Thursday, September 27, 2007

rose pavarotti

New hybrids are often named after VIPs or name given by the growers.
This hybrid tea rose was dedicated to and named after Luciano Pavarotti.

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Those of us who are classically trained in music be it instrumental or vocal will not forget his face or his voice.
I'm an ardent fan of this tenor voice...Luciano Pavarotti's clear and warm tone and agility in execution, and his ability to hit the 'high C' note with ease which a soprano would have difficulty.
What a grand way he left this earth on 6 September 2007 in his hometown, Modena, Italy, where he was born on 12 October 1935 and surrounded by relatives and family members -- 3 grown-up daughters by his first wife of 34 years, a granddaughter and 4-year old daughter in recent marriage.
Last July he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
"I dreamed to become a singer when I was four and I hear my father singing in the church with a beautiful tenor voice," he told CNN at an interview in 1991. His father was a baker and his mother, a factory worker.
He would spend his after school hours learning to sing. Then at 19, he took formal lessons on operatic singing but was not able to find employment or recognition. His pact with his parents was he would leave their nest at 30 years of age.
When he was 25, he almost quit singing due to a throat nodule but after a remarkable recovery, he entered the stage. In his autobiography, he wrote, "Everything I had learned came together with my natural voice to make the sound I had been struggling so hard to achieve."
In 1965, Luciano Pavarotti was first brought on-stage at short notice by Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian soprano diva, when the tenor for the performance of Gaetano Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" took ill during the US tour. Then he made his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera House 3 years later. His fame grew with triumphant performances in London, Rome, Sydney and many other cities thereon...
Perhaps Pavarotti's biggest gift and legacy was when he teamed up with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras when they performed at the 1990 Soccer World Cup...introducing operatic music to estimated 800 million people around the world. He also shared the same platform with pop singers like Bono, Vanessa Williams, and many others...
His signature aria Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot which was the theme song at the 1990 Soccer World Cup. He was invited to sing the same aria at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
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Update: Read on the Times magazine that he left 26-million dollars in debt...is he a fool or a smart fella! (28 Oct 2007)


14 comments:

Bob said...

Wonderful post about an truly outstanding individual . . . except for one thing: He left his wife of many years for a woman old enough to be his grandchild. Guess that's important for some males - out with the old and in with the new. For the rest of us, there's something about a lady you've spent your whole life with who's become and will always be sooooo very special.

twilite said...

Bob: I was disappointed about this aspect of his life too. Thank you for highlighting this. I guess there can't be an exceptionally faithful man especially those famous ones I mean.

Pauline said...

I will comment on the rose for it is of great beauty. You did a very nice post here on a talented individual.

twilite said...

Pauline: thank you.

Joy Des Jardins said...

A beautiful rose...for a beautiful voice. He was truly wonderful. This was a really nice post Lea.

twilite said...

Joy: thank you.

Tina Boyer said...

A very beautiful post. Thank you very much. Amy

twilite said...

Hi Amy. Thank you for your visit.

Mother of Invention said...

Thr rose is rich in colour as he was! I don't like that he left his wife and I never quite understand the big attraction a young girl has for a much older man.
He had an amazing career.

OldLady Of The Hills said...

Lovely tribute to a GREAT GREAT Opera Star! That he bridged that abyss between the formal world of Opera and the Pop culture was a wonderful acheivement because he helped to introduce so very many people to Opera who might never ever would have been exposed to it...
I'm sorry to admit that his personal life was a disappointment to me as a woman...It was just such a cliche!!! OY! And so many people were hurt by this--I mean people very close to him...His wife of 34 years and his children.
Sometimes I do not understand men and their needs....!

twilite said...

Naomi: I was glad that he bridged the abyss. Many of my friends who played an instrument dislike the classical scene because of its snooty-ness -- a presumption the classical people are better than the pop scene who they classified as 'crooners'.

I enjoy the pop songs because of the lyrics and the singers sing from their hearts and the words are audible.


Naomi & MOI: Yes I was saddened when he left his wife after 34 years and his grown-up daughters. My respect for him dropped drastically as by then, he has lost the timbre in his voice. I still like his earlier recordings.

twilite said...

MOI: I thought she was really ugly. A young woman knows how to get an old man I presume.

This reminds me -- Michael Douglas who left his longstanding wife for the young English chic...can't recall her name.

I certainly don't understand some women!!!

Bob said...

Michael Douglas?! Now there's another real piece of work for a man. What a pig! What a dirty old man he is!!

twilite said...

bob: hohoho...