All of Apple’s iTunes Stores’ home pages in twenty-two countries today feature banners dedicated to Luciano Pavarotti, the famous tenor, 71, who died at his villa near the northern city of Modena after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Apple has also created a special remembrance page in Pavarotti’s honor that features many of the maestro’s works.
Apple’s special page in the U.S. Store reads:
Luciano Pavarotti is universally regarded as one of the finest tenors that ever lived. He will be remembered as a charasmatic performer who was also a great ambassador for opera, a committed humanitarian and a dedicated fan of Turin’s Juventus soccer team.
Pavarotti via iTunes here.
The Three Tenors: Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti, “Nessun Dorma”
[Attribution: setteB.IT]
MacDailyNews Take: No offense at all to Domingo and Carreras, but they sound like mere mortals next to The Maestro.
Apple saw a nice opera tune-ity. Bravo!
As a rare survivor of pancreatic cancer, I’m sure Jobs really felt for him.
Classy move, Apple! The positive publicity just keeps coming.
Yes, I enjoy a little un-rapped Puccini…..
(opera ain’t so bad either!)
Good for Apple.
It’s a sad day for the music world.
Say what you might about the 3 Tenors crap, but Pavarotti opened a lot of ears to opera that might never have been exposed to it.
I saw him at the Metropolitan Opera numerous times in the 80’s singing Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti. He was an amazing artist, performer and stage presence. And that voice! What can you say? That voice!
Arrivederci Luciano!
He will be sorely missed. There truly has never been, and will probably never be a voice like his again… it’s a once-in a millennium talent.
Turandot Pavarotti, missing you lots……wherever you are, lucky them to have you!!!
Isn’t opera when some guy gets stabbed but instead of dying he sings about it for twenty minutes?
Twisted Mac Freak:
You have quite the combination of ignorance and ill breeding. Your trailer-trash parents must be so proud.
MW: “away”, as in “please stay away from my children – I don’t want your boorishness to rub off on them.”
@TMF… no, it’s when that happens to the leading lady. Sheesh man, do you read Opera News anymore?
I saw Placido Domingo and Beverly Sills in her farewall tour in San Diego. Pavarotti had to sit out with a throat ailment. Sills owned the stage even that late in her career.
No matter how many times I hear Pavarotti sing Nessun Dorma, it still gives me goosebumps. He was the ultimate tenor.
Bravo to Apple for recognizing Pavarotti.
I’m not an opera fan, but Pavarotti was one of the best in that genre, and can bring tears to my eyes while I listen to him.
I’m pausing my blues for a minute of silence in respect to Luciano.
Cognoscenti speaking here:
Domingo’s singing is actually technically superior to Pavarotti’s, but he has less of public persona, so people don’t appreciate him as much. Pavarotti became much more unfocused in later years, and his ability to read music has been called into question.
He looks like my Dad. My Dad loves listening to his music. My Dad is very sick, so this loss sinks even deeper for me. Thanks for your contributions to the world, Pavarotti. You loving presence will be missed.
From what I understand, Pavarotti WAS indeed a great tenor in the 70’s and 80’s.
Remembered mainly as the fat man, waving a white handkerchief, singing Nessun at the 90 World Cup…
No offense to MDN, but their comments on classical music are as good as a Zune.
While it would be tough to call whose voice is “technically superior”, without a doubt the tone and timber of Pavarotti’s voice is far beyond anything Carreras or Domingo could every hope to produce.
Listen to the vibrato. Pavarotti’s is nearly rhythmically exact in it’s production, where Domingo’s is not. The tenor “ring” or “buzz” just isn’t there in full force for Domingo. Never was. He sounds “woofy”, not “ringing”.
(At least that’s my educated opinion, coming from someone with a Bachelors degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy, and a Master’s in Opera Performance.)
As for reading music, Joan Sutherland, arguably one of Opera’s greatest sopranos could not read music well either. She was taught her roles by rote. But I don’t believe this about Pavarotti. In the book “Great Singers on Great Singing”, he notated his vocal exercises on staff paper for the book’s author. Something that would be difficult for someone who doesn’t read music.
Addio, Maestro. Requiscat in Pace.
“tired of the wal-mart crowd”
Wal-Mart is a proper noun. Trailer trash is not hyphenated. Your children are doomed to illiteracy. Too bad you didn’t win the Darwin Award. I’m so ashamed of you.
Goodnight Luciano, I can still hear your voice.
Great voice. Great smile. Real loss. Gone too soon.
Thank you, Apple.
He came, he saw, he vinceroed – RIP.