Active Years: October 12, 1935 to present

Position: Tenor

Career Highlights: Rodolfo in La Boheme, Duke in Rigoletto, Idomeneo in Idomeneo, Elvino in La Somnambula, Edgardo in Lucia de Lammermoor, Tonio in Daughter of the Regiment, Arturo in I puritani, Nemorino in L’elisir d’ amore, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, Rhadames in Aida, Alfredo in La traviata, Mario in Tosca, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut, Pagliacci in Pagliacci, Andrea Chenier in Andrea Chenier, etc.

Career Totals: His 1961 debut as Rodolfo in La Boheme led to appearances all over Italy and at Covent Garden (1963). Noticed by the great conductor Herbert von Karajan, who publicly declared Pavarotti the greatest living tenor, he debuted at La Scala in 1965 and at the Metropolitan Opera in 1967. His portrayal of Donizetti’s Tonio in Daughter of the Regiment, live and in full voice, untransposed, made a sensation at the Metropolitan Opera (with Joan Sutherland). His Nemorino in Elixir of Love is considered definitive. In 1973, he gave the first of the live recitals he became famous for, and which earned him a Grammy in recent years for exemplary work popularizing classical music. His 1993 recital in New York’s Central Park drew 500,000. His performance of Pagliacci (1995) at New York’s Metropolitan Opera won critical and popular acclaim, as did his 1996 Met debut in Andrea Chenier.

Scouting Report: Combining all the characteristics of voice, phrasing, line and expressivity of Enrico Caruso, Tito Scipa, Beniamino Gigli and Giuseppe di Stefano, respectively, Luciano Pavarotti’s voice is brilliant of timbre, fluid and consistent throughout the entire range, with a full and supreme beauty without strain in the upper register. His technical mastery is unsurpassed. Not credited as a great visual actor, there are few who can match Pavarotti’s powers of truthful expression on the stage. Although a controversial figure in the world of opera, largely due to his efforts to popularize opera beyond an elite audience, there is no doubt he is the most famous, popular and beloved tenor since Enrico Caruso.

Teammates and Contemporaries: Known for launching careers through his competitions, he shares the stage with a variety of artists. His collaboration with Joan Sutherland, who is credited witih having launched his career, was one of the greatest in the history of opera, producing work of remarkable beauty, as has his collaboration with Mirella Freni, his childhood friend.

Fun Fact: From The Guinness Book of World Records (1995 ed., p. 357): “Most Curtain Calls: February 24, 1988, Luciano Pavarotti received 165 curtain calls and was applauded for 1 hour 7 minutes after singing the part of Nemorino in Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’Amore at the Deutsche Opera in Berlin, Germany.”