From our files: An interview with Luciano Pavarotti

From the May 26, 1972 edition of the Monitor.

Twelve or so years ago, young students in a school in Modena, Italy, had as their instructor a big, burly fellow townsman, only recently out of the Scuola Magistralle, where teachers undergo an extensive preparatory course of training in a variety of subjects. His name was Luciano Pavarotti, and with his boyishness and outgoing charm, he must have been able to make lessons in languages, music, religion and gymnastics very palatable to his charges. Just as his awesome size would automatically discourage malfactors.

Today Mr. Pavarotti's former pupils must represent a very select coterie in Moden, where, in his own words, 'We all begin to go to the opera at the age of four or five." For the big young Modenese teacher of 12 years ago is today one of the world's most sought-after operatic tenors, a singer in the great tradition of Italian bel canto. And everyone in Modena, from youngsters to oldsters, knows from experience what that means.

Family ties

After opening the Metropolitan Opera's spring tour in Boston opposite Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment," Mr. Pavarotti was comfortably relaxed before an upcoming "Boheme." The talk turned to home – he is very much a family man in the Italian tradition. His wife, who joined him for part of the current tour, was a classmate when they were both training to be teachers. In his absence – he is away for all but about three months a year – she and their three daughters, aged 9 1/2, 7 1/2, and 5 1/2, live with her sister's family with includes four boys of about the same age. Mr. Pavarotti's father ("He has a fine tenor voice") still sings in the Modena opera chorus and in church, but his mother is confined to their home, and to her son's regret, has never heard him on the stage.

"My wife is not a musician," he said, "but she makes very normal, sensible judgments about music. She is an expert – the real thing. One night we went to a very fine opera with a big conductor – famous – and after a while she said "Why is this conductor so famous" He is impossible, he does this and this - ' I had thought, he's all right. I hadn't noticed this and this, but the day after, the critics came out and wrote just like what my wife had said about this conductor, and he was – pfuff, finished." Mr. Pavarotti smiled rather wanly, and chuckled softly – a winsome tribute to woman's intuition.

Pavarotti and pirates

After the tour, Mr. Pavarotti sings in the Met's three week Verdi Festival (June 5 – 24) at the opera house in New York, then goes to England to record Puccini's "Turandot" for London Records. He will be in good company – Miss Sutherland, Montserrat Caballe, and Nicolai Ghiaurov are the other principals, and Zubin Mehta the conductor.

"This is a new opera for me," Mr. Pavarotti said, "and I hope it will go well. It is beautiful, beautiful to sing, but when I record I must concentrate – I think I cannot sing this opera on the stage for a few years..."

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