Renee Fleming and Luciano Pavarotti - Cherry Duet

[ateejay]

People talk about hair and dresses. When if you knew anything about the business, you'll know that a lot of the time, the women are often asked to wear costumes or dresses that certain designers are trying to promote. Hair is rarely ever done by the artist themselves. Learn something!

[MrRossVit]

OMG.......Superrrrrrrrrrrrr!

[FODERAFIEND]

hair? dress??? what were you thinking my dear Fleming???

Voce... BRAVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!

[theblueangel28]

sublime

[youtah676]

AMAZING the both of them!!!

[saunders2159]

Concentrate on his suit. It might make you watch your language as well.

[TheZazin]

just beautiful singing!!!

[CateSoprano]

WHY do you care about her dress?! AMAZING DUET!

[Platinum400]

@CateSoprano When you're staring at someone the entire time and they're just singing, you're going to look at what they're wearing because you have nothing else to look at and it's fucking distracting and takes away from the music.

[MsRuthes]

Who advises these sopranos on their wardrobes

[LohengrinT]

Renee in her pre-glam period with a dreadful dress and a Voice of phenomenal rock solid vocal line and tecnique

[Chilair1]

@LohengrinT there really is nothing like renee in the late 80's-mid nineties. After that its still great, but more hit and miss. unavoidable I guess. every singer has their golden period.

[Tommyfazz]

is this by Frank Lloyd Webber?

[golfr10under]

Haha.... ummm, no. Webber probably stole a lot of the melodies (like he did from Giacomo Puccini) but this is from the composer Pietro Mascagni. It is from the opera called "L'amico Fritz".

[Tommyfazz]

@golfr10under  ;o)

[jtcarey2]

@Tommyfazz do you mean Andrew Lloyd Webber? The Broadway composer?

[wasserstand]

@Tommyfazz

Nonsense Webber ! The composer is Pietro Mascagni. The name of opera is "L'amica Fritz" - "my friend Fritz"

Duetto delle ciliege - "Cherry Duet" - Suzel, buon di!

The great recording of the century is MASCAGNI L'amico Fritz - CONDUCTOR Gianandrea Gavazzeni

with Mirella Freni and Luciano Pavarotti

Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Margret.B.

[kmartinez1986]

every1 has to start somewhere, and I think she has such a lovely and extraordinary voice that we can just overlook the wardrobe mistake...maybe it was in during those years hey. Love U Renee!!

[ld357]

Does anyone know what year this was from?

[bigboytenor]

Will there ever be another voice like Pavarotti? I think not.  At least not for a long, long time. Such beautiful, rich sounds.

[sexybcl21]

@bigboytenor You should listen to Jesus Garcia, tenor...Has been compared color wise to Pavarotti several times. Listen to his Verdi Requiem on here and close your eyes. Quite ere the resemblence...

[PascualG65]

@bigboytenor Have you ever heard Corelli or del Monaco? For my teste they are good enough to be compared with Pavarotti.

[blue1237]

the dress is beautiful ^^

[althoff31]

i saw this guy at burning man!!!

[damac777]

WOW!

[heigei1]

absolutely beautiful.

[Jack82you]

Wow, Pavarotti's singing is just amazing!!

[jetanton]

A match made in heaven.

[mlittlemeyer]

What was this from, is it on DVD?

[ahmad123987]

What year was this.

[artalirica]

Great ART!

[obsessivepink]

Woohoo! Side pony! lol Good performance.

[rusalkaism]

Re: the dress! Anyone ever think that she may have been pregnant with number two daughter which makes this a perfect dress to hide a growing figure. This is beautiful whatever she wore.

[MissJennySmiles]

@rusalkaism That was my first guess when I saw the bow. I think she's trying to camouflage her baby-bump. So sweet!

[OperaLover84]

I think the frizzy side-pony completes the ensemble. Thank goodness for the glamorous Renee that we have today ;)

[tenorlovesasoprano]

sorry to be the party pooper at the "attack Renee party", but I personally find her dress quite charming :D

[AuditoryEden]

@tenorlovesasoprano Her singing is amazing, but her dress? No. And what exactly made her think that was the thing to do with her hair? Her dress is appropriate as a Shakespearean costume.

[CassandraLai]

She has a fabulous voice, singing like a bird of Nightingale.

[CassandraLai]

Open yo9ur eyes widely, it is not her dress that determine Renee's talent... She has a fabulous voice that sound like a bird........which need to be carry with care , precious than a DIAMOND !!!

[nailycai]

my god, that voice.... he slays me.

[Bigman240]

OMG!!! Pavarotti totally flat at 1:10!!!!!! "e son di già mature"

[fludu1]

when was this???

[undermatrixx]

i hate such a shit

[copenhagen1966]

my god she is so young there

[jsgirl154]

Okay, wanna hear the stupidest thing ever?? I think that Pavarotti looks kinda like Matt LeBlanc! No seriously! ...... incredible singing, BTW

[freshstuff]

Who CARES about the dress .. . are you LISTENING???????

[zhadinagovyadina]

They are the best! Wonderful impeccable singing but I must agree the dress is horrible:)

[PascualG65]

Recording technics apart, of course, this perfomance does not compare with those emotionally superior of Olivero-Vila or Olivero-Tagliavini, where the "message" is clear. This perfomance is pretty good for a stadium or open space with a multitude, never for a concert hall nor a theatre.

[Vasilioskouis]

Loud and powerful, does not compare to Olivero and Villa.

[Vasilioskouis]

As loud and clear as these two are, you cannot compare them to the recording of Olivero and Villa. Little emotion, color, subtlety. Too much power

[aleafilover]

wow!

[Komarios]

Pavarotti and MJ were friends:)

[Singinganneke]

When was this recorded?

[jrtrmish]

Why do you idiots who are tossing smart-ass remarks about concerning Fleming's gown and hair concentratre on this beautiful singing of arguably the most enchanting of all operatic duets? You don't reveal any wit. Just ignorance.

[chorusinger]

@jrtrmish

I agree with you. Like you, I am so sick of these stupid remarks that have nothing to do with the performance of these two fabulous singers.

[mulligatoni]

... but her hair!!!

[baird292]

Such sensational singing with absolute dignity!

[nozomiwhitewolf]

I LOVE her voice! I love the eccentric dress too, hehe.

[Onegiin]

A couple of years ago Ms Flemming came on stage wearing something even more outlandish. Someone I know blurted, "Who let her out looking like that? Doesn't she have any gay friends?"

[chaconazo7]

@Onegiin hahaha... I loved your comment.. :) Thank you!!

[jwklf]

WTH is she wearing?!! And that My Pretty Barbie Salon hair do(n't)!! And she is always dressed to the 9's with full assault makeup! Must have had a stylist back then to make her look more "operatic."

[abcjuan23]

Renee @ 7:28 is simply rapture!

[PianistandFencer]

@abcjuan23 I completely agree - that note always takes me by surprise, and Renee *definitely* took away my breath there...gorgeous.

[lifesavers234]

I LOL'd when I saw Renee... looks like she just rolled out of bed here. hehe

[Izolditta]

I simply love this!!! Perfecto!

[hotazzoperastud]

kiss my ass

[Iareto]

Wow. I'd never heard this before. It's really beautiful. Helps that the singers are so great of course. No one does it like Pav and Renee's voice is always beautiful (although, her choices are not always quite so lovely ;) ) Bravo!

[SieglindeMoos]

she's a cutie pie :)

[chrissy1095]

He was perfection.

[dee1153]

The Tenor God.

[007LaVoce]

haha the dress is the most hilarious thing ever..... wait no the hair is, but I still love her.

[Izolditta]

Simply perfect! The voices sound together unbelievably good.

[samdon815]

The BEST tenor and my favorite soprano. Thrilling !

[daddy2foots]

I love the Rene's front bow and cape, as well as the Punky Bruster bob on the side of her head. Divinely sung, however. Why don't more young tenors emulate Pav's "open throated", free sound? That E above middle C is so gorgeous sung open: "Tu sei bella!". Though, for effect, he sometimes "covers" it, and always "covers" F, F#, and the G above it.

[ilbacioditosca]

At the side of Pavarotti she looks like is vocalizing, none of Italian Language.

His articulation is so good.

[canario160]

At least she tries- you'll probably never see a non-English speaking singer sing any of the English repertoire.

[iubanne]

98%pavarotti.....70% fleming....

[mvconnelly]

I think it would be a safe bet to say when Maestro Pavarotti woke up in the morning that day, he knew it would be a good day vocally. It's certainly on display in this clip. All my admiration to Renee Fleming.

[pkohalloran]

Whoa! Pav flat!??!?!?! hahaha 1:09

[KozenaFan]

What year was this? What venue?

[Orfeo68]

OOOHHH Renee I love you, baby what went wrong with that hair!!! SWEET PEA!

[NKWIAM]

Looking at the dress and her hair, I think she lost a bet. But she sounds great !

[operababe2010]

lmao, I agree

[harmonicana80]

lol

[Kibo103]

that dress is brutal...

[kalifumpa]

El mejor Tenor Liríco de todos los tiempos. con una de las mejores Sopranistas líricas que hay la interpretación toca el alma muy linda la interpretación la parte del duetto es mi parte favorita,

[hillbillytenorino]

@Kibo103

Circus peanut

[bar0qu3]

@Kibo103 also the hairstile! but the singing is AMAZING!!!!

[flouraki]

beautiful singing! Some of Renee's best vocals I think....but I would like to c her go out of the way to act more....

[pizzomammamia]

pebbles, but she sounds beautiful!! i miss pavarotti so much!

[DoinItClassy]

Renee looks like a hot mess, but she sounds great

[AmadeusJMB]

I second that!!! haha

[bartok6969]

I also want to say that their voices do complement each other perfectly. This duet in particular must have the body and color of the voices matched well or it doesn't work.

[bartok6969]

Pavarotti was really off this night. He's never had any regard for rhythm or tempo, but he was horribly flat at 1:12, flat at 2:16 and sharp at 3:58, I've never heard him out of tune before. And like most tenors he had to be a hero and ruin the sublime ending with his full voice A instead of just singing it in falsetto.

[tenorlovesasoprano]

Although the general audience would NEVER know. Plus, those are VERY minor infractions. Only someone EXTREMELY trained in the operatic ear could have picked that up.

[bartok6969]

tenorlovesasoprano-True, most people wouldn't know, but it just goes to show you that even Pavarotti is human. And yes they were minor, and he sung most of it wonderfully, but of the hundreds of live recordings I've heard of him, this was an off night.

[tena2]

Was off? jejeje I could name you many even though It was a glorious voice.

[tena2]

Sorry for the last comment spelling I meant to say, one night off? I could name you many however not to be s pain in the nake though.

He was a fantastic tenor actually.

[tdeane34]

I disagree. I think he is one of the few tenors that sings with a great sense of rhythm.

[ILoveTobin]

About being flat at 1:12 and 2:16 I agree. Completely.

But he sure wasn't off. And he was one of the best Italian repertoire tenors, he was very rhythmic, where did you get that out from?

And singing the ending in his full voice was so very fine, if he did it in falsetto, the magic would have lost, and doing it in full voice he did it perfectly comparing to those "other heroes".

Pavarotti WAS good. This wasn't his best, but name just someone who could do it as good in such age.

[corellipavarotti]

The ending was a diminuendo, rather than total full voice, if you ask me. He was once asked how, in Celeste Aida, for instance, at the end, one went from full voice to sotto voce, or however you wish to describe it, on the one note, ie a diminuendo, and he answered, it is reported

" you shutta youra mouth" and just laughed !!! Fantastic if true!!

[taotao532371437]

bravo！！

[albusflos]

senza parole.... anche con Nuccia Focile fa una interpretazione meravigliosa!!

[tena2]

si è vero, concerto a modena in 1993 credo no?

bello concerto

saluti

[2ndamendmentgirl]

Wow...that dress.....yikes =)

[hurley52303]

Although you must admit the hair does fit it well... :P

[tenorlovesasoprano]

breathtaking. Their voices complement each other so well.

[JorPove]

Esta aria permite apreciar el contraste entre la voz varonil de Pavarotti y la voz muy femenina de Fleming, en una atmosfera de idilico romance que le agrega belleza a los giros estrictamente musicales y es un manjar para el oido.

[Dacookstar]

Oh geez, 80s Renee Fleming!!!

[juggling88]

You have to close your eys!

But the music is interpretated so nice, sung so deeply.

Go Renee!

[Johnny1206]

I guess this is before Renée had a stylist![2]

lol

[pitcel]

Pavarotti, always Pavarotti, &... The real Diva..., so nice... so harmonic...

[buster95]

what did they do to renee hair T_T?? anyway. Amazing!

[ChicLink]

I guess this is before Renee had a stylist!

that's okay, I can close my eyes, and listen, sounds stunning.

[isiang123]

que voz la de pavarotti!!!!!!!

[orejarota]

Pavarotti ETERNO!

[Smil3yJok3r]

my god...

renee have so a nice voice

[jnsotak]

What year was this performed???

[pontedupre009]

He lives every time we play his songs.

[fabiopatrizio]

pavarotti here is just perfect..cant get better than this

[robertocresca]

I love Fleming dress and hair....

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Comparing him to Corelli is stupid. He was a tenore spinto and the best in Verissmo roles. Pava was the King of Bel Canto and the lyric Italian repertoire. Big difference!

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

It is true that Pava didn't use mezza voce as much as he might have but he could do it. I have it in recordings. Among his peers, he was miles ahead in terms of technique. In fact, he was near perfect. He sung from leggero roles doing colorature to spinto roles such as Il Trovatore and Aida. That show his vocal dexterity which was second to none.

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Hope17-It is unrealistic to expect a tenor of the modern era to produce a full voice F above tenor C. Gedda's F5 sounds like a pig's squeal (no reflection on his superb artistry...he was the Maestro of Maestri in the non-italian repertoire). Even Florez cuts it at Eb. Tenors like Maettuzzi, Fisichella, who are tenore leggeri (to the max extent) produce the F5 but it sounds horrible.

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Hop17-As clueless as you are, here's a piece of info. Pava sung I Puritani with great mastery. He had a glorious full voice D5 which he could produce all the way into his 40s. He sung the F5 in falsetto as technical choice instead of cutting it at D5. His falsetto was rich and not as airy as most other tenors. The rest of the aria and the entire role was sung superbly! I'd suggest you try seeing the whole picture here! (To ve continued...see above).

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Why are people commenting on things about which they have no idea? I bet most of you didn't even listen to Pava live on stage singing in an operatic role! (To be continued...see above)

[MarvelVolta]

why is renee's dress on backwards...?

[nanbil]

I would love to know in what world you are living in; the "G", "G#" and "A" are all sung in a piano. This is opera with a full orchestra not art song with a piano. Pavarotti is singing an operatic piano. In fact it is quite beautiful.

[PedroPiresTrovatore]

To the people who complain about Pavarotti not singing piano in the end... what are you on about? That's piano. He's got a big large voice, so it's not Caballé piano, but it's piano.

To JuillHope: Ayuh, he had his flaws. But no one's perfect, and he had an extremely beautiful voice, was passionate, and his high notes *are* technically correct and stand as inspiration for young singers who don't want to end up with half an octave of length and a gloomy sound.

We can forgive him some mistakes.

[mdcam89]

i agree every singer has flaws.. even the almighty Pavarotti...

however, i disagree that you think Pavarotti had a big voice, it really wasn't, he just projected it the right way

[PedroPiresTrovatore]

I don't think his voice was big, no. Corelli had a BIG voice, for instance. Pavarotti's was large.

Ok, so maybe this distinction is a very subtle one and maybe it only exists in my head. :)

[ncrunch]

was this from a tucker gala?

[novasafo]

Renee Fleming and Luciano Pavarotti. My two favorite singers of all time. I'm in heaven! I had no idea they ever sang together.

[chubswy]

How can you call yourself a fan and not know that these two amazing people shared the stage!

rofl. you should be ashamed. This is a fabulous example of operatic greatness. Quite possibly my favorite opera of all time :)

[novasafo]

you're right!!! I'm so ashamed! :)

[RAS3227]

Does anyone know how long ago this was aired. Renee looks like a crazy 80's secretary from a Lilly Tomlin movie!

[Babs22h]

i totally agree with you it has this huge bow on the front in this hideous color and it has a train.... wtf?

[giusalu]

Era tanto in forma il nostro Pavarotti! La dizione perfetta. Nessuno è comprensibile come lui. Addio!

giusalu

[JuillHope17]

weight does hold you back from acquiring the best technique, and using it. even deborah voigt will say that, and she was like, pavarotti x2, until she lost all the weight (and almost her voice). his vocal weight is what made his sound definitive, and that's why we know who it is when we hear him. but weight does play a huge factor in singing and development of the voice.

[JuillHope17]

i know that, but i'm saying exactly what you said at the end of the comment: it should have been softer. that's one thing any great opera critic will say about pavarotti: he hid his shortcomings behind his name. and that's so true, especially in cases where the music is supposed to be quiet, and he uses his mezzo or full forte, not just because he didn't like falsetto, or mixing, but because he couldn't do it that well. look him up singin an aria from i puritani with a falsetto F. it's not good.

[dee1153]

Pavarotti, spectacular, as usual. But Cecilia Bartoli knocks Renee out of the water on this one. The Pav and Cecilia version is amazing.

[JuillHope17]

that end is supposed to be falsetto, UGH. see, everyone thinks pavarotti was soooo fucking amazing, but he's so flawed in his technique and ability, that it's sad. renee was at least dynamic, pav just had the same voice throughout his career, and pretty much yelled. and with all that weight! gbnuhfceufkjbewds he just pisses me off half of the time, because if anyone acted like he did in his career nowadays, they'd be fired and never heard of again. at least renee is still amazing :) + not dead.

[Mooorhe]

Lol.

[gracenote85]

Two of my favorite singers ever, but that dress! And the hair! Usually Renee looks drop dead gorgeous but I couldn't stop laughing at this one.

[codyb73]

I think because it strains his vocal cords. When he sings piano it almost sound like sotto voce and it doens't sound that attractive. In his biography he said he never liked singing pianos. He also mentioned that he learned to sing piano by accident. He had a cold and had to sing piano through the whole rehersal. This is how he learned to sing piano, he said.

[Mooorhe]

Where does he say that he disliked singing piano???

I have never read anything to back this up, he himself said that he was taught how to sing piano during his engagement to sing Idamante in Ireland in 1964.

[JuillHope17]

why can't pavarotti sing quieter than forte in parts where it's piano?

[spyderwalk]

Because he's singing in a hall of 4000 people and his piano is a forte to untrained ears such as yours. Now stop spamming this video and go back to that Alagna crap you like.

[JuillHope17]

AHAHAHAHAHAHA, untrained ears? first of all, you're the one that doesn't know what they're talking about. to reach a hall of even 4000 people you don't need to be louder to be heard, i mean look at renee! it's your control, technique, and support of your piano and pianissimo that say whether your sound will travel or not, and singing forte is the cheater way. piano being forte in a big hall? ha! YOU'RE untrained, and obviously scream. and i don't even like alagna, it's gheorghiu i like.

[spyderwalk]

Obviously.

[JuillHope17]

wow what a reply.

[rafantunes]

the final is awesome... they look like two birds singing for each other...

[ateejay]

Absolutely breathtaking! To have two great powerhouses singing such beautiful music, it's indescribable! As usual, Renee never disappoints and Pavarotti...no words. C'est magnifique!

[dynamicstuff73]

one word. Beautiful! ah!... she sounds so fresh and unspoiled!

[dynamicstuff73]

okay that dress! Lordie lordie lordie. okay now i will un pause and watch it!. oh damn that dress!

[elizabethvonslussen]

Improvement! She wore all those multi-layered flowing gowns, almost swallowing her. I thought: Does she have that Diva complex? Typical American? But she was more simple at the Nobel Gala Concert 2006. By contrast, Anne Sofie von Otter wears simple gowns and even was expelled from the Int'l Diva Club for wearing her dress twice. But von Otter is naturally beautiful, brilliant and a real-life aristocrat, does not have to prove anything.Typical Scandinavian?

[tomasjuhasz]

They are fantastic!!!Nice!

[gibraltarrr]

timeless music, 80s fashion!

[Musicsinger87]

Oh sweet jesus...that dress is simply aweful, and yet she rocks it...hmm

[aleduffoo]

oh my God! when was this?

[hotazzoperastud]

1991

[dorjenne]

This is a delightful duet - beautiful music and beautiful voices.

[Matthewcoakley08]

Superb performance. Renee is truly a fantastic performer. But what the hell was she thinking?!!! This had to be the 80's because that dress and that hair is just terrible!!!!

[coy6642126]

I think that must have been a giant brioche on Fleming's head, just in case Pavarotti gets hungry. ;-) Gotta love the 80's! lol

[Speezerina]

Too funny! I've worn my hair that way, I'm embarrassed to say. Now I know why all those tenors were chewing on my head.

[fernandobicudo]

Perfect couple!

The best since the originals Ferrugio Tagliavini and Pia Tassinari...

Wonderful blend of harmonic vibrations!!!

[trekkie2006]

that's an ugly ugly ugly dress.. but Renee and Pavs sound so goood

[tklogan11809]

terrible dress.

[skylark100]

No kidding. The hair's pretty bad too.

On the other hand, the singing by both Pav and Renee is soooo beautiful.