I’ll start this out by giving a bit of background about me and what Pavarotti means to me. I can confidently say that if it wasn’t for Pavarotti, there would be a good chance that I may never have picked up opera singing. I sang before I heard Pavarotti, but I didn’t ever think of myself as an opera singer or have a desire for it before hearing him. He inspired me to want to create as grand and magnificent as he could. Seeing this movie brought me full-circle and truly moved me. It was an emotional experience hearing the stories and the various carefully selected excerpts from the film. I’m extremely thankful to Ron Howard for making this much needed movie about one of my heroes. My only complaint is that I wish it was made sooner.
Takeaways from the Pavarotti movie:
Pavarotti's mission was bigger than himself, bigger than singing opera. It was to serve the people, bring opera to the world. He dreamed big. His career took off because he was prepared, had the talent, and and enjoyed the benefit of managers who pushed him in the right directions.
I’ve always felt that technique is the most important component to master before you attempt to get your career going. Pavarotti took a similar approach in that he really studied the voice from technical perspective and grew a proficiency early in his career. To me, his sound was pure, consistent, clear and powerful always.
One funny thing was that even with all the preparation, all the success and all the mastery, he was still quite nervous on stage and used the white handkerchief to diffuse his nervous tension and energy. He kept a bent nail in this pocket as a good luck charm even though he was devout Catholic. Such superstitions and rituals (like his well known fondness for large bowls of pasta before a performance) helped keep him grounded in the midst of a whirlwind career in an extremely turbulent field.
This is all to say that he was larger than life in many ways and beloved by millions of people. He sold over 100 million albums and sang live for over 10 million people across the world. He deeply cared about suffering in the world and started a foundation that still helps disadvantaged children around the globe. He was playful and fun and LOVED being around women. Although a vocal Superman, Pavarotti was just human as all of us are.
Despite all that he did to popularize opera and bring it to the masses, the world of opera began to judge him for branching out and crossing over to collaborate with artists in other genres. I applaud him for that. Opera needs to be part of popular culture if we are going to keep pumping out singers from conservatories with music degrees in the numbers we are currently putting up. I thank him for being brave and bold and compassionate and true to his convictions. You’ll see in the movie that even back then in the city of Modena when he grew up, the business of singing was saturated and crowded but he was able to stand out and rise to the top. Many singers today can relate. Very inspiring.
They say that when a person dies, you get an understanding of who they were and what type of impact they had on the world.
The one thing I can say for certain is that Pavarotti was an immeasurable force for good and did in one lifetime, what many could only dream to do in several.
Kofi Hayford, Ghanaian-American bass, described as possessing an “impressive” (Brooklyn Discovery) “sonorous,” (Meet Me at the Opera) and “stentorian bass voice” (National Herald) also produces a distinct sound - easily identified for its unique timbre. He is swiftly building his reputation as an accomplished bass by bringing an ‘exciting’ and ‘stunning’ sound to the stage. Kofi’s major opera roles have included: Mephistopheles in Faust, Ramphis and The King in Aida, La Roche in Strauss’ Capriccio, Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Rodolfo in La Sonnambula, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Sparafucile and Monterone in Rigoletto, and Baldassare in La Favorita. Kofi is the 2018 1st Place Winner of the Tchaikovsky Music Competition(Albany, NY), 2017 NJ State Opera Guild Competition Finalist, and a 2007 Songfest Young Artist.
I was introduced to the wonder that was Joan Sutherland because I was a Marilyn Horne fan boy. I'd seen the blessed Ms. Horne on The Tonight Show, and on reruns of The Odd Couple, where she had a recurring guest role as one of Oscar Madison's coworkers. Well, on an LP of Marilyn Horne hits, I discovered "Mira o Norma", that duet from the greatest opera of all time (I might be biased here), sung with Joan Sutherland. I soon had to have their complete Norma recording, and their album of Bellini and Rossini duets.
