Name your favorite Pavarotti aria and why you like it?

Question

My current favorite is Donizetti's "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fete!" from "La Fille du Regiment" because of the lilting way he launches the high C's and still maintains deep tones for the rest of the song. Such balance. And it's romantic.

But I'd like to hear your opinion to get more ideas as to what to listen to. Obscure stuff is appreciated. Thanks so much.

Yeah I checked out Juan Diego Florez. It sounds like he's missing the lower half of the tenor register in Donizetta. He's fine for pop but no match for Pavarotti in his prime. He is cute in an effeminate way though.

Answer 1

1) La donna è mobile ("Rigoletto", Verdi) ***
2) The Duke's part in quartet Bella figlia dell'amore ("Rigoletto", Verdi) ***
3) Fuor del mar ("Idomeneo", Mozart) ***
4) Una furtiva lagrima ("Elisir d'amore", Donizetti) **
5) Di' tu se fedele ("Un Ballo in Maschera", Verdi) **
6) Che gelida manina ("Bohème", Puccini) **
7) Nessun dorma ("Turandot", Puccini) **
8) Donna non vidi mai ("Manon Lescaut", Puccini) *
9) A te o cara ("I Puritani", Bellini) *
10) Salut demeure chaste et pure ("Faust", Gounod)*

Let's all pray for his health.

Answer 2

I love all of his aria. However my true favorite is La Donna è mobile . When i am depressed or angry , i just turn my radio on, i raise the volume and...SING, Dance while i am cleaning or cooking. i am not an expert in this kind of song, but i can say that i like the sound of the violins and Pavarotti's voice that always rise me up. It is one of the reason i never tried to find out the meaning of this song.

Answer 3

I fully agree with you about the Donizetti aria--he sings those high C's with such strength and purity!
I'm also very fond of his performance of "A te, o cara" from Bellini's "I Puritani" (on 3 Decca CDs), again sung with such strength and depth of feeling.

Answer 4

When I saw your question I immediately thought of the same aria from La Fille du Regiment. I have a feeling they might be high D's which is even more incredible.

Answer 5

Pagliacci, is my favorite of his, because it's very sad, his wife cheating on him while he's out trying to make a living, it rips your heart out, Nessun Dorma comes in very close, I love the tear jerkers, especially because they are in Italian and you can sort of make up your own words to fit your mood, it sounds silly but I'd rather not know the words, this way I can fit my own words to it, like I said according to my mood, weird, I know. Something that I like even better is Andrea Bocelli's The Opera Album, Aria, there are seventeen pieces on this Cd and I love every one except the first one, some one came to my house one day and this person hates opera with a passion, and she said to me what is that?, she though it was the most beautiful music that she ever hear, she actually had tears in her eyes. It's weird, he's not my favorite but on this every song is a heart wrenching tear jerker, if you heard it you would see what I'm saying, so if you like opera you'll love this, if you can find it, it took me weeks.

Answer 6

Nessun Dorma - it's absolutely gorgeous. however, i'm not as big of a fan of Pavarotti as i used to be. i LOVE Juan Diego Flores... greatest Rossini tenor alive. definitely check him out!

Answer 7

E Lucivan Le Stelle

I like the emotion of the song and he belts it out convincingly

Answer 8

I think it's amazing that his voice is so recognizable- that timbre! Although Calaf was not a great role for him (his voice was/is a little light), I really like his Nessun Dorma.

Answer 9

He could sing "My bologna has a first name, its o-s-c-a-r, my bologna has a second name, its m-e-y-e-r..." and I would love it, his voice is so powerful and moving..I just listen when I catch him on the radio so I'm not familiar with his songs titles though, sorry!

Answer 10

When he played the Commendatore in Don Giovanni! That stuff was awesome!