Remembering Luciano!

It's been a little over two years. One September day he died. The man who made the whole world love opera. I woke up today remembering Pavarotti. Everybody accepts he had phenomenal voice, larger than life personality and a drive to make opera popular among masses. In the ninetees he waged war against the conception of classical music as a for of entertainment for a scarce elite. The first Three Tenors concert in 1990 changed recital concept all together. He was criticized for including popular songs in his concerts, he was dismembered for his lavish life, but he kept on fighting. Recording duets with popular singers, advocating several modern causes he forced his hand until his untimely death.

It's really difficult to listen to him without feeling it in your bones. His style, an eye opener for classical music aficionados or not alike, goes deep into your taste and brings out the best about music, memories and technical excellence. Going back to the original 1990 Roma concert, the unforgettable ensemble (Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo), put on stage a show that has never seen before. They had put aside all their humongous egos and cheered and joked on stage and sang songs like "Memories" (from Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Cats), "Maria" (from Bernstein/Sondheim's West Side story), and "La Vie en Rose"(originally sung by Edith Piaf) as well as the signature performance of "O Sole Mio"(Di Capua) and "Nessun Dorma"(Puccini:Turandot) as a trio.

Revisiting that huge performance 19 years later demonstrates the vacuum left by the loss of great Pavarotti. We need a new star in the line of greats such as Caruso, Lanza and the great tenor himself who would go the extra mile to make the new generations adore lyric singing.

Now, enjoy the embedded performance of Pavarotti and join me wishing he should return to Surriento sooner than later!