Luciano Pavarotti – Pavarotti & Friends (1993)

FrontCover1Luciano Pavarotti Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed and loved tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for his tone, and achieving the honorific title “King of the High Cs”.

As one of the Three Tenors, who performed their first concert during the 1990 FIFA World Cup before a global audience, Pavarotti became well known for his televised concerts and media appearances. From the beginning of his professional career as a tenor in 1961 in Italy to his final performance of “Nessun dorma” at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Pavarotti was at his best in bel canto operas, pre-Aida Verdi roles, and Puccini works such as La bohème, Tosca, Turandot and Madama Butterfly. He sold over 100 million records, and the first Three Tenors recording became the best-selling classical album of all time. Pavarotti was also noted for his charity work on behalf of refugees and the Red Cross, amongst others. He died from pancreatic cancer on 6 September 2007.

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Pavarotti & Friends was a series of benefit concerts hosted by Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti between 1992 and 2003 in his home town of Modena, Italy. Proceeds from the events were donated to humanitarian causes including the international aid agency War Child[1] and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The concerts featured Pavarotti performing with special musical guests[3] and each concert was released as a compilation album and DVD under London Records/Decca Records.
Ten benefit concerts were held between 1992 and 2003. The concerts have been broadcast in various countries and each concert was released as a compilation album and DVD under London Records/Decca Records. The Pavarotti & Friends Collection: The Complete Concerts, 1992–2000, a DVD featuring the first eight concerts, was released in November 2002 under Decca.

Pavarotti&Friends01The first Pavarotti & Friends concert was held on 27 September 1992, featuring guest stars Sting, Bob Geldof, Brian May and Mike Oldfield. A compilation album and DVD was released under Decca Records. The compilation album sold 120,000 units in the US and around 1.5 million units worldwide. (wikipedia).

From left: journalist Vincenzo Mollica, Luciano Pavarotti, Lucio Dalla & Zucchero (1992):
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On the one hand a nice mixture of different music styles, on the other hand this music is too weak and shallow for me … not my kind of stuff !

Recorded live at the Venue Parco Novi Sad, Modena, Italy, September 27, 1992

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Personnel:
Orchestra da Camera “Arcangelo Corelli conducted by Aldo Sisillo

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Tracklist:
01. Luciano Pavarotti & Sting: Panis Angelicus (Franck) 3.52
02. Luciano Pavarotti & Zucchero: Miserere (Bono/Zucchero) 4.14
03. Zucchero & Sting: Muoio Per Te (Sting/Zucchero) 3.54
04. Luciano Pavarotti & Lucio Dalla: Caruso (Dalla) 5.19
05. Neville Brothers: One More Day (C. Neville/Wolinski/G. Neville) 4.41
06. Aaron Neville: Ave Maria (Schubert) 4.40
07. Suzanne Vega: In Liverpool (Vega) 4.38
08. Mike Oldfield: Sentinel (Oldfield) 3.53
09. Zucchero: L’Urlo (Brown/Moss/Zucchero) 3.20
10. Brian May: Too Much Love Will Kill You (May/Lamers/Musker) 4.28
11. Sting: It’s Probably Me (Clapton/Kamen/Sting) 5.01
12. Bob Geldof: Room 19 (Geldof) 4.40
13. Patricia Kaas: Les Hommes Qui Passent (Kaas) 3.39
14. Luciano Pavarotti, Lucio Dalla, Brian May, Zucchero & Sting: La Donna E’ Mobile (Piave/Verdi) 2.25

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