Luciano Pavarotti: A Life in Seven Arias
Documentary Directed by David Thompson
Additional Artists
Renata Scotto, Joan Sutherland, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Juan Diego Florez, Ricky Martin
Extraordinary documentary by the BBC on the life of Pavarotti, telling the story of his remarkable career through the eyes of some of his colleagues who knew him the best, and through the arias that made him famous.
This unique documentary looks back on the life of the legendary Luciano Pavarotti, with many of opera's greatest stars, including Placido Domingo, Renata Scotto, Jose Carreras, Joan Sutherland, Montserrat Caballe and Juan Diego Florez, paying personal tribute to the great man and his music.
Pavarotti sings no less than seven of his most celebrated arias, defining an astonishing career that spanned four decades and took the world by storm.
There is also rarer footage of Pavarotti singing at home with his father in Modena and of masterclasses he conducted.
THE DIRECTOR, DAVID THOMPSON'S, OWN NOTE:
When Luciano Pavarotti died, I was asked by the BBC to make a film to pay tribute to the tenor’s status as one of the finest voices of his generation, and arguably the most popular classical singer ever. From the beginning our concern was to show how his later, showbizzy side was only a small part of a career in which he had once dominated the global operatic stage. Fortunately the BBC had filmed him extensively in 1979 revisiting his home town of Modena, singing with his father and performing opera classics especially for the camera. With this in mind, we devised a structure that would highlight certain arias that made him famous - his first triumphs in La Boheme, his accolade as ‘King of the High Cs’ after singing that aria from La Fille du Regiment, his world fame with that aria from Turandot, and so on. Pleasingly for us, Britain had played a large part in forming his career, from winning the great choral competition in Wales to taking everyone’s breath away at Covent Garden. This meant we could rely on some local witnesses, but of course I also had to track down singers whose careers take them all over the world. Happily Dame Joan Sutherland was visiting London (she chose not to appear on camera, which deprived us of a familiar face still full of charm and energy), but others could only be reached all over the globe - Jose Carreras in China, Montserrat Caballe in Munich, Juan Diego Florez outside Milan, and Placido Domingo and Renata Scotto in New York. Flying around in a short space of time to interview these great performers certainly gave me a taste of the crazy life they have to lead. It was wonderful to hear their very individual thoughts on a man who could be contrary and difficult but whose immense talent never ceased to impress. Tenor Kim Begley, who I made look at a televised Pavarotti Master Class he took part in but had never watched, was moved to say that we will not see his like again. After watching this specially expanded version of the original film, I hope you will agree.
Chapter titles
1. Introduction
2. Debut: La Boheme - Che gelida manina
3. The Met Telecast 1977 with Renata Scotto
4. Caruso
5. Vesti la giubba
6. Singing with Joan: La Fille du Regiment - Pour mon ame
7. Juan Diego Florez sings Pour mon ame
8. Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge
9. Lucia di Lammermoor - Duet
10.L’Elisir d’Amore - Una furtiva lagrima
11.Recording for Decca
12.Home: Panis Angelicus
13.Singing with father in Modena
14.Chorale Rossini
15.Il Trovatore at Verona
16.Fame: Rigoletto - Questo o quella
17.Masterclass
18.The Three Tenors - O sole mio
19.Superstar: Turandot - Nessun dorma
20.The handkerchief
21.Marechiare
22.Pavarotti and Friends
23.Mamma with Ricky Martin
24.Last Years: Tosca - E lucevan le stelle
25.Tosca at The Met 1979
26.Last performance at The Met
27.Finale: Verdi Requiem - Ingemisco
