Pavarotti (2019)

Directed by: Ron Howard | 114 minutes | documentary, music | Starring: Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo, Andrea Griminelli, Nicoletta Mantovani, Angela Gheorghiu, Carol Vaness, Vittorio Grigòlo, Madelyn Renée Monti, Zubin Mehta, Adua Veroni, Lorenza Pavarotti, Giuliana Pavarotti, Cristina Pavarotti, Terrin Robson, Anne, Midgette Joseph Volpe, Harvey Goldsmith, Michael Kuhn, Láng Lang, José Carreras, Dickon Stainer, Bono, The Edge, Herbert H. Breslin, Tibor Rudas, Joan Sutherland

If anyone deserves a larger-than-life story, it’s the larger-than-life tenor Luciano Pavarotti. The immensely popular and world-renowned opera singer, the most famous of the past 50 years, doesn’t just have a name that rings like clockwork. After just a few minutes in Ron Howard’s film ‘Pavarotti: The Musical Story of a Genius’ it becomes clear once again that the best man has a seriously impressive voice. When we see Pavarotti in home video recordings visiting the Amazon region and on a small stage, the same spot where greatness Enrico Caruso once did, he sings a tune to a small group of audience, chances are that you are left open-mouthed and goosebumps. watch (and listen). The apparent effortlessness with which the notes roll out of his mouth, the power of his voice, the emotion he manages to put into it, the way he manages to enchant his listeners. Everyone feels: this is a greatness. And it is certainly not the last time in this film that viewers experience this feeling.

In the first part of Howard’s film we still see Pavarotti as a (reasonably) young flower, without hair on his face and a bit slimmer, especially when he is seen as part of a male choir, where his father – not only a baker but also a tenor – also belongs. We learn about his job as a teacher and how his father initially wanted his son to continue that career in order to become a professor at some university. However, his mother felt that he should use his God-given singing talent. When she heard her son sing, strong feelings overcame her; something she did not experience with her husband’s singing skills.

Luciano took his mother’s advice, landed a part in Puccini’s La Bohème, and the rest is history. Just about. The highlights for the general public are of course also discussed, with the highest highlight being his performance with buddies Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, where it is nice to hear from the latter two, that it not only clicked musically, but also on a personal level. was truly an enrichment of their lives. And when you see fragments of the live performance of the 3 tenors – led by the equally enthusiastic conductor Zubin Mehta – this camaraderie really jumps off the screen.

But of course there are also collaborations with many pop artists – under the name ‘Pavarotti and Friends’ -, the most famous of which is his partnership with Bono, from U2 of course. Bono shares interesting anecdotes about how Pavarotti became an increasing presence in Bono’s life through Bono’s Italian housekeeper. He had asked him to write a song for him and in this way he put a little pressure on Bono, who was a busy man. Once the song – ‘Miss Sarajevo’ – was finished, the unexpected request came for Bono to perform it (with U2) in person in Modena, Italy. He hadn’t counted on this, and besides, he didn’t have time for this at all. But since Pavarotti is the world’s best “emotional arm pusher,” Bono couldn’t really refuse. “He just breaks your arm,” Bono said.

Some snobbish critics from the classical world were not enamored with Pavarotti’s collaborations with pop artists and the popularization of opera music with a (too) wide audience, but no further attention is paid to these sounds. Perhaps there is not much to report, but some exploration of these opinions could have provided a more complete picture of Pavarotti’s appreciation.

The film features an interesting collection of speakers, including his first wife and mother of four of his children (all daughters); his daughters; second wife; soprano, pupil, assistant and eventually mistress Madelyn Renee, various promoters, and of course a look at musicians and singers, including Plácido Domingo (just like Pavarotti not averse to some female attention) and soprano Angela Gheorghiu. Almost all praise the talented and big-hearted Pavarotti. Yes, his daughters sometimes let you know that they didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t home much, but that’s about it.

Later in the film, some more cracks can be seen in the perfect portrayal of Luciano’s personality. Although sometimes you have to read between the lines. When Madelyn tells Renee how she hadn’t planned her romance with Pavarotti, but that she had little remorse because his last relationship was over, the fact that he was still married is conveniently ignored. The biggest scandal comes when he later has an affair with a woman 30 years younger (and also has a child with her). Sure, Howard can’t help but spend some time on the media attention. How divorce was a sin in Catholic Italy and how it left a definitive dent in his image.

Be that as it may, Luciano certainly seemed to be a very endearing and genuinely sympathetic man, quite apart from the emotional manipulation he could sometimes be guilty of. And yes, he had his eccentric traits. For example, when he went on tour, he had to bring a truckload of hams and parmesan cheese for the pasta he was going to cook for his party. His love for pasta is also beautifully apparent, for example in images of a TV program in which he is cooking live for (and with) the presenter. It may be stereotypical (an Italian addicted to pasta), but it does give a nice, complete picture of the human Pavarotti.

Many different speakers also show how much Pavarotti was able to make others feel special and valued by the famous tenor. How it seemed like he was (for a moment) your friend and really interested in you. Rock promoter Harvey Goldsmith has another nice anecdote about this, when he tells how Pavarotti gave his parents a private serenade in his dressing room just before a concert.

As for his own appreciation of his musical talent, this one is somewhat schizophrenic. On the one hand, he saw that he was a good singer and even considered his talent a gift from God, but on the other hand he was very nervous before every performance and did not dare to listen to recordings of himself. It wasn’t until his deathbed that he heard one of his first performances and told his daughter – somewhat surprised – that he could sing quite well.

His beautiful singing is ultimately what Howard’s film manages to communicate effectively. Something we don’t really need this film for, but still. We not only see his well-known performance with the 3 (actually 2) tenors, but also fragments from various operas. From Tosca to Pagliacci, from La Bohème to Manon Lescaut (a performance he dedicates to Lady Diana, with whom he later develops a close friendship). But of course his impressive performance in La Fille Du Régiment is not forgotten, in which he manages to squeeze out his inimitable 9 high C’s without too much effort.

His talent and singing quality are beyond dispute. And there is quite an attempt left and right to analyze this quality and what makes it so unique. How he makes his tenor voice sound so warm, his breathing technique, how he – and Domingo – see the voice as a jealous woman who is unruly and can’t be controlled. However, this should have been given more attention. More tenors have good breathing. What is it that he can do better than others? Does he have a technique, a feeling or an approach that he uses over and over again? If so, how did he get here? Is it really just a gift from God or does Luciano also need a lot of blood, sweat and tears – as a fellow tenor suggests – to make that voice sound so (seemingly effortless)?

But maybe in the end it will remain elusive, and we cannot analyze such a genius or talent in detail. And we shouldn’t want this either. Let’s all just keep dreaming about Pavarotti’s beautiful voice and be grateful that he wanted to share his talent with the world and that he – whatever his critics thought – successfully brought opera music to ‘the people’. Bravo!