Who is Luciano Pavarotti: His Life and Music

I still remember the first time I really heard Pavarotti sing.  Growing up, there was always music playing in the house, but this time I heard the music and was impressed and mesmerized by what I heard. I was about eight. 

Actually, it was a performance that included Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, the Three Tenors singing at the Baths of Caracalla.  My dad loved Pavarotti and was watching the concert on PBS.  As soon as it went on break my dad started belting out his own version of the songs, just for me.

I sat with my father through the entire performance, when it ended I remember asking dad if we could go see him.  Dad dissapointed me when he said that Pavarotti no longer sang opera in Chicago, it was true.  The man who inspired my love for opera never sang in the Opera House where I called home, at least not after I discovered him.

Music is capable of being so compelling because of the pure, unrestrained emotions the singer puts into a piece.  I never saw a performance by Pavarotti where I didn't feel something.  He always sang with power behind his words, be it the power of sadness, of joy or anger. 

When I heard Pavarotti I learned to hear music, but I heard it by allowing myself to feel it.  That was how I came to love music, came to see music in everything, live music with every emotion.

"If music is central to a person's life, it can be something very special and life-affirming."
Luciano Pavarotti