WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 Okay, let's dive in. Let's do it. We are talking 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:07.410 today about a figure whose voice... i mean it 00:00:07.410 --> 00:00:10.089 wasn't just about filling the grand opera houses 00:00:10.089 --> 00:00:12.970 of the world oh not at all it went so far beyond 00:00:12.970 --> 00:00:16.969 that it conquered stadiums it completely redefined 00:00:16.969 --> 00:00:19.390 what a classical celebrity could be and it somehow 00:00:19.390 --> 00:00:22.730 managed to be you know high art and global pop 00:00:22.730 --> 00:00:25.210 culture at the exact same time and you can only 00:00:25.210 --> 00:00:27.449 be talking about one person the one and only 00:00:27.449 --> 00:00:30.149 luciano pavarotti absolutely i mean he reached 00:00:30.149 --> 00:00:33.060 a level of fame that Well, it's rare for any 00:00:33.060 --> 00:00:35.219 artist, let alone a classical one. Right. He 00:00:35.219 --> 00:00:37.299 really transcended the whole genre in a way that 00:00:37.299 --> 00:00:38.960 I don't think we've seen since. And when you 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:41.119 look at the numbers, it's just staggering. It 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:44.000 is. The stats are profound. He sold well over 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:47.100 100 million records. 100 million. And that first 00:00:47.100 --> 00:00:49.740 three tenors album, it's still the best selling 00:00:49.740 --> 00:00:52.780 classical album of all time, period. So. Our 00:00:52.780 --> 00:00:55.700 mission today in this deep dive is to really 00:00:55.700 --> 00:00:58.520 trace that journey. How does the son of a baker 00:00:58.520 --> 00:01:00.799 from, you know, a pretty humble background in 00:01:00.799 --> 00:01:03.899 Modena, Italy, how does he become this universally 00:01:03.899 --> 00:01:07.120 recognized figure, someone known just as the 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.260 maestro? It's about understanding the mechanics 00:01:09.260 --> 00:01:11.459 of it, right? Yeah. The talent, of course. Yeah. 00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:14.799 But also the partnerships, the timing. The decisions 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:17.680 he made along the way. All of it. Yeah. And that 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.140 journey. It really has to start with the voice 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:22.120 itself. Okay. When you think of Pavarotti, you 00:01:22.120 --> 00:01:24.819 think of that sound. It's huge. It's generous. 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:27.319 It feels effortless, especially up in that top 00:01:27.319 --> 00:01:29.019 register. Which is where the nickname comes from. 00:01:29.140 --> 00:01:31.840 Exactly. The king of the high Cs. He earned that 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:34.859 because he could just nail those top notes with 00:01:34.859 --> 00:01:38.000 this incredible clarity and warmth over and over 00:01:38.000 --> 00:01:40.299 again. And this vocal talent, it wasn't just 00:01:40.299 --> 00:01:43.060 random, was it? It was focused on a very specific 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:46.579 and very demanding type of opera. Precisely. 00:01:46.579 --> 00:01:49.879 His whole core repertoire required just exceptional 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:52.400 technique. We're talking mainly about bel canto 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:54.340 operas. Which means beautiful singing. Beautiful 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:57.379 singing, yeah. Yeah. It's an Italian style from 00:01:57.379 --> 00:02:00.120 the late 18th, early 19th centuries that's all 00:02:00.120 --> 00:02:03.739 about purity of tone, agility, flexibility. It 00:02:03.739 --> 00:02:06.000 demands almost superhuman control. So it's not 00:02:06.000 --> 00:02:08.629 just about being loud. Not at all. It's about 00:02:08.629 --> 00:02:11.030 control and hitting those incredibly high notes 00:02:11.030 --> 00:02:13.909 without any sense of strain. And then you have 00:02:13.909 --> 00:02:16.229 the early Verdi rolls, and of course Puccini, 00:02:16.330 --> 00:02:19.610 La Boheme, Tosca, and Turando. Those were his 00:02:19.610 --> 00:02:22.710 signatures. They all demand this blend of intense 00:02:22.710 --> 00:02:25.349 emotion and sheer vocal brilliance. And then 00:02:25.349 --> 00:02:27.629 there's the one aria, the one that took him from 00:02:27.629 --> 00:02:29.930 the opera world and launched him into the global 00:02:29.930 --> 00:02:33.229 stratosphere. Nessun Dorma. From Turandot. Yeah. 00:02:33.310 --> 00:02:36.430 That one Puccini aria became more synonymous 00:02:36.430 --> 00:02:39.009 with Pavarotti than with any other singer in 00:02:39.009 --> 00:02:41.550 history. It just became his song. So to really 00:02:41.550 --> 00:02:44.169 appreciate that global icon, you have to go right 00:02:44.169 --> 00:02:46.599 back to the beginning. You do. to the reality 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:50.580 of his start he was born in 1935 not into some 00:02:50.580 --> 00:02:53.419 high culture wealthy family but on the outskirts 00:02:53.419 --> 00:02:56.180 of modena in northern italy and it was a profoundly 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:58.939 humble italian upbringing i mean his family context 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:01.919 says so much his father fernando was a baker 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:05.560 a baker by trade working long, hard hours. But, 00:03:05.620 --> 00:03:07.759 and this is crucial, he was also an amateur tenor. 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:10.719 With a good voice. A very fine, natural voice, 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:13.159 apparently. But he backed away from a professional 00:03:13.159 --> 00:03:16.240 career because he had crippling stage fright. 00:03:16.460 --> 00:03:19.080 Wow. So that had to have been in the back of 00:03:19.080 --> 00:03:21.900 Luciano's mind. You have to think so. And his 00:03:21.900 --> 00:03:24.860 mother, Adele, she was working in a cigar factory. 00:03:25.180 --> 00:03:29.060 And the family was crowded into a tiny two -room 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:31.520 apartment. Right. So this wasn't just modest. 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:34.319 It was... Yeah. It was a struggle. It creates 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.020 a very grounded, probably very resilient kid. 00:03:37.240 --> 00:03:39.419 And you can't forget the backdrop to all this, 00:03:39.620 --> 00:03:43.099 World War II. Absolute chaos. In 1943, the family 00:03:43.099 --> 00:03:45.020 had to flee the city because of the bombing. 00:03:45.219 --> 00:03:47.620 They rented a single room out in the countryside. 00:03:47.939 --> 00:03:49.520 And that's where he got interested in farming, 00:03:49.659 --> 00:03:51.599 of all things. Yeah, for a year, that was his 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:53.639 world. It was just one of these incredible what 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:55.979 -ifs in his story. Imagine that alternate history. 00:03:56.640 --> 00:03:59.139 Farmer Pavarotti. It almost happened. And it 00:03:59.139 --> 00:04:01.080 wasn't the only alternate path. His childhood 00:04:01.080 --> 00:04:03.780 dream wasn't even singing. No. It was sports. 00:04:03.960 --> 00:04:06.740 He wanted to be a professional football goalkeeper. 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.580 A goalkeeper. I know. But you can almost see 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:11.860 it, can't you? That commanding presence, the 00:04:11.860 --> 00:04:14.900 high -stakes moments. It's not so different from 00:04:14.900 --> 00:04:17.420 being on stage, in a way. But his mother stepped 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:20.639 in. She did. After he graduated, she convinced 00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:23.110 him to train as a teacher. And he actually did 00:04:23.110 --> 00:04:25.490 it. For two full years. He's an elementary school 00:04:25.490 --> 00:04:28.449 teacher. This was a stable, respectable career 00:04:28.449 --> 00:04:31.110 he already had before music really took over. 00:04:31.269 --> 00:04:32.930 So when he finally decides, okay, I'm going to 00:04:32.930 --> 00:04:35.449 do this singing thing. His father was very reluctant. 00:04:35.730 --> 00:04:39.009 He knew the risks, the instability. For a family 00:04:39.009 --> 00:04:41.310 that came from hard, reliable labor, gambling 00:04:41.310 --> 00:04:44.170 on an arts career was, well, it was a huge ask. 00:04:44.600 --> 00:04:47.240 That hesitation really underlines how risky it 00:04:47.240 --> 00:04:49.879 was, and the start was not easy. No, not at all. 00:04:49.939 --> 00:04:52.839 He started serious study pretty late, at 19, 00:04:53.019 --> 00:04:56.620 in 1954, with a tenor in Modena named Erigo Pola. 00:04:56.699 --> 00:04:58.740 And the source material says Pola taught him 00:04:58.740 --> 00:05:01.160 for free. For free? Which tells you something 00:05:01.160 --> 00:05:03.180 about the raw talent Pola must have heard right 00:05:03.180 --> 00:05:05.240 away. And this is where another key figure comes 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:09.120 in. Right. When Pola moved to Japan, Pavarotti 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:12.990 started studying with Ettore Campogalliani. And 00:05:12.990 --> 00:05:14.850 that's where he reconnected with his childhood 00:05:14.850 --> 00:05:17.990 friend, Mirella Frenney. The cigar factory connection. 00:05:18.110 --> 00:05:19.990 Exactly. Their mothers worked together in the 00:05:19.990 --> 00:05:22.430 factory. They had this shared local background, 00:05:22.509 --> 00:05:24.269 this history. And they would go on to become 00:05:24.269 --> 00:05:27.670 maybe the most famous Rodolfo and Mimi in La 00:05:27.670 --> 00:05:29.870 Boheme of their time. That's the one. It's an 00:05:29.870 --> 00:05:31.829 incredible story of continuity starting right 00:05:31.829 --> 00:05:33.870 there in Modena. But even with that talent, even 00:05:33.870 --> 00:05:35.850 with those connections, the early years were 00:05:35.850 --> 00:05:38.250 just a grind. A whole grind. He was still teaching 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:40.629 part -time. He was selling insurance just to 00:05:40.629 --> 00:05:42.610 make ends meet while he was studying. And for 00:05:42.610 --> 00:05:45.189 six years, he did a handful of recitals in small 00:05:45.189 --> 00:05:49.480 towns, all unpaid. Six years of work for... Basically, 00:05:49.500 --> 00:05:52.879 zero professional reward. The pressure must have 00:05:52.879 --> 00:05:54.959 been immense. And that pressure led to a crisis. 00:05:55.259 --> 00:05:57.920 A huge one. A physical and psychological turning 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:00.819 point. A nodule developed on his vocal cords. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:03.899 Oh, no. And it led to what he called a disastrous 00:06:03.899 --> 00:06:07.660 concert in Ferrara. He hit rock bottom. After 00:06:07.660 --> 00:06:10.579 all that sacrifice, his body betrayed him and 00:06:10.579 --> 00:06:13.160 he decided to quit. Just give it all up. That's 00:06:13.160 --> 00:06:16.740 it. He was done. But here's this almost mystical 00:06:16.740 --> 00:06:19.120 part of his story. That he told for the rest 00:06:19.120 --> 00:06:22.060 of his life. Okay. He claimed that the psychological 00:06:22.060 --> 00:06:25.560 release, just the act of deciding to surrender, 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:29.019 to quit it, caused the nodule to just disappear. 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:31.860 You're kidding. That's what he said. He said 00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:34.040 when his voice came back, it was completely transformed. 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:36.480 All the technique he'd been learning suddenly 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.120 clicked with his natural voice. The moment he 00:06:39.120 --> 00:06:41.120 stopped trying to force it, it just happened. 00:06:41.319 --> 00:06:43.660 Exactly. It's an incredible narrative. But before 00:06:43.660 --> 00:06:46.339 that breakdown, there was one early success that 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:49.139 must have kept him going. Yes. Back in 1955. 00:06:50.009 --> 00:06:53.310 He was in the Corral Rossini Male Voice Choir. 00:06:53.430 --> 00:06:55.389 With his father. With his father, which is so 00:06:55.389 --> 00:06:57.250 important. They went to Wales for the International 00:06:57.250 --> 00:07:01.310 Ice Tidfod and won first prize. Wow. And Pavarotti 00:07:01.310 --> 00:07:03.110 later said that winning that competition with 00:07:03.110 --> 00:07:05.050 his dad was the single most important experience 00:07:05.050 --> 00:07:07.870 of his life. It was just enough validation to 00:07:07.870 --> 00:07:10.689 get him through the next few brutal years. And 00:07:10.689 --> 00:07:12.670 right as his career is about to take off, he 00:07:12.670 --> 00:07:16.269 builds some personal stability. He does. In 1961, 00:07:16.509 --> 00:07:18.930 the same year as his debut, he marries Aydua 00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:21.699 Varoni. That marriage lasted nearly 40 years, 00:07:21.779 --> 00:07:24.540 and they had three daughters. So he had a home 00:07:24.540 --> 00:07:27.639 base right as his public life was about to explode. 00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:31.800 So the career officially begins, 1961, Rodolfo 00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:34.000 in La Boheme. In Reggio Emilia, yeah. It was 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.959 the perfect role for his voice, a role that would 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:38.420 be his calling card for his entire career. And 00:07:38.420 --> 00:07:41.220 from there, things moved fast. This wasn't just... 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:43.399 A regional talent. Not at all. International 00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.120 debuts came quickly. He's in Belgrade doing La 00:07:46.120 --> 00:07:48.560 Traviata, then the Vienna State Opera in 63. 00:07:48.860 --> 00:07:51.160 And also in 63, the big one, his debut at the 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:53.139 Royal Opera House in London. Right. And he was 00:07:53.139 --> 00:07:55.180 stepping in for the famous tenor Giuseppe Di 00:07:55.180 --> 00:07:57.399 Stefano. As Rodolfo, of course. As Rodolfo. It's 00:07:57.399 --> 00:07:59.060 that classic story. The replacement gets his 00:07:59.060 --> 00:08:02.339 big break. But the truly game -changing relationship, 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:04.800 the one that really set him up for a global career, 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:08.300 was with the soprano Joan Sutherland. Absolutely. 00:08:08.810 --> 00:08:10.509 Joan Sutherland and her husband, the conductor 00:08:10.509 --> 00:08:13.370 Richard Boning, that connection started in 1963. 00:08:13.810 --> 00:08:16.149 And it started for a surprisingly practical reason. 00:08:16.449 --> 00:08:19.769 It did. She was planning a huge Australian tour 00:08:19.769 --> 00:08:23.430 for 1965, and she specifically needed a tenor 00:08:23.430 --> 00:08:25.990 who was taller than her. And Pavarotti fit the 00:08:25.990 --> 00:08:28.730 bill. He did. But it quickly became about so 00:08:28.730 --> 00:08:30.569 much more than his height. Their professional 00:08:30.569 --> 00:08:33.149 synergy was immediate. Which led to his U .S. 00:08:33.149 --> 00:08:36.919 debut. February 1965. Yeah. In Miami. He was 00:08:36.919 --> 00:08:39.340 singing Lucia di Lammermoor with Sutherland. 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.600 He was actually the understudy. And the main 00:08:41.600 --> 00:08:44.460 tenor got sick. Exactly. Sutherland recommended 00:08:44.460 --> 00:08:46.799 him without hesitation, and he stepped in and 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:48.919 was a huge success. That must have opened every 00:08:48.919 --> 00:08:51.759 door. Straight to the top. Just a couple months 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:54.799 later, April 65, he's making his debut at La 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:57.299 Scala in Milan. In La Boheme with Mirella Farini. 00:08:57.480 --> 00:09:00.059 And conducted by the great Herbert von Karajan, 00:09:00.139 --> 00:09:02.659 who had specifically asked for him. But what's 00:09:02.659 --> 00:09:04.659 so fascinating about the Sutherland relationship 00:09:04.659 --> 00:09:07.340 is not just the opportunities. It was the training. 00:09:07.500 --> 00:09:10.100 It's a technical boot camp. Pavarotti himself 00:09:10.100 --> 00:09:12.600 credited her with teaching him the breathing 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.399 technique that sustained his entire career. And 00:09:15.399 --> 00:09:17.440 he learned this on that grueling Australian tour. 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:20.580 An astonishing 40 performances in just two months. 00:09:20.960 --> 00:09:23.820 That's where he really learned how to sing, night 00:09:23.820 --> 00:09:26.320 after night. And that technique is what allowed 00:09:26.320 --> 00:09:29.399 him to earn that famous nickname. The king of 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.240 the high seas. And it didn't come from La Boheme. 00:09:32.460 --> 00:09:35.200 It came from the role of Tonio in Donizetti's 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:37.799 opera, La Fille du Régiment. He first did that 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.039 role in London in 66. But the seismic event, 00:09:41.299 --> 00:09:44.080 the moment that cemented the name forever, was 00:09:44.080 --> 00:09:46.820 six years later in New York. At the Met, February 00:09:46.820 --> 00:09:50.460 1972. That's the one. The aria in that opera 00:09:50.460 --> 00:09:54.320 has nine consecutive high Cs. Nine. And Pavarotti 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:56.980 didn't just hit them. He delivered them with 00:09:56.980 --> 00:10:00.590 this ringing, effortless power that just... It 00:10:00.590 --> 00:10:02.710 stunned the New York audience. And the reaction. 00:10:03.090 --> 00:10:06.309 Pandemonium. 17 curtain calls. 17. That was the 00:10:06.309 --> 00:10:08.409 breakthrough. That was the moment he went from 00:10:08.409 --> 00:10:11.210 being a star to being a phenomenon. And as his 00:10:11.210 --> 00:10:13.929 fame grows through the 70s, he starts to develop 00:10:13.929 --> 00:10:16.169 these little signatures that made him so accessible. 00:10:16.509 --> 00:10:18.250 Let's talk about the handkerchief. The iconic 00:10:18.250 --> 00:10:20.250 white handkerchief. He started using it at a 00:10:20.250 --> 00:10:23.149 recital in Missouri in 1973. And the story behind 00:10:23.149 --> 00:10:26.750 it is actually really endearing. It is. Initially, 00:10:26.750 --> 00:10:30.309 the story was he had a cold. But he later admitted 00:10:30.309 --> 00:10:32.370 he just, he didn't know what to do with his hands 00:10:32.370 --> 00:10:35.769 on stage. That's so relatable. Exactly. It was 00:10:35.769 --> 00:10:37.990 this little touch of human awkwardness that people 00:10:37.990 --> 00:10:41.149 loved. It became his signature prop. That kind 00:10:41.149 --> 00:10:43.690 of accessibility made him perfect for television. 00:10:43.990 --> 00:10:47.710 Absolutely. In 1977, he was Rodolfo in the very 00:10:47.710 --> 00:10:51.649 first Alcation, live for the Met Telecast. And 00:10:51.649 --> 00:10:54.190 it drew one of the biggest audiences ever for 00:10:54.190 --> 00:10:56.769 televised opera. It proved this music could be 00:10:56.769 --> 00:10:59.190 a mass market thing. And the rest of the media 00:10:59.190 --> 00:11:01.009 followed. He's on the cover of Time magazine. 00:11:01.210 --> 00:11:03.809 He's winning Grammys, getting gold records. By 00:11:03.809 --> 00:11:06.409 the end of the 70s, he's a full -blown global 00:11:06.409 --> 00:11:10.210 superstar. But the 90s, the 90s were about to 00:11:10.210 --> 00:11:11.870 take it to a whole other dimension. Before we 00:11:11.870 --> 00:11:13.929 get to that massive explosion in the 90s, though, 00:11:13.970 --> 00:11:16.049 you can see the shift starting in the 80s. You 00:11:16.049 --> 00:11:18.389 can. He starts to move from being just a performer 00:11:18.389 --> 00:11:22.370 to being, well, a cultural entrepreneur. Yeah. 00:11:22.429 --> 00:11:24.870 A mentor. With the Pavarotti International Voice 00:11:24.870 --> 00:11:27.090 Competition. Exactly. And this wasn't just a 00:11:27.090 --> 00:11:28.970 name only thing. He was actively involved. He 00:11:28.970 --> 00:11:30.789 would perform with the winners in operas like 00:11:30.789 --> 00:11:33.490 La Boheme. He was using his platform to lift 00:11:33.490 --> 00:11:36.330 up the next generation. For sure. And that commitment 00:11:36.330 --> 00:11:39.509 led to this really amazing cultural moment in 00:11:39.509 --> 00:11:42.509 1986. It was the 25th anniversary of his career. 00:11:42.710 --> 00:11:45.769 And he went to China. He did. This was a huge 00:11:45.769 --> 00:11:47.970 deal at the time. He took the winners of his 00:11:47.970 --> 00:11:50.740 competition to Beijing. But the main event was 00:11:50.740 --> 00:11:53.419 his own concert. The inaugural concert in the 00:11:53.419 --> 00:11:56.000 Great Hall of the People in front of 10 ,000 00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:58.500 people. And what did he give them? He gave them 00:11:58.500 --> 00:12:01.440 the goods. A standing ovation for hitting those 00:12:01.440 --> 00:12:04.220 nine high Cs. It proved he could connect with 00:12:04.220 --> 00:12:07.080 these massive, non -traditional audiences. He 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.759 was warming up. For the main event, the 1990 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:12.320 FIFA World Cup. This is where it all just goes 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.519 into the stratosphere. Thanks to a single area. 00:12:14.740 --> 00:12:17.419 It's legendary. His recording of Nessun Dorma. 00:12:17.720 --> 00:12:19.820 was chosen by the BBC as the theme for their 00:12:19.820 --> 00:12:21.820 coverage of the World Cup, which was being held 00:12:21.820 --> 00:12:24.559 in Italy. The timing was just perfect. The timing, 00:12:24.659 --> 00:12:28.639 the song, the drama of the tournament, it just 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:31.799 connected instantly. That area achieved pop status 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:34.559 overnight. It became the soundtrack to the summer. 00:12:34.720 --> 00:12:37.240 And it gave them the launchpad for the three 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:40.279 tenors. The highest possible launchpad. The first 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:42.360 concert was on the eve of the World Cup final 00:12:42.360 --> 00:12:45.779 at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome. Pavarotti, 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:49.190 Blasio Domingo, And Jose Carreras. And that one 00:12:49.190 --> 00:12:51.850 concert changed the classical music industry. 00:12:52.070 --> 00:12:54.389 Forever. The recording became the biggest selling 00:12:54.389 --> 00:12:56.129 classical album of all time. It showed there 00:12:56.129 --> 00:12:59.009 was this massive, untapped audience for this 00:12:59.009 --> 00:13:01.009 music. And there's that one moment on the recording. 00:13:01.210 --> 00:13:04.190 With O Sole Mio. Yeah. Pavarotti sings these 00:13:04.190 --> 00:13:07.850 incredibly long, virtuosic vocal runs, and then 00:13:07.850 --> 00:13:09.830 Domingo and Carreras just repeat them perfectly, 00:13:10.009 --> 00:13:12.190 night for note. It's this moment of friendly 00:13:12.190 --> 00:13:14.889 competition and pure joy. It was designed to 00:13:14.889 --> 00:13:17.049 thrill, and it absolutely did. And of course, 00:13:17.049 --> 00:13:18.929 it was so huge, they did it again. At the next 00:13:18.929 --> 00:13:23.870 three World Cups, 94, 98, 2002, for 12 years, 00:13:24.110 --> 00:13:26.590 the three tenors were part of this global sporting 00:13:26.590 --> 00:13:29.250 event. And that fame allowed him to play venues 00:13:29.250 --> 00:13:32.360 that were just... unheard of for a classical 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:34.539 singer. We're talking massive outdoor concerts. 00:13:34.899 --> 00:13:38.100 Colossal. 150 ,000 people in Hyde Park in London. 00:13:38.340 --> 00:13:40.799 And New York. Over half a million people in Central 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:43.340 Park. Half a million people. For an opera singer, 00:13:43.539 --> 00:13:46.720 that's just unbelievable. It is. The scale is 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:50.120 hard to comprehend. Then 300 ,000 at the Eiffel 00:13:50.120 --> 00:13:53.190 Tower. He was a rock star. And that level of 00:13:53.190 --> 00:13:55.590 fame let him do some really interesting crossover 00:13:55.590 --> 00:13:58.889 work in the 90s. He was everywhere. He recorded 00:13:58.889 --> 00:14:02.330 Miss Sarajevo with U2. Sang with Dolores O 'Riordan 00:14:02.330 --> 00:14:04.649 from The Cranberries. In front of Princess Diana, 00:14:04.809 --> 00:14:07.409 who was apparently moved to tears. And then the 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:10.029 ultimate American crossover moment. Saturday 00:14:10.029 --> 00:14:14.370 Night Live in 1998. He sang with Vanessa L. Williams. 00:14:14.590 --> 00:14:17.110 He is still the only opera singer to have ever 00:14:17.110 --> 00:14:19.230 performed on that show. It just shows you he 00:14:19.230 --> 00:14:22.200 had bridged every gap. By the end of the 90s, 00:14:22.200 --> 00:14:24.799 he was without a doubt the most famous classical 00:14:24.799 --> 00:14:27.840 musician who had ever lived. So he has this enormous 00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:30.960 global platform, bigger than any classical artist 00:14:30.960 --> 00:14:33.340 had ever dreamed of. Right. And he didn't just 00:14:33.340 --> 00:14:35.480 use it to sell records. He leveraged it almost 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.019 immediately for humanitarian work. This really 00:14:38.019 --> 00:14:40.299 defined the second half of his career. The cornerstone 00:14:40.299 --> 00:14:42.600 was the Pavarotti and Friends concert series. 00:14:42.840 --> 00:14:45.500 Held every year in his hometown, Modena. And 00:14:45.500 --> 00:14:47.139 these were not your typical benefit concerts. 00:14:47.279 --> 00:14:50.059 These were genre -bending extravaganzas. The 00:14:50.059 --> 00:14:52.320 guest list is just a who's who of music. Sting, 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:56.080 Bono, Elton John, Mariah Carey, James Brown, 00:14:56.340 --> 00:14:58.519 Eric Clapton. Even the Spice Girls. Even the 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:00.539 Spice Girls. Yeah. It showed the kind of gravitational 00:15:00.539 --> 00:15:03.279 pull he had. And all the money went to critical 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.620 UN causes. Specifically helping victims of war. 00:15:06.820 --> 00:15:10.379 Yes. War Child and victims in Bosnia, Guatemala, 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:15.500 Kosovo, Iraq. Yeah. And his impact was very real. 00:15:15.779 --> 00:15:18.320 Very tangible. Can you give us an example? After 00:15:18.320 --> 00:15:21.110 the Bosnian War. His funds helped establish the 00:15:21.110 --> 00:15:23.789 Pavarotti Music Center in Mostar, a place for 00:15:23.789 --> 00:15:25.870 artists to rebuild the culture there. And the 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:27.769 city of Sarajevo made him an honorary citizen 00:15:27.769 --> 00:15:30.289 for his work. They did. His legacy there is permanent. 00:15:30.470 --> 00:15:33.070 And it went beyond the Balkans. Oh, yeah. He 00:15:33.070 --> 00:15:35.129 worked with his friend Princess Diana on eliminating 00:15:35.129 --> 00:15:37.629 landmines. He performed for victims of the earthquake 00:15:37.629 --> 00:15:40.210 in Armenia. He helped build a school for war 00:15:40.210 --> 00:15:42.549 orphans in Guatemala. And this work was recognized 00:15:42.549 --> 00:15:45.110 at the highest levels. The UN made him a messenger 00:15:45.110 --> 00:15:49.190 of peace in 1998. And in 2001, he got the Nansen 00:15:49.190 --> 00:15:51.509 Medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees. 00:15:51.570 --> 00:15:53.690 And the citation for that award is incredible. 00:15:54.110 --> 00:15:56.769 It is. It notes that he had raised more money 00:15:56.769 --> 00:15:59.149 for refugees than any other single individual 00:15:59.149 --> 00:16:01.809 in the world. That is a monumental achievement. 00:16:02.029 --> 00:16:04.889 A phenomenal record. But we have to talk about 00:16:04.889 --> 00:16:07.200 the other side of the story. The contrast. Right. 00:16:07.320 --> 00:16:10.539 For all this goodwill, he had this other very 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:12.820 negative reputation in the professional opera 00:16:12.820 --> 00:16:15.320 world. The king of cancellations. That's the 00:16:15.320 --> 00:16:17.080 one. And he earned it, unfortunately. He backed 00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:20.240 out of performances frequently, sometimes right 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:23.460 at the last minute. Which created huge problems 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:26.200 for the opera house. Massive problems. Yes. And 00:16:26.200 --> 00:16:28.340 really strained relationships. So what's the 00:16:28.340 --> 00:16:30.679 tension there? Is it the immense physical pressure 00:16:30.679 --> 00:16:33.659 of singing those roles or is it something else? 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:36.379 It's probably a bit of both. The demands of that 00:16:36.379 --> 00:16:38.679 repertoire are insane, especially as you get 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.279 older. But for the opera companies, it felt like 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:43.940 a lack of professional respect. And the most 00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:45.740 famous example of this came to a head in Chicago. 00:16:46.179 --> 00:16:49.700 1989, the Lyric Opera of Chicago. They had a 00:16:49.700 --> 00:16:51.960 15 -year relationship with him, and they just, 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:55.279 they severed it. What led to such a drastic step? 00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:58.139 Over the previous eight years, he had canceled 00:16:58.139 --> 00:17:02.429 26 out of 41 scheduled appearances. Wow. That's 00:17:02.429 --> 00:17:05.410 more than half. Almost two -thirds, yeah. The 00:17:05.410 --> 00:17:07.910 final straw was him pulling out of a big season 00:17:07.910 --> 00:17:10.690 premiere, citing sciatic nerve pain. And the 00:17:10.690 --> 00:17:13.190 Lyric Opera had had enough. The general manager, 00:17:13.430 --> 00:17:16.630 Artis Kranich, she took the incredible step of 00:17:16.630 --> 00:17:19.769 banning him for life from their stage. For life! 00:17:19.930 --> 00:17:22.269 It sends a message through the entire opera world. 00:17:22.490 --> 00:17:25.150 So you have this incredible duality, the global 00:17:25.150 --> 00:17:27.809 humanitarian and the unreliable professional. 00:17:28.289 --> 00:17:30.730 It's a huge part of his story. And that tension 00:17:30.730 --> 00:17:33.470 also showed up in his finances. The tax dispute. 00:17:33.609 --> 00:17:35.630 The very public tax dispute with the Italian 00:17:35.630 --> 00:17:37.990 government. He claimed his official residence 00:17:37.990 --> 00:17:41.589 was in Monaco. The famous tax haven. A classic 00:17:41.589 --> 00:17:44.730 move. But the Italian court rejected it. And 00:17:44.730 --> 00:17:46.630 the reason they gave was kind of amazing. It 00:17:46.630 --> 00:17:49.170 was. The judge basically ruled that his apartment 00:17:49.170 --> 00:17:51.369 in Monaco was too small to be his real home. 00:17:51.470 --> 00:17:53.589 It couldn't fit his whole family, so his center 00:17:53.589 --> 00:17:55.809 of life was clearly still in Modena. So what 00:17:55.809 --> 00:17:58.289 was the outcome? He had to pay up. He settled 00:17:58.289 --> 00:18:01.390 for about $7 .6 million in back taxes and penalties. 00:18:01.630 --> 00:18:04.329 But he was cleared of the criminal charges. That's 00:18:04.329 --> 00:18:06.650 a key distinction. He was acquitted of filing 00:18:06.650 --> 00:18:09.329 false tax returns. The court found he owed the 00:18:09.329 --> 00:18:12.730 money, but his intent wasn't criminal. And the 00:18:12.730 --> 00:18:14.890 criticism didn't stop there. It even extended 00:18:14.890 --> 00:18:18.269 to his actual musicianship. Yeah, after his former 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:21.490 manager, Herbert Breslin, published a very critical 00:18:21.490 --> 00:18:25.250 memoir in 2004. The King and I. Breslin was harsh 00:18:25.250 --> 00:18:27.750 about his acting, and he made this very damaging 00:18:27.750 --> 00:18:30.509 claim that Pavarotti struggled to read music 00:18:30.509 --> 00:18:33.150 well. That's a huge allegation against one of 00:18:33.150 --> 00:18:36.009 the world's greatest singers. It is, and Pavarotti 00:18:36.009 --> 00:18:38.269 did address it. He denugged that he couldn't 00:18:38.269 --> 00:18:40.369 read music, but he made an important admission. 00:18:40.710 --> 00:18:42.829 What was that? He admitted he didn't read full 00:18:42.829 --> 00:18:46.049 orchestral scores. Which is different. It's very 00:18:46.049 --> 00:18:48.410 different. A singer usually works from a simplified 00:18:48.410 --> 00:18:51.250 piano version. It suggests he relied heavily 00:18:51.250 --> 00:18:53.839 on his coaches. Which isn't that unusual, but 00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:56.259 for his critics, it was a big deal. And this 00:18:56.259 --> 00:18:59.299 mix of incredible talent, but maybe some technical 00:18:59.299 --> 00:19:01.779 gaps? Yeah. It showed up in his other media work, 00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.339 too. Absolutely. His big Hollywood movie, The 00:19:04.339 --> 00:19:07.339 Romantic Comedy. Yes, Giorgio. It was a flop. 00:19:07.619 --> 00:19:11.279 A huge critical and commercial failure. Funnily 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:13.759 enough, it did get an Oscar nomination for Best 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:16.319 Original Song. A weird little footnote in his 00:19:16.319 --> 00:19:19.279 career. But when he was filmed doing what he 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:22.259 did, Best Singing Opera, It was always a massive 00:19:22.259 --> 00:19:25.480 success. He won two Emmy Awards for his PBS specials. 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:28.900 The Carol loved him in his natural habitat. Just 00:19:28.900 --> 00:19:31.839 not so much in a scripted comedy. So we come 00:19:31.839 --> 00:19:34.000 to the final chapter of his career, The Long 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:35.960 Farewell. Yeah. He started his farewell tour 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:39.160 in 2004. He was 69 years old, planning to hit 00:19:39.160 --> 00:19:41.930 40 cities. And his last performance in a full 00:19:41.930 --> 00:19:43.990 opera was pretty early in that tour. It was. 00:19:44.109 --> 00:19:48.069 March 2004 at the Met in New York, he sang Cavaradossi 00:19:48.069 --> 00:19:50.569 and Tosca. And the ovation was? Just legendary. 00:19:50.569 --> 00:19:52.730 It went on and on. It was this huge emotional 00:19:52.730 --> 00:19:55.549 farewell to the art form that made him. His last 00:19:55.549 --> 00:19:58.690 actual full concert was in Taiwan in late 2005. 00:19:59.049 --> 00:20:00.890 But the last time the world saw him perform, 00:20:01.150 --> 00:20:03.369 that was a different story. A very different 00:20:03.369 --> 00:20:06.150 story. It was the 2006 Winter Olympics opening 00:20:06.150 --> 00:20:08.809 ceremony in Turin, Italy. A huge moment of national 00:20:08.809 --> 00:20:11.490 pride. It was magnificent. He sang Nessun Dorma, 00:20:11.529 --> 00:20:14.410 of course. He got the longest, loudest ovation 00:20:14.410 --> 00:20:16.890 of the night. It felt like this perfect, final, 00:20:17.029 --> 00:20:19.509 powerful statement. But it wasn't what it seemed. 00:20:19.910 --> 00:20:23.029 No. The truth came out two years later, in a 00:20:23.029 --> 00:20:25.269 memoir by his director, Leona Magira. What was 00:20:25.269 --> 00:20:28.039 the revelation? The performance was pre -recorded. 00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:31.500 He had mimed the whole thing. Wow. It was purely 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:34.299 about his health. He was already very ill. And 00:20:34.299 --> 00:20:37.319 the idea of him singing live late at night in 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:40.779 the freezing cold February air in Turin, it was 00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:43.240 just too dangerous. So it was a piece of stagecraft 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:45.420 to protect him. And to give the world that one 00:20:45.420 --> 00:20:48.500 last iconic moment. Yeah. As Majira said, the 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:51.359 orchestra pretended to play. I pretended to conduct. 00:20:51.720 --> 00:20:54.099 And Luciano pretended to sing. The effect was 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:56.019 wonderful. And after that final appearance, his 00:20:56.019 --> 00:20:57.819 health went downhill quickly. He was diagnosed 00:20:57.819 --> 00:20:59.900 with pancreatic cancer just a few months later 00:20:59.900 --> 00:21:04.140 in July 2006. He had major surgery, but the illness 00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:06.519 was too aggressive. He passed away in September 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:10.880 2007. At his home in Modena, age 71. His manager 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:13.039 said he fought a long, tough battle and stayed 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:16.049 positive right to the end. And his funeral was 00:21:16.049 --> 00:21:19.430 a reflection of his status. It really was. It 00:21:19.430 --> 00:21:21.549 was like a state funeral. The prime minister 00:21:21.549 --> 00:21:25.210 was there, Kofi Annan, and the Italian Air Force 00:21:25.210 --> 00:21:28.970 aerobatic team flew overhead. The fray, Tricolore. 00:21:29.250 --> 00:21:31.430 Leaving trails of green, white, and red smoke. 00:21:32.089 --> 00:21:34.970 A final tribute from his country. After his death, 00:21:35.029 --> 00:21:36.549 there was some complication with his estate. 00:21:36.809 --> 00:21:39.390 There was. He was survived by his second wife, 00:21:39.630 --> 00:21:42.650 Nicoletta Mantovani, and four daughters, three 00:21:42.650 --> 00:21:44.779 from his first marriage. One with Nicoletta. 00:21:44.900 --> 00:21:46.519 And there were two different wills. Which is 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:49.099 always a recipe for conflict. One will divide 00:21:49.099 --> 00:21:51.779 assets by Italian law, but a second gave all 00:21:51.779 --> 00:21:54.819 his U .S. holdings to Nicoletta. But they managed 00:21:54.819 --> 00:21:57.759 to avoid a long legal fight. They did. To their 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.680 credit, the family reached an amicable settlement 00:21:59.680 --> 00:22:02.809 in 2008. They respected his wishes and kept it 00:22:02.809 --> 00:22:04.890 private. His list of honors is long, but there 00:22:04.890 --> 00:22:06.750 are a couple of Guinness World Records that really 00:22:06.750 --> 00:22:09.210 stand out. They do. One is for the most curtain 00:22:09.210 --> 00:22:11.990 calls, 165. Incredible. And the other, of course, 00:22:12.049 --> 00:22:14.109 is for the best -selling classical album with 00:22:14.109 --> 00:22:16.390 the three tenors. He got the Kennedy Center Honors, 00:22:16.650 --> 00:22:20.210 a Grammy Legend Award, and a posthumous star 00:22:20.210 --> 00:22:24.470 on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2022. He's cemented 00:22:24.470 --> 00:22:26.630 in history. So when you look back at his whole 00:22:26.630 --> 00:22:29.269 career, his legacy is really defined by this 00:22:29.269 --> 00:22:34.390 unbelievable tension between tradition and transformation. 00:22:34.509 --> 00:22:37.829 How do you mean? Well, he kept this core repertoire 00:22:37.829 --> 00:22:41.950 that demanded absolute vocal purity. The Belcanto 00:22:41.950 --> 00:22:44.710 stuff, the Puccini. But at the same time, he 00:22:44.710 --> 00:22:47.269 just completely embraced pop culture with the 00:22:47.269 --> 00:22:49.289 Three Tenors and the Pavarotti and Friends concerts. 00:22:49.529 --> 00:22:52.069 He created the template for a global classical 00:22:52.069 --> 00:22:54.789 star. He really did. And very few people have 00:22:54.789 --> 00:22:56.849 been able to replicate it since. What's so striking 00:22:56.849 --> 00:22:59.410 to me is that dissonance in his professional 00:22:59.410 --> 00:23:01.750 life. You have this pursuit of artistic perfection 00:23:01.750 --> 00:23:04.250 on one hand. Right. The technique that Joan Sutherland 00:23:04.250 --> 00:23:06.450 helped him build. Which led to the stress and 00:23:06.450 --> 00:23:08.430 the unreliability, the king of cancellations 00:23:08.430 --> 00:23:10.890 nickname. He burned some serious bridges in the 00:23:10.890 --> 00:23:14.109 opera world. He did. But that exact same fame 00:23:14.109 --> 00:23:17.190 and charisma, it powered this massive humanitarian 00:23:17.190 --> 00:23:20.410 machine that raised millions and earned him recognition 00:23:20.410 --> 00:23:23.009 from the U .N. It's really hard to recognize. 00:23:23.589 --> 00:23:26.109 And that raises a really important final thought 00:23:26.109 --> 00:23:28.750 for you, the listener, to consider. Yeah. We 00:23:28.750 --> 00:23:31.130 talked about how conductor Richard Bonegain praised 00:23:31.130 --> 00:23:34.490 his mastery of breathing technique, the absolute 00:23:34.490 --> 00:23:37.470 physical foundation of his gift. Right. But then 00:23:37.470 --> 00:23:39.519 you have the criticism from his manager. that 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:43.200 he couldn't read complex orchestral scores, suggesting 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:46.640 maybe a gap in his technical literacy. So when 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:48.839 you think about his massive undeniable success, 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.640 his influence on millions of people, a fame built 00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:53.700 on the sheer beauty of his sound and his personality. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:56.880 What is the ultimate measure of a musical master? 00:23:57.160 --> 00:23:59.160 Is it the technical literacy, the ability to 00:23:59.160 --> 00:24:01.259 analyze every note in the score? Or is it the 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:03.420 ability to transcend that score and connect directly, 00:24:03.539 --> 00:24:06.119 instantly and emotionally with a global audience, 00:24:06.359 --> 00:24:08.380 making high art feel like it belongs to everyone? 00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:09.420 Something to chew on.