Today we are witnessing the sad and unusual event of the death of an era—many decades after the era ended. The 19th century and its cultural values in art, manners, romance, and sex were almost completely decimated by the counterculture of the 60s and 70s. Yet a generation of people, including many important leaders of culture—performers, teachers, authors—who were reared in the era prior to the counterculture, reached maturity and remained active, maintaining a pre-counterculture value system to whatever extent their influence reached, all the way up to today. Sadly, we are reaching the time when this generation is passing away.
Some of the names belonging to the vanguard were very famous. Soprano Beverly Sills, a fountain of lighthearted but serious joy and an embodiment of the intense romantic spirit of the nineteenth century, died in July. She had been raised in the 30s and 40s. Brooke Astor, a mere socialite and philanthropist but nevertheless an embodiment of the style and manners of the nineteenth century, who was a member by marriage of the great Astor family, died this month at the age of 105. She had been raised in the first two decades of the 20th century. Many of the other names are not famous—they are the music teachers, the art teachers, the editors and arts administrators who operate outside the spotlight—but they are of the same generation and the same sensibilities, and propagated the same values—values including dignity, intelligence, a sincerely romantic sense of life, and a fundamental seriousness enabling a good-natured joviality and naturalness of demeanor.
Today brings us the news of the death an outstanding, history-making member of this vanguard, Luciano Pavarotti. I doubt there is anyone in civilization who would not recognize the unmistakable brightly ringing clarity, the energized, virile masculinity, the passionate sincerity and naturalness, the power of his tenor voice.
Pavarotti's ability to convey heroic grandeur was unmatched. His manner on stage was natural, at ease, totally disarming and directly communicative. His sensitivity to and use of the words he sung were outstanding. His interpretations were impassioned and uninhibited. His high notes were incomparably thrilling. The power, the sensitive expression and the passion of his performances captivated listeners throughout the world, including untold millions who would otherwise have paid no attention to opera.
He was born in Modena, Italy, in 1935. In childhood he listened to and sang along with opera recordings by great tenors such as Gigli and Schipa. After spending some time as a teacher he decided to become a singer, whereupon he engaged a singing instructor and eventually, in 1961, made a great breakthrough performing what would become a signature role: Rudolfo in Puccini's La Boheme. The recording he later made of this role, with Mirella Freni as Mimi and with Herbert von Karajan leading the Berlin Philharmonic, is legendary. (It is one of my all-time favorite recordings.) It is available on CD or as a DVD.
According to the New York Times obituary, "Early in his career and into the 1970s [Pavarotti] devoted himself with single-mindedness to his serious opera and recital career, quickly establishing his rich sound as the great male operatic voice of his generation—the 'King of the High Cs,' as his popular nickname had it…[and] Mr. Pavarotti remained a darling of Met audiences until his retirement from that company's roster in 2004, an occasion celebrated with a string of Tosca performances. At the last of them, on March 13, 2004, he received a 15-minute standing ovation and 10 curtain calls."
Unfortunately Pavarotti's joint concerts in the 1990s with exponents of the counterculture culture (such as Sting) were a grave violation of artistic integrity—or a disturbing indication of a deficit of it, or its deterioration in him. But it is doubtful that Pavarotti would be remembered for these sappy pseudo-rock concerts, and properly so. He will be remembered for his riveting renditions of classic solo arias from Italian opera. And here there is no doubt that he is unmatched. The authenticity and integrity of soul conveyed within them is formidable.
A superlative collection of Pavarotti's great performances is available in a new 2007 re-release at a great price.
From Amazon's product description: "First released as an LP in 1980 and then again in 1985, this is one of Pavarotti's best-selling albums. Instantly recognizable cover features classic photo of Luciano Pavarotti dressed as Pagliaccio from I Pagliacci. Chock-full of his all-time greatest hits including Nessun dorma, La donna è mobile, Vesti la giubba, Funiculi Funiculà and more! Reissued in a slim-line jewel box for the first time and at a special '2 for 1' price point." The collection also includes Pavarotti's rendition of Schubert's beautiful "Ave Maria."
This is one of the many Pavarotti albums that will be remembered for centuries to come.
M. Zachary Johson is a composer and musicologist living in the New York City area. A CD of a concert of his compositions, Saxophone Music of M. Zachary Johnson—Live at Steinway Hall, is available here, or through Amazon.com.
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