Luciano Pavarotti - Che gelida manina - Live 1968

This is Luciano Pavarotti's second ever performance at the Metropolitan Opera house, he debuted just days earlier to great acclaim. Here he sings Che gelida manina from act I of Puccini's La boheme. He canceled this performance half way through, due to an awful illness that made him almost unable to sing. Luciano Pavarotti himself stated that this performance was 'a huge disaster'. I guess this just goes to show why a singer should cancel when they are ill.

Live 1968 - La boheme - The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra conducted by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Luciano
• pavarotti
• che
• gelida
• manina
• rodolfo
• met
• 1968
• la
• boheme
• italian
• tenor

[Lovelytenor1]

LP said he cracked in the first performance as well yet the usually merciless MET audience forgave him. For that, he said, he was forever grateful. Missing a top note has ruined some tenor careers- pretty brutal.

[Mooorhe]

He did crack at his Met debut, on the first high C... not like he does here, he got the note and held it for about a second but it was very insecure. He sang a fantastic C with Freni in the duet though. I know this because a recording exists of it, which I've heard but don't have.

Apparently the audience knew he was very ill; he delayed his debut for at least a week.

[ShawDAMAN]

Interesting post, thanks.

The bad recording doesn't help but he does sound bad here.

Did he just lose his voice or did he purposely skip the C at the end? (which would have been wise....)

[Mooorhe]

I don't think he was able to launch it. In one of his autobiographies, he says 'I couldn't sing in the upper register at all'. I guess he just couldn't launch it.

[MustacheVerra]

The tape plays almost 1/2 tone to fast.

[arkat80]

This video proves that one note doesn't matter at all for one aria. This aria is SO well sung that you don't even care if he sings at all this high C.

I'm sorry for the audiences of nowdays, who just listen if a singer gives some high notes well. They just go to the opera, listen to some high notes, admire (or blame) and go home.

The audience of Met obviously was more clever. The "misfortune" of a note is nothing compared to the fortune to listen Pavarotti sing this whole aria.

IMHO.

[PianistRonaldChow]

VERY misfortune he crash at high C , he remotely crash at all!!

[zzzLUCIANOzzz]

Audio bad.... very vibro sound.... Pavarotti BEST!

[islandofgrass]

I bet there are plenty of tenors who wished they sounded this good sick! This 'blip' does not mar his stellar career that lasted twenty years longer than expected. HIs voice did not show the frost of age even in his sixties. Amazing talent...we lost an irreplaceable musical icon.

[tena2]

perfect tecnique he developed years later??? what are you based on???

[dendrix01]

Hasta Dios tuvo sus momentos difíciles...

[mvconnelly]

Ahhh, then that would explain it. Nevertheless, fascinating. Thank you for the additional perspective on this clip.