Pavarotti Lip-Synched Last Performance
ROME (AP) - Luciano Pavarotti, in severe pain months before his cancer diagnosis, lip-synched his last performance, according to the maestro who conducted the aria at the opening ceremony of the Turin Olympics.
The conductor, Leone Magiera, reveals in a book that the rousing rendition of “Nessun Dorma” (”Let No One Sleep”) was prerecorded because “it would have been too dangerous for him to give a live performance in that physical condition.”
Magiera, who worked with Pavarotti for years, said the tenor was suffering from sharp pains months before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was using a wheelchair. Pavarotti died in September 2007. He was 71.
“The orchestra pretended to play for the public there, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing,” Magiera writes in “Pavarotti Visto Da Vicino” (”Pavarotti Seen From Close Up”), which was published last month. “It came off beautifully, no one was aware of the technical tricks.”
Pavarotti recorded the famed aria from Puccini’s “Turandot” in a studio in his hometown of Modena a few days before his February appearance in Turin, Magiera said. The orchestra prerecorded its part separately.
“His voice was nearly intact,” Magiera recalls in the book, published by Ricordi. “He found the strength to repeat it until he was completely satisfied. Then, he fell back on his wheelchair and closed his eyes, exhausted.”
Magiera did not elaborate on why Pavarotti was using a wheelchair. He stood during the Turin performance.
Pavarotti’s former manager, Terri Robson, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the decision lip-synch was made because of the cold during the outdoor evening event.
The singer was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2006 as he was preparing to leave New York to resume a farewell tour. Pavarotti underwent surgery in New York in early July, and his remaining 2006 concerts were canceled.
Earlier that year, Pavarotti postponed five June dates because of what was described as complications from back surgery. He canceled eight concerts in April, saying he had been advised not to travel or perform while undergoing back treatment.
Robson said the tenor’s voice was “in great shape … but because of the extreme late-night temperature in Turin in February, for both him and the orchestra, it was decided that the only way to make it work was for him to pre-record.”
Pavarotti lip-synched a performance in 1992 in Modena, drawing heavy criticism.
His charismatic persona, ebullient showmanship, and powerful voice made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since the great Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar.
He appeared in television commercials and sang in hugely lucrative mega-concerts outdoors and in stadiums around the world, also mingling with pop stars in his series of charity concerts, “Pavarotti & Friends.”
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Mili Vanilli
Britney
Pavarotti
Where are the Pink Floyds and Led Zeppelins today?
I weep for music.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:52 pmKevin, I’m not sure the comparison is apt. Pavarotti lip-synched to himself pre-recorded, and in part because he was deathly ill. I don’t know about Britney Spear, but didn’t Milli Vinilli (or whatever) lip-synch to someone else’s singing on their own album? Nessun Dorma is my all time favourite, so maybe I’m slightly biased.
April 7th, 2008 at 4:36 pmI’m not sure any comparison was earnestly made.
I seem to recall the halcyon days of yore, when “singers” actually “sang” the music that we heard.
I feel for Pavarotti, but lip-synching, in my opinion, is a preposterous and ridiculous act.
I recall being in the 3rd grade, and being made to rehearse a song written for our class. On watching my nephew’s high school graduation, they lip-synched their graduation song. I voiced my contempt for the display and was rebuked by a flock of indignant mothers…
…who, apparently, were too stupid to know the difference between a class of 3rd graders and a bunch of HS graduates who were allowed to drive cars, enlist in the military, purchase alcohol, but were too dull in the head to sing on their own.
Sorry. No respect for lip-synching.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:07 pmI have no idea why, but that picture scares the shit out of me.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pmThink “Gay Gladiator.”
That’ll make your flesh crawl.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:18 pmIf he lip-synched it, he did a mighty f-ing good job. I am not convinced.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:16 pmThat’s not Pavorotti, that’s Mookie.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:55 pmLet a great talent rest in peace.
April 7th, 2008 at 8:15 pmYou totally fucking cleared it up for me. Nail on the head. And he wasn’t gay. Guess that just goes to show that Opera is. Or at least the people who design the costumes.
April 7th, 2008 at 9:27 pmThe Italians are good at exhibiting their moribounds : see what they made with the former pope JP the 2nd
April 8th, 2008 at 1:07 amHe lip-synched. So what? He was dying.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:37 amGod bless this man with the great voice.
Call me a pig (no, seriously, go right ahead) but opera is just a way for straight men to dress up like poofs and sing their hearts out without having to wake up next to a smelly biker in the morning.
And football! You get to slap other guys’ asses and go drink a Gatorade together.
…maybe I should stop now, huh?
April 8th, 2008 at 3:27 pm