Pavarotti's Story: Pavarotti Who Lived 100% of His Life

New York, N.Y.  There was a tremendous tenor singer from Italy named Luciano Pavarotti. There are many people who know as the Three Tenor with Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.

I think that it was in 1972 that he and I met the first time. Although he was still not famous yet, I was  already a big fan and also and wanted to take him to perform inJapan.and I included him in the Met tour to Japan in 1975. This was the first time he sang.in Japan. When I took all of the members of more than 400 members of the Metropolitan Opera to Japan for the first time in 1975 and went on the first overseas tour trip in history (detailed in the 22nd 23rd), Franco Corelli, Joan Sutherland , Marilynne Horn, James Marracken etc, also asked Luciano to appear.

Luciano likes to eat very much, he likes cooking, he is a sports fan and likes so much friends. He is a very kind person, likes it pretty nature, he is optimistic, diplomatic and bright. When I was caught up with the negotiation with Metopopera, Luciano who understood well the hardships,  did not say anything, at every break of "La Boheme" that he himself appeared, that big He hugged me tightly with my body. I will not forget it

Tenderness behaving everyone for pasta of good dishes

Luciano was the one who lived every moment, the utmost. There were several things I liked especially, he was a passionate football fan. Next is food. He hardly ate the day of the concert, and after finishing, he liked to eat with everyone. He liked to cook in the apartment rather than going to the restaurant, even in overseas performances it was a way to make Modena's Italian dish in the room and eat it. He liked devising pasta sauces etc on his own. He stuck with something delicious with a good smell. He paid especial attention to Olive oil and parmesan cheese had particular attention.

Sometimes invited everyone and made pasta at the apartment in Hampshire House in New York. He is very sensitive to scent and likes to go shopping with me and when I go with him, I bought whatever cheese or tomato he smelled the smell from his hands. Olive oil etc. open the lid and sniff the inside smell, so I gently bought all what he opened. Boil pasta with a very big pot, boldly cool it in  bathtub water (of course using the pan) and mix with the best olive oil, the sauce was cream sauce or tomato sauce. It seems that the repertory of the meal was not wide. He loved good steak, especially the fatty steak called porter house. I think that sashimi row fish was not his favorites in those days. He did not be eaten at that time. He was also interested in international cuisine, but in both Japan and China, he was impossible to live without Italian cuisine, and it was a tour condition to always have that ingredients.

Then horse riding. In the autumn of 1991, There was a horse race called "Pavarotti International Horse Race", and he had at least 15 horses. It was 79 years that he kept  horses, and a horse called Herbie was a good horse. He loved children, He also loved big big scarves, He always wrapped scarves with a lot of colors around his neck and wrapped it around his head. He also loved  drawing and was good. It seems that he drew it for the first time in 76 in Chicago.

At least three women I know the woman who took care of himself in the name of a secretary. Selfish, child like But It was his beloved wife, a childlike person, a homely, warm, really friendly person.

I think that only one  voice like him will come out in 100 years. His mind is very good brilliant and he had such a big body, but as long as soccer and tennis were concerned, , atheletic sense were very good. In the back stage, before he appeared in "La Boheme", he squeezed his corset in a dressing room with three people and retracted his lower abdomen, he became like a ball. As if it was Humpty  Dumpty, two legs were hit under the round body, and it was rolling over the whole stage with a pretty cute appearance

This was already about 40 years ago!, and on September 6, 2007,on my birthday, he died at the age of 71 on my birthday!!. But I think that his charismatic character and wonderful voice will continue to echo in my heart and in the hearts of many people forever. It was a way of life that Luciano Pavarotti lived his life 100% or more and was a person who loved all living creatures, not just families, children, friends, humans. Alivedechi, Luciano. I sincerely think of you. I am so privileged to have known you.. Grace, thanks.

Originally published as Vol. 26 in  Weekly Biz , May 12, 2018; translated by Jim Luce.

See:  Dr. Kazuko Hillyer Tatsumura Column in Japan’s Weekly Biz

(ニューヨークビズ！)

Dr. Kazuko ,  Gaia Holistic Foundation ,  Japan ,  Japanese essay ,  Kazuko Hillyer Tatsumura

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