KMackdaddy1972
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 323
Location: Cranston-Rhode Island, USA
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 Posted: Mon Sep 10, 2007 13:02 |
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Farewell Maestro Luciano Pavarotti (my personal story)
The year was 1984, I was 12 and my mother who was an avid rock and roll mom but had been listening to opera for the past couple years. Yes, both my older brother and I couldn’t understand where this switch came from because it was almost like over night....here she was listening to Kansas and Led Zeppelin one night and the next it's La bohème. Then she took me to see the movie Yes Giorgio, which starred the Maestro. I proudly admit I fell in love with the movie, not so much because it was a masterpiece movie (which it's not) but because of its star. Luciano was larger than life in that movie. The charisma, humor, and genuine child like attitude took a hold in me. It was my first taste into the arena of Classical Music. A year later he came to Boston, MA and my mother got tickets. At the time I was being teased by my friends because here I was a 13 year old who had long hair, listen to Van Halen, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and Pavarotti?...an opera singer? I almost didn’t go with my mother on that September day back in 1985 to the Wang Center but in the end I went anyway.
We arrive at the Wang Center and it’s the first time I’ve ever been to a performing arts center. Some people were all dressed in suits and dresses as if they were going to a wedding. I felt so out of place but all that ended when the lights dimmed and his voice belted out the first notes of the day. I realized that day excellent music knows no boundaries of social class status. Here I was, a son of hard working lower middle class single mother, sitting beside someone who probably lived in a mansion and had cars and servants, dressed to the hilts in his tux, enjoying the same music as I was. It was a real eye opener for me to have such an epiphany at such a young age and it only added to magical moment of the day.
Even though I didn’t understand the words he was singing, they moved me nonetheless and I was extremely happy that I went to the concert. When it was over, my mother and I were outside and I spotted a limo heading towards the back of the building. After a brief debate I convinced my mother that he might be signing autographs in the back and so we quickly went to the back of the building to find a line of people. I was right, he was signing autographs. We waiting in line for what seemed like hours (yes the line was that long) and when we turned the corner with the line, there he was, sitting behind a fold up table. Now bear in mind, I was your typical talkative 13 year-old, you couldn’t shut me up. That was until it was our turn to walk up to the table. If I thought he was larger than life in the movie….it was nothing compared to meeting him face to face, and I don’t mean in size, I mean in presence. I was completely speechless. Needless to say my mother laughed and explained to him she had never seen me speechless and he laughed and asked me if I truly liked his music. A bit embarrassed at my lack of speech I only nodded with a smile. He then smiled back saying “It makes me so happy to see a young fan.” Of course it was said in not so perfect English with that Italian flare. But what struck me the most was that absolutely genuine and heart felt smile he gave when he said it. If any of you met him or were around him then you know what smile I mean. You could tell he was a man so full of life and still had that little kid innocence in him. Although the encounter with Maestro was brief, the memory will be with me forever. If I remember correct he signed my program “To my young fan-Luciano Pavarotti” and now that I think about it, I think I was the only kid there.
His voice, in my mind, was one of kind and his presence was just as equally unmatched. I can say without a doubt in my heart that a grand light in this world has gone out with the passing of Luciano Pavarotti. I am but one of millions whose life he has touched and will never forget him as a person and the greatest singer of this lifetime.
In his own Quote:
“Penso che una vita per la musica sia una vita spesa bene ed è a questo che mi sono dedicato”
Translated:
“ I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent and this is what I have devoted my life to”
Kevin M. Perito
Cranston, RI
USA
_________________
I used to worry about the future
But then I threw my caution to the wind.....
Peace,
KMack |
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KMackdaddy1972
Joined: 23 Nov 2004
Posts: 323
Location: Cranston-Rhode Island, USA
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| Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2007 17:56 |
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Wow.. Am I the only one???
I see my post was viewed alot but none commented....am I the only one here that appreciated the naturally gifted talent Pavarotti possessed? Am I the only one here who feels that a tremendous light in the music community has gone out?
I know this site is dedicated to Jamiroqaui and you can't really compare the two types of music but keep this in mind before just dismissing one of the greatest opera vocalists of the 20th/21st century.....Pavarotti could sing  Pop/Funk very easily but Jamiroquai couldn't sing Nessum Dorma or any other operatic song. 
_________________
I used to worry about the future
But then I threw my caution to the wind.....
Peace,
KMack |
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