Glorious Pavarotti B flats

I was listening to this remarkable performance of Rigoletto in 1972 at the Met today, and I noticed just how glorious his voice was that day. Here we have an excerpt of him singing the two B flats from the Bella figlia dell'amore quartet. Listen to the beautiful diminuendo he executes on that second B flat!

Gilda is sung by Joan Sutherland
Rigoletto is sung by Matteo Manuguerra
Maddalena is sung by Joann Grillo

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Pavarotti
• rigoletto
• tenor
• luciano
• flat
• high
• duca
• duke
• bella
• figlia
• dell
• amore

[sospello]

Yes indeed; 1:00 to about 1:08 is marvelous especially--but what a great cast. I think that also can generate inspired singing. Thanks for this one--more Pavarotti live at this time in his career is very instructive.

[Mooorhe]

Yes, they tried to have the three principals of the Decca recording a year earlier. Unfortunately Sherill Milnes only got through two and a half of the four performances.

I have recordings of three of the four, the one in which Milnes cancelled doesn't seem to exist on record.

[ChrisStockslager]

@Mooorhe Which performance with Milnes is the best?

[principecalaf]

Sorry man, I probabbly misunderstood your message, at the begin I thought you were saying that Paul Pott is like Pavarotti.. I apologize

[principecalaf]

Paul Pott is a shit idiot! You have ears problems!

[Pavarotti4eva]

oh, i thought you meant tenor in general!

you are of course talking about YOUNG tenors!

i just listened to calleja singing "because" and "la donna e mobile" and i think that his high notes are wonderfully secure, i cant really describe how much i like them, but he should work on his technique and wait for his voice to darken a little bit before he extends his career beyond lyrical or he may end like villazon, who USED to have a bearable voice.

[Pavarotti4eva]

superiority in this sense is subjective, its a matter of opinion, everyone has one, like assholes :)

learn the difference between an argument and an opinion! ;)

[renzor22]

Im form mexico and i grew up listening to placido Domingo. But dont u ever dare to compare the great pavarotti ... now u are gonna say thta paul potts is the same as him ..

[Mooorhe]

The only young tenor who even slightly touches Pavarotti is Joseph Calleja, and I still consider Pavarotti better by a long way.

Pavarotti got alot of publicity, but the reason he was able to be promoted well was because he was so good. He declined heavily and tarnished his reputation, but before all this, he was an incredible tenor, better than those you mentioned.

[Honken]

I was about to make an angry reply until he got to the F#... had a nice laugh. Spot on! :D

[jhvorotin]

the F# following the diminuendo sounds like a motor running out of gas