Translated material
Luciano Pavarotti dies
His death was not sudden, both the world and he himself were preparing for it. He was sick, he said goodbye, and over the past five years he gave only a few concerts. He underwent cancer surgery, then planned to resume active concert activity. Two weeks ago he got worse. Just the day before yesterday, his relatives and representatives spread the information that “Luciano Pavarotti will die soon, he is not afraid.” The world froze and the next morning received a text message from the singer’s manager: “Pavarotti died an hour ago.”
Despite farewell concerts, a long-standing, serious illness and an absolute lack of secrecy in the singer’s environment, Internet forums are filled with cries of “I don’t believe it!” It seemed to many that the gods were immortal. Not for the first time it turned out - no.
The fantastic glory of a singer who did not know the notes, who won a vocal competition in 1961 and has since become the first idol of all opera stages of all continents (since 1966 - La Scala Theater, after a crushing debut in 1972 - New York Metropolitan -operas"), Guinness records of his performances after encore performances, standard parts, crazy concerts, the very list of open venues on which, with the help of Pavarotti’s voice, the most reverent fragments of opera scores literally “poured out” (London’s Hyde Park, New York’s Central Park, the square in front of the Eiffel Tower, ancient Mexican ruins and stadiums, stadiums, stadiums) - everything became history, but entered into it a long time ago and in turn made it what it is.
Pavarotti - the owner of an amazing timbre, a unique technique, outstanding breathing, and also a hero of gossip columns, a man of phenomenal circulation and fees, uniquely charming, who from his youth drew pitch-black eyebrows on himself - sang only in Italian, only Italian opera. In his performance, Italian operatic masterpieces acquired a standard, “definitive” sound for the mass consumer. The masses were languishing in beauty. Even the Pavarotti-Domingo-Carreras trio, performing in an unprecedented mass ritual, which sanctified football as a temple with its presence, would not have acquired such unconditional magical power without Pavarotti.
The debate continues about whether the heroes of this amazing story (and first of all Pavarotti) brought down the opera genre from its well-deserved pedestal or successfully “popularized the classics” (and this is also the merit of Big Luciano, who was the first in operatic history to sing into a microphone). so far without any chance of a clear conclusion.
To date, the elitist classics have remained elitist, and unenlightened people remain unenlightened. The 20th century, like thunder and lightning, met the ambitions of universal unity, the fusion of high and low, but gave birth to gloss. The sunny, affectionate, warming and relaxing art of Pavarotti was one of the most important pages of this plot, but still it exists outside of it. Now - like memories of a unique, pure, enchanting voice, filled with an extraordinary bright feeling.