Pavarotti had a very great voice. And he also had an excellent teacher that taught him how to equalize between high and low pitch to have an outstanding musicality.
Luciano Pavarotti singing from a concert in January 1980 with the NY Philharmonic cond. by Zubin Mehta. Compare this performance with other (later) dates; Pavarotti here is clearly still in absolute total command. This was part of the “Live from Lincoln Center” 30th anniversary special.
Now an amazing discovery: Aretha Franklin last minute replacing ill Luciano Pavarotti and giving this incredible performance. This is defining the true meaning of “soul music”. The fusion of two cultures.
Twenty two minutes after she was asked to cover for her ailing friend, Luciano Pavarotti, Aretha Franklin takes the stage sans key change to perform the legendary aria “Nessun Dorma”, a piece she sang previously a few days earlier (in her own register, I might add). It begets one of the most extraordinary musical moments in awards show history. It brought the audience to a thunderous ovation.
