Luciano Pavarotti - Ah si ben mio - LIVE 1976!

Luciano Pavarotti sings a fantastic rendition of Ah si ben mio from act III of Verdi's Il Trovatore! Renata Scotto is singing Leonora and Charles Anthony is singing Ruiz. Live at the Metropolitan opera.

This production of Il Trovatore was little known about because the Met didn't record it. A shame, several other nights as wonderful as this are lost forever, only remembered by those in the house. This is recorded by an audience member quality isn't great, but perfectly audible, this shows that Pavarotti's voice was not 'the size of a mouses'. Sure it wouldn't rattle your seat like say Tucker's... But it carried perfectly well.

1976 - Il Trovatore - Metropolitan opera orchestra conducted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni.

ENJOY!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Luciano
• Pavarotti
• Renata
• Scotto
• il
• trovatore
• ah
• si
• ben
• mio
• soprano
• tenor
• italian
• manrico
• leonora
• live
• 1976

[Operafiend22]

I think this production was Gavazzeni's debut at the Met no? It's criminal that the Met didn't record this, but I am eternally grateful to the audience member who did.

[followthehatecrewild]

I really like Corelil's version, although his version was the first time I heard this aria so of course i may be partial to him :p but his aggressiveness and power really make it for him, especially the part at 2:15, both do a splendid job and pavarotti is always my favorite

[madisonelectronic]

I heard his trill in 1979 in the Shriners' Temple in Chicago. I was lucky enough to be sitting about twelve feet away straight in front. The recital was a reschedule because of a earlier snowstorm. I had missed the first date and had actually forgotten it and was in Wisconsin with my snowmobile friends. I do not know about others but what I would not pay now to sit there again. All I recall is that he sort of shook his head sideways as if he were saying "no". It might have been "O sole mio".

[spiroberto]

Pavarotti's voice in the late sixties and early seventies was absolutely exceptional and unique. Unsurpassed. Excellent rendition of "Ah si, ben mio" here.

[TraVoiBelle]

Splendid! Thank you very much for this!

[ShawDAMAN]

The little duet between "Ah si..." and "Di quella" has always been one of my favorite passages of Verdi music and indeed of any composer. Can you imagine some productions have the gall to omit it?! :P Beautifully sung here.

[operaspark]

Absolutely beautiful. Pavarotti here in his vocal prime, such accomplishment never to be bettered.

[sospello]

Just curious since I have listened to a number of takes on this aria; what is the timing of the trill on parrà. I have heard it done in so many different tempi and have no score to examine. Was the trill an option or an integral feature in all ms of the score? And a question on Domingo--in the live Met performance of 1973--is that a trill or does a singer count the ornament he includes as something other?

Was there an in or out of "fashion" about including trills for the heavier rep?

[GermanOperaSinger]

Just like Bjorling's voice, small but perfectly projected. This is good stuff, I prefer Tucker's 'Ah si', but this is great, Pav does the trills like Tucker too. Corelli never could trill here but sang it well, and Domingo is...well, never mind =)