David Mellor explores the recorded legacy of great artists of the past in conversation with distinguished figures from the musical world today. 8: As a boy,
Luciano Pavarotti was inspired by the historic tenors he heard on his father's 78s and the family radio. Today, he analyses the spell they still cast over him and his fellow singers and opera-lovers. Including excerpts from
Pavarotti's early recordings of Donizetti's La Fille du
Régiment and Verdi's
Requiem, and arias and songs performed by Caruso, Gigli, Lanza,
Schipa, di Stefano, del Monaco, Kraus, Bjorling and Bergonzi. as well as the complete fourth act of Verdi's Rigoletto, in a 1944 live recording by Toscanini, with Jan Peerce as the Duke.
Producer Nick Morgan
David Mellor talks to Pavarotti
SEE FEATURE page 30