R.I.P. Pavarotti

I woke up this morning to the news that Luciano Pavarotti had died last night. Growing up in my household, we were as likely to hear opera as we would hear Mexican Rancheras by Antonio Aguilar or something by the Beatles. And My first introduction to the Maestro came, as was tradition in our house, on New Year's Eve, when the local PBS Station would show an opera from the Metropolitan Opera House. Usually it was one of the comedic Operas such as "Die Fleidermaus" or "Un Ballo in Maschera" with Pavarotti as lead Tenor.

Of course, the day came when My apprecaition for his work reached critical mass when My late grandmother announced that she had purchased tickets for the whole family to attend his concent at the Hollywood Bowl. So on that fateful Spring evening, we journeyed up the 101 to the Bowl, parked across the street, crossed under Highland through the tunnel and made our way to our seats, just behind the box seats in the front row.

when he came out, the hills echoed with applause and shouts of "Maestro, Maestro!" then he began to sing, and for the next two hours, I was swept away by a tidal wave of music that has endured for centuries. He some of the most famous arias ever written that night, from "La Donna e'Mobile," from Rigoletto, to arguably the most famous aria ever, "Vesti La Giubbia," from "Il Pagliacci."

To conclude his performance, he sang this aria, from Puccini's Masterpiece, Turandot. The song, "Nessun Dorma," is sung by the Prince Calaf, in anticipation of winning a proposition with the Princess Turandot, if she can find out his name before sunrise, she can kill him, as she is reluctant to proceed with an arranged marriage. In it, He is saying that he will triumph over the night and win her love, and he stakes his very life on it.

With that, I say goodbye to the Maestro, the man who opened my young ears to the wonders of music and a love for its creation, a love I still enjoy these many years later.

Ciao Maestro. Until the next life, rest in peace.

This is His performance of "Nessun Dorma" sung live in Paris in 1998, before the Finals of the 1998 World Cup. It is considered the most Emotional version of his performances of this stirring aria. The conductor of the Paris Stmphony Orchestra is the great James Levine, Musical Driector of the Metropolitan Opera House.