Luciano Pavarotti - Ah mes amis! (Live at Covent Garden)

[palmolella]

Confrontate Florez con questo... poi giudicate!

[jaketaz]

The clip description cracks me up. That's why there's so much bad singing nowadays: students are learning the art of singing from teachers with purely academic credentials and no technical or artistic ear. In vocal pedagogy courses, American singers (like me) learn about making a CV, headshots, websites, professional corrections... and nobody says anything about taste, style, or how to make art.

[bjarteable]

This performance together with nessun dorma 1980 and ave maria 1978 have to the best performances I have ever heard by pavarotti. Glorious!

[rogerhaskin]

Dappling, it's you.

[theinric]

Holy ****!

[dappling484]

Those C's seem a little sharp, or is it me??

[vorspiel1023]

Truly glorious.His infectious joy in singing( as mentioned by puccinislarondine) was always a joy to the heart. I was privileged to heav heard him March 4, 1978 in recital at the Fox Theater in Atlanta, just Luciano and a piano. It was absolute magic and never to be forgotten. The voice was in great shape stil, and his Nessum Dorma, at the end, left me and many others weeping for the sheer beauty of the most beautiful voice we had ever hear live. It is memory I always treasure.

[puccinislarondine]

As I've mentioned to friends and opera virgins that I try to convert using this song- there is something SO infectious and absolutely astounding about hearing him flip out these high "C's" with such abandon and clarity. It gives me chills every time. I was lucky enough to meet the maestro back in 1985 after Tosca at the MET and it will live in my memory as one of the best moments I've ever experienced. Luckily, his voice will never be silenced. :)

[TheOperaafficionado]

Absolutely out of this world! What a genius this man was back then.

[pbarroso001]

Superbe, the 9c`s are entirelly and perfectly sung and sounds as celestial music . What a voice my god !! The absolute perfection. No one has ever made that like Luciano.

[federricoilgrande]

Semplicemente sbalorditivo, gli perdono anche la pesante dizione francese e "pour mon àm" invece di "pour mon ame". King Luciano :)

[LiveArtistVocal1]

Four dislikes? This is perfection!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM?????

[ThePavafan]

pavarotti's otello was great. his voice is far more powerful than domingo's.But pav" voice is too bright for otello so it wouldn't fit

[kandutery]

excesive fast!!!! Pavarotti sounds same a bee !!

[tomclaudetom]

BRAVO JUAN DIEGO FLOREZ

[MusicalTenor23]

Yeah! this is the sound of what I have in my CD's of Pavarotti. Thanks Ted!

[MusicalTenor23]

Thanks for Posting this Ted. Regards! =)

[LiesaShultz810]

Dnload the audio from this vid at speedyconversion doht cohm.

[leoniemikele]

Juan Diego's versions of this aria are easy to find. Lawrence Brownlee has a lovely, very musical version, I think singing with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra. Not sure about the high note...

[bellini7verdi]

LA SOLIDEZ DE PAVAROTTI Y SU INCISIVA VOZ MASCULINA Y POTENTE EST APOR ENCIMA DE TODO......TIENE UNA BELLEZA UNICA....Y UNA TESITURA INCOMPARABLE......QUE ABARCA VARIOS TONOS......

[kateholli]

@GermanOperaSinger

clearly not Domingo's cup of tea, and he knew it. Unfair comparison. Pavarotti's OTHELLO was pretty pathetic, too...

[chihanontempo]

@kateholli rubbish his otello was pretty fine different and lyrical.you forget domingo simply stole del minacos otello

[uncjim]

Mind Blowing..just BRILLIANT.

[voncarmelo]

Mah.... non mi convince!!! La direzione è penosa, la voce di Pavarotti bella, il tutto, però, un po' pasticciato. No!!! Decisamente no!!!!

[gattamelata1940]

@GermanOperaSinger: Pavarotti couldn't sing Otello. Or wagner. Is he a poor singer for thet? No. Placido is a great tenor and musician.

[restlesspride666]

Holy crap that is one mighty strong high note.

[BassoNero]

Luciano was really unique singing this role, because it wasn`t his province. For other tenors like Kraus, Florez, Kunde, Blake the high c is a note that for other tenors is an "a" or a "b-flat". And Luciano was not typical high tenor, but he had enough courage to sing this role.

[bodiloto]

Il suo repertorio .L'ultimo nel repertorio leggero,grande !

[Greatheil]

Young Pavarotti definitely is a sensation. Yet even now when he was at his absolute prime, those high Cs don't sound as effortless as Florez's. And as the years went by they got more and more difficult for him. Pavarotti is a greater tenor than Florez will probably ever be, but Florez has him beat on this aria.

[primadivo]

its not wise to compare tenors of different voice classing in roles that were never performed by both. Comparison should only be drawn (if any ) from roles both performed. IMHO

[justabrit]

Watch out for juan diego florez...he sings this good and he's on his way up the ladder fast!!!

[clarksc1988]

4:10 WOW, how great they both look. Joan was really a looker along with the vocal abilities. Pav wasn't chopped liver, either.

[kandutery]

it´s excesive fast and sounds more high tone.

[dirtbag719]

Jesus......this is even better than the Met 1972 Fille. He sounded unbelievable here. The voice was so fresh, unrestricted, trumpet-like. Not fair to dump on Domingo, though. He had roles no one in his generation could touch him in. Otello, Hoffmann, Don Carlo. But the young Lucianissimo was almost a freak of nature. RIP, Maestro.

[GABYCONSTANZA]

@dirtbag719 Yeah don't rip others!! Thanks soo much for right on comment!! :)

He does sound exquisite here. Agree with the trumpet sounds!! Ciao !!

[MrMrmike5]

lol

[octavian1960]

Dear GermanOperaSinger, what you wrote here is neither wise nor witty. Will Pavarotti's high C's sound better when compared to any other tenor's cracks? Is opera a battlefield for singers shooting each other with high notes? Do we really need to criticize someone rudely to express our worship for other artist?

[fabriou]

DOMINGO is shit

[Qing1942]

Has placido domingo ever did "ah mes amis"? I couldn't find it.

[tebiano]

This repertoire is not for a heavy voice

[tCrOMez1990]

no he's never done this it'z much too light and agile for his voice

[vlfb]

A true gift from God. I'm just a fan, and an inexperienced one at that, but there is a velvet quality to his voice, an effortless ease few other singers have. RIP, maestro.

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

The words lyric and spinto do exist in the English language, and they do mean the same as in other languages in which there are used. Therefore, your error has nothing to do with linguistic problems and indicates a lack of elementary operatic knowledge. So my prior comment stands. Get a clue -a big one.

[Leonnidik]

So unique. It sounded to me as if he was going even higher in the High C.

[Bee8837]

Thanks for the memory! I was there (if not the performance in this cut, then another in that 1967 CG series), and the memory of his spine-chilling ping--the incredible focus of that sound--stayed with me during his whole career, no matter how off course things got.

[Mooorhe]

What a fabulous recollection, thank you for sharing, must have been incredible.

[6744sorn]

No matter how many times I hear this version, I am stunned all over again by the splendor of his voice. That RING....

[charis337]

i can almost picture sunshine beaming out of his mouth everytime he belts out high c's. just brilliant!

[cybertopc]

Amazing!!

[Cantachepassa]

Stupendo

[pavlova1959]

This is an absolutely fabulous piece of music and Pavarotti's singing so excitingly brilliant that it made me gasp in wonderment. Unfortunately, there's no video or dvd of this opera, is there?. Such a pity!

[TraVoiBelle]

There's not video of La Fille but once I had saw La Boheme on dvd with audio with Freni-Pavarotti (the record with Karajan) and video with certain actors and I'm looking forward to see and this opera. Yes, may be this will be not the same thing like if you watching Sutherland and Pavarotti, but the point is that the life of their record become longer and the younger people will has the pleasure to hear the best Tonio (for me) of the 20th cent.

[loveluciano1]

And Luciano continue to do that. i'm in shock every time because of him and with heavenly pleasure. I love him so much.

[kiltlvr]

GermanOperaSinger, you are correct -- this performance is definitely more brilliant than the one you posted from the Met in '72. This is tight, well-paced, vibrant, and Pavarotti sounds in perfect voice. Again, thank you for posting.

[Mooorhe]

It's worth noting that he wasn't in great voice for the 1973 version that GermanOperaSinger posted. His other performances of that run were of a standard similar to this from what the recordings have captured.

[SuperDaveOkie]

In my opinion, this ends all arguments about the greatest tenor of the recording era.

[TheEternaut]

It is a matter of subjective opinion. I won't take away any merits from Luciano, and he very well deserves being nominated as the best tenor ever. However, in terms of voice and interpretation, I postulate Mario Lanza as the number one. My opinion, that is. Luciano has never made me cry with any of his performances, whilst Mario's versions of "Vesti la Giuba", "Torna a Sorrento" and even "Nessun Dorma" leave me in a state of shock.

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Well to your ear maybe. But then again, you do not matter.

[loveluciano1]

This is the same thing what Luciano Pavarotti did to me. leaves me in a state of shock because his beautiful and unique voice.

[lovellcau]

Pavarotti is the best, Mario Lanza is just an average tenor when put next to The Great Luciano Pavarotti

[TheEternaut]

Hey, I am the first one to admit that it is a question of personal taste, therefore I won't say a word against your preference for Luciano, as he very well deserves it... but Mario Lanza an AVERAGE tenor?? I strongly recommend you to listen -or relisten- to his records in an objective way. Pavarotti could have been the best, but Lanza was NOT average at all, even compared to Luciano.

[pavlova1959]

I'm in total agreement with you about this. Mario Lanza had a magnificent voice that was far, far above being described as average and I know from reading Pavarotti's autobiography that he was of that opinion, too. In fact, he wrote how much he wished someone could have sponsored Mario to have enabled the tenor to have had classical singing lessons at an early age. On a dvd I own he describes Mario as having a beautiful, warm Italian voice & the great Luciano knew quality when he heard it.

[bigus]

Lanza couldn't even attempt this song. not only did he not have the technique but he didnt have easy high c's and rarely sang them. he is more like a lounge tenor and you cant compare him with pavarotti. i like lanza sometimes but he isn't even in the same league so its no use comparing them, this is ames amis something to my knowledge lanza never even attempted for obvious reasons.

[TheEternaut]

Mario Lanza never attempted this song for the same reason Enrico Carusso or Jussi Bjorling never did either (and you won't deny that they were in the same league that Pavi, right?): This area belongs to the Spinto repertoir (most Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini's operas are) and they are reserved for a special kind of tenor, like Florez, Kraus, and Pavi in his youth. Luciano was one of the very few who could ever attempt both Spinto and Lyric repertoir. Lanza was great with his own repertoir.

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Eternaut-Did you say this aria belonged to the spinto repertoire? WTF! Are you kidding me? Donizetti, Bellini, Rossini belongs to the light lyric repertoire and very commonly tenore leggieros sing in, especially the Rossini masterpieces. You really need a clue!

[TheEternaut]

I apologize if my translation from Spanish to English has some misunderstandings, or if my use of the words in Italian are not the correct ones. I might need a clue, same way you need some politeness...

[GermanOperaSinger]

Lanza didn't have a repertoire technically speaking because he was a film tenor and a Hollywood movie star. A great voice, but not an opera singer.

[bigus]

this isn't a lyric spinto role, that would be more puccini and verdi type roles which bjorling did do quite a bit, i do believe bjorling could have easily done this if he chosen to based on the ease of his high notes and other lyric things he sang. but caruso was an entirely different tenor and while excellent i dont think he had the technical mastery pavarotti or bjorling had ever. caruso began the work, but i dont think he achieved the mastery that some other tenors have, nor did he need to.

[Prolyrictenor]

@TheEternaut Florez Spinto?  I don't think so!

[phantom4087]

Honestly, vocal fireworks like this are wonderful, but I don't think that a high C makes a tenor, though it is wonderful if a tenor has one.

[antoniorafael1968]

Me parece un poco rápido en el tempo que lleva en algunos momentos, SIn embargo, IMPRESIONANTE!!!

[TraVoiBelle]

Hi is brilliant like always

What a pity that haven't video :(

If Pavarotti wasn't sang like that, this opera will not be so famous now :)

[loveluciano1]

beautiful performance, beautiful voice of luciano pavarotti. bravo my beautiful soul.

[kunfusinger]

Ese do con esa obscuridad, suena realmente BRUTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!, un legitimo C de pecho obscuro y hermoso algo que no se escuchaba desde el Gran Caruso!!!

[dagodemuro]

CARUSO NON AVEVA IL DÓ!!!!!

[kunfusinger]

??????

spiegati meglio!!!

[arisargiris]

Thats the way!!!!!!!!!

Technick perfection!!!!!!!

THE Tonio!!!!

Thank you Big P for giving all of us sooo many beautiful things to remember!!!!

If there is at least half a person that thinks that this is throaty then what should i say? That Earth is not round anymore???

[leoperarm]

The best Tonio EVER!!!

[Webarton]

Wow, he sounds just, incredible.

[baculkar]

Thank you for everything Meastro Pavarotti!!! Your voice have a medic power. Long Live King of High C!!!

[zakar67]

Favoloso! Grande Luciano, una interpretazione fantastica. Grazie.

[phantom4087]

There's also a very nice polish tenor named Piotr Beczala.

[senesino83]

Piotr Beczala is fantastic. I saw him LIVE in Zurich in Lucia, and he made me CRY not only in the death scene, but also in the first act...

[Webarton]

That sound is all in the throat.

[ydracomagusy]

Yes, your voice is located in your throat. Very good observation.

[Footlancer]

Pavarotti's vibrato was noticeably quicker in the early part of his career. Also, conductors often did this song quite a bit faster than on recordings when playing live. Much easier to stay fresh for the tenor playing Tonio. This is very near prefect, Germanoperasinger.

[zzzLUCIANOzzz]

Awesome!

[peduzzi89]

It seems a little too fast, mostly because his vibrato is faster than I am used to hearing. The pitch is right on though soit's worth it. I can't even listen to recordings that are off in pitch.

[GermanOperaSinger]

Probably is...I have relative pitch so I try to tune it as close I as can't tell a difference.

[peduzzi89]

No you actually did a perfect job, it was probs just a bad original recording.

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Just checked Calleja. That bloke has lots of potential. He should be getting the spotlight not Kermit (aka Villazon).

[patjan92]

This is Pavarotti in all his glory. And a lot of glory it was! Thank you, German Opera Singer.

[winter43]

He was the TENOR !! Thanks for sharing.

[Mooorhe]

What also strikes me about this recording apart from the in-comparable singing is the pictures. Both Joan and Pavarotti look absolutely gorgeous. Pavarotti was stunningly handsome before he became even larger and abused his body. La Stupenda, she was stunning. They both look the part and fit beautifully together and their voices fit even better together, the world was blessed with those voices. Wonderful.

[hisimperialmajesty]

Agreed, Florez sounds good in Rossinian roles, as well as this particular Donizetti role, but his voice does not have the exciting urgency or the projection that Pavarotti's did.

[dee1153]

That is what I love so much about Pav's voice... the urgency of it. Listening to him is the ultimate thrill. He is perfection.

[Mooorhe]

Personally, i'm interested in the maltese tenor Joseph Calleja. The Questa o Quella of his on YouTube is simply sensational. A real tenor with great technique, i've a ticket to see him sing Rigoletto at the Opera house in Hamburg this September, can't wait.

[dee1153]

WOW!!! I love you Pav!

[Mooorhe]

This video confirms my views that he was THE greatest Lyrical tenor.

Needless to say that this video is going straight onto my favourites.

Words can't describe how great he was. My body tingles as he sings those high C's, I can hardly move. On the last high C, tingles went up and down my body and tears come to my eyes.

BRAVO PAVAROTTI!

[Pavarotti4eva]

this recording almost makes me sad in a way, because i remember that this happened years ago and that these great singers we hear about are actually retired or dead. just a week ago i found out joan sutherland was retired and we all know what happened to pavarotti ;(

are there any good young singers that you guys know about ?

[Pavarotti4eva]

thank you for reposting this! this is a pavarotti sound that i think people have widely forgotten about. it is fuller than any other ones ive heard!

[TheInquisitive4Ever]

Pava makes this sound easy. His rendition is simply sublime. The ring on the Cs is out of this world.