Luciano Pavarotti [music]

Calvin

Welcome to Headstones and Microphones where we use AI to step into the past through a researched, first-person simulation of history's most interesting people. I am your host, Calvin. While we’ve added some creative storytelling, our goal is to inspire your own study of these fascinating lives. Now, let’s meet our guest.

Calvin

I am absolutely honored to be joined today by a man whose voice could shake the rafters of any opera house and melt the hearts of millions. For those who may somehow not know who you are... who are you?

White Male Guest

Ciao, Calvin. I am Luciano Pavarotti. Some people called me "The King of the High Cs," but I always thought of myself simply as a man who loved to sing and loved to eat!

Calvin

"King of the High Cs" indeed! Let’s go back to the start. When and where were you born?

White Male Guest

I was born on October 12, 1935, on the outskirts of Modena in Northern Italy. A wonderful place full of balsamic vinegar and fast cars!

Calvin

And what was your given name at birth?

White Male Guest

Simply Luciano Pavarotti.

Calvin

Was there a story behind your name?

White Male Guest

My father, Fernando, was a baker, but he had a tenor voice that was like gold. He was my first hero. I think I carried his name and his passion for music from the very first breath I took.

Calvin

What was your hometown like growing up?

White Male Guest

It was humble, especially during the war. We lived in a small apartment building. But it was full of music! My father would sing in the local choir, and I would listen to his records of Gigli and Caruso until they were worn out.

Calvin

What was your family life like?

White Male Guest

Very close. We didn’t have much money, but we had plenty of love and plenty of bread! My mother worked in a cigar factory to help us get by. It was a very traditional, warm Italian upbringing.

Calvin

What kind of kid were you?

White Male Guest

Oh, I was a boy who loved the sun! I was obsessed with football—soccer, as you say. I wanted to be a goalkeeper. I had a lot of energy and a very loud voice, even then!

Calvin

What were your biggest fears growing up?

White Male Guest

During the war, we had to move to a farmhouse in the countryside. The sound of the sirens and the planes... that was very scary for a young boy. It makes you appreciate the peace and the music so much more later in life.

Calvin

What did you dream of becoming as a child?

White Male Guest

At first, a football star! Then, I thought I would be a teacher. I actually taught primary school for a couple of years. I loved the children, but the music... it was pulling at my heart too hard to ignore.

Calvin

What were some of your favorite activities in school?

White Male Guest

Aside from sports, I loved the choir. My father and I joined the Rossini Choir in Modena together. We went to a competition in Wales and won first prize! That was the moment I realized music could take me across the world.

Calvin

What was your first job?

White Male Guest

I was an elementary school teacher. Can you imagine me in front of a classroom of little children? I enjoyed it, but I think I spent more time thinking about my voice lessons than the geography lessons!

Calvin

Was there a moment where you realized you were different from everyone else?

White Male Guest

When I was about nineteen, my teacher Arrigo Pola told me that my voice was a "gift from God." I had a natural "placement" for the high notes that others had to work decades to find. I felt a great responsibility to share that gift.

Calvin

What’s a decision that changed everything for you, but felt small at the time?

White Male Guest

Entering the Achille Peri competition in 1961. I almost didn't go because I was discouraged. But I went, I won, and I made my debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème. That one performance opened every door in Italy.

Calvin

What was your biggest break?

White Male Guest

Filling in for Giuseppe Di Stefano at Covent Garden in London in 1963. Nobody knew who this big Italian fellow was, but after that night, they wouldn't let me leave! And of course, the Metropolitan Opera debut later—that made me a citizen of the world.

Calvin

What were your biggest struggles before success?

White Male Guest

The waiting and the dieting! I had to sell insurance for a while to pay for my vocal lessons. And in Italy, everyone is a critic. You have to prove yourself every single night or the audience will let you know they are unhappy!

Calvin

Did you ever consider quitting?

White Male Guest

Once, early on. I had a small nodule on my vocal cords and I thought it was over. I decided to stop singing, and strangely, once I relaxed and gave up, the nodule disappeared. It was as if my voice said, "Do not worry, I am still here!"

Calvin

Were there any specific daily habits or routines that you feel are essential to your success?

White Male Guest

I never traveled without my "bent nail." I found one on stage once and had a great performance, so after that, I had to find a bent nail backstage at every opera house in the world! It was my little secret for luck.

Calvin

What was your life like before fame?

White Male Guest

Simple and quiet. I was a husband and a father, living in Modena, riding my bicycle, and singing whenever I could. I still missed that simplicity sometimes, even when I was playing to stadiums.

Calvin

How did relationships change after success?

White Male Guest

You have to learn who loves Luciano and who loves "Pavarotti." But my friends in Modena—the ones I played cards with—they never changed. To them, I was just the baker’s son who happened to have a loud voice.

Calvin

Did fame bring happiness?

White Male Guest

Happiness comes from the music and the family. Fame brings the ability to do "Pavarotti & Friends" and raise money for children in need. That made me very, very happy.

Calvin

What was the downside of becoming famous?

White Male Guest

You lose your privacy. And for a man who loves to eat as much as I do, everyone is always watching your plate! I couldn't go to a restaurant without it becoming a front-page story.

Calvin

What misconceptions did people have about you?

White Male Guest

Some thought that because I did the "Three Tenors" or sang with pop stars, I didn't take the opera seriously. But I studied my scores with great discipline. I just wanted to bring the opera out of the museum and into the sunshine!

Calvin

What was your darkest moment?

White Male Guest

Losing my son, Riccardo, who was a twin. That is a pain that no music can fully heal. You carry that in your heart every time you sing a tragic aria.

Calvin

Did fame and fortune change your life?

White Male Guest

It changed my surroundings—more beautiful houses, better pasta!—but it didn't change my soul. I was still the man who loved horses and painting and a good joke.

Calvin

Who had the biggest influence on your life?

White Male Guest

My father for the voice, and Joan Sutherland. Singing with her taught me how to breathe. She was a giant of the stage and a wonderful friend.

Calvin

What were you working on in your career before you passed away?

White Male Guest

I was doing my "Farewell Tour." I wanted to say thank you to all the cities that had been kind to me for forty years. I was also teaching young singers in Modena. Passing on the tradition was so important to me.

Calvin

When and where did you pass away?

White Male Guest

I passed away on September 6, 2007, in my beloved home in Modena.

Calvin

What happened?

White Male Guest

I had been fighting pancreatic cancer. I fought it with all the strength I had, but in the end, it was time for the curtain to fall.

Calvin

What’s a random fact about you most people have never heard?

White Male Guest

I carried a white handkerchief on stage not just for style, but because I used to sweat so much from the nerves and the lights! It became my trademark, but it started as a necessity.

Calvin

What was your favorite food?

White Male Guest

Pasta! Any kind, but especially the tortellini of my region. And I loved the "Pavarotti" sandwich at my favorite deli—though I usually added more cheese!

Calvin

What was your favorite book?

White Male Guest

I loved the works of Giovanni Guareschi, the creator of Don Camillo. Very funny, very Italian.

Calvin

Did you have any known rivalries?

White Male Guest

People tried to make a rivalry between me and Plácido Domingo or José Carreras. But we turned it into the "Three Tenors!" We became the best of brothers. There is plenty of room in the sky for many stars.

Calvin

What’s your funniest behind-the-scenes moment?

White Male Guest

Once, during a performance of Tosca, the "dead" soldiers who were supposed to execute me were local extras who didn't know the opera. Instead of exiting the stage, they stayed and watched me sing my final aria! I had to pretend I was dying while three soldiers were standing right there looking at me like I was a wonder!

Calvin

What was the most outlandish purchase you made?

White Male Guest

My horses! I loved my equestrian center in Modena. It was my escape. People thought a big man like me shouldn't be on a horse, but we understood each other perfectly.

Calvin

What advice would you give people chasing success?

White Male Guest

Be disciplined. The voice is a muscle, but the heart is the motor. If you don't love what you do, the audience will know. And always, always eat well!

Calvin

Luciano, this has been an absolute delight. Do you have any closing remarks about the interview or the stories you shared that you would like to share with the listeners before we sign off?

White Male Guest

Only this: Life is beautiful. Music is a way to reach God. I hope when you hear my voice, you feel a little bit of the joy I felt when I sang for you. Thank you, Calvin, for letting me talk again. It was a "Grandissimo" time!

Calvin

Thank you, Luciano! That was truly a masterclass in living life to the fullest. And that wraps up another conversation from beyond the grave. Thanks for joining us on The Headstones and Microphones Podcast. Remember—legends may die, but their stories never do. Please help spread the word by sharing and following the pod.