in many shows, such as Good morning America, where he showed his ease and sympathy to a wider audience, and for the same reason he recorded songs for some film soundtracks.
In the same year of his debut as Rodolfo, Pavarotti married his historical girlfriend, Adua Veroni, with whom he had three daughters: Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana.
The tenor rose to the honours of the opera only in February 1972 when, during the intonation of the aria “Ah, mes amis” in the opera La fille du régiment, he performed nine acute Dos, usually very difficult, in a very natural way. He received a standing ovation that called him back to the curtain seventeen times.
After gaining some fame, Pavarotti began to do charity concerts. Many of these were organized in collaboration with Lady Diana, who became his friend after a meeting at the Royal Opera House in London in May 1984. Most of the proceeds raised went to support war refugees, children and the persecuted; he also committed himself to a cause dear to the princess, that of the fight against the use of landmines.
In 1986, he performed in Beijing, where opera music had not yet arrived, obtaining a moderate success with the public. It was on this occasion that his long relationship with Madelyn Renée ended, a young soprano whom he himself had discovered at Julliard and made her assistant. This hurt him a lot, even though he never made the story public due to his marriage.
In 1990, on the occasion of the World Cup final, he held a concert with Placido Domingo and José Carreras at the Baths of Caracalla. In addition to being sold out, the singers did not expect that from that moment on they would be defined as The Three Tenors, and would continue to do collaborations all over the world. What made this possible was the song Nessun dorma which they decided to sing together, achieving immediate success.
In 1992 Pavarotti collaborated for the first time with a non-lyrical artist in the song Miserere di Zucchero. From this event he took inspiration to create the famous Pavarotti and friends, a series of annual benefit concerts in which rock and pop singers took part.
The main purpose was to raise funds for the development of the poorest areas of the world; he had also personally financed a school in Guatemala called the Pavarotti Educational Center.
The duets between the tenor and Italian and international artists was what attracted the most. Remembered are the one with Bono in Miss Sarayevo and with Queen‘s Brian May in the song Too much love will kill you.
His charitable activities consecrated him to world fame outside the musical sphere, although many criticized his choice of mixing the noble opera music with other genres. Pavarotti was also the protagonist of a commercial for Lavazza.
Since 1994 there have been rumours about an alleged relationship with Nicoletta Mantovani, an assistant and manager who had often helped him in the organization of Pavarotti and friends. The story turned out to be true when the tenor divorced his first wife and was at the centre of a scandal followed by the media around the world for the age difference with the woman.
In 2003 the two married in a sumptuous ceremony held in the municipal theatre of Modena; with them was Alice, the daughter of only eleven months who survived a twin birth.
Sick and without strength, Pavarotti sang in Giacomo Puccini’s Nessun dorma for the last time to inaugurate the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
In the same year, a malignant pancreatic tumour was removed and subsequently led to his death.
The film contains interesting unpublished images and videos that were made available by the family. There are also many interviews with colleagues, friends and family that give a more truthful picture of Pavarotti the man.
The length of the documentary is 114 minutes, perhaps a bit excessive for a biopic of this type, which could lead to boredom. It was a shame, however, to broadcast it in Italian cinemas for only three days. In this way, in fact, many people have not been given the opportunity to watch it, as Pavarotti himself would have liked.
Luciano Pavarotti portrait a cheerful man who, after risking death from tetanus as a child, decided to live his life to the full, giving not only with a smile but also with his voice.
