Italian tenor-megastar Luciano Pavarotti always retained particularly fond memories of his early performances in Dublin – even after his career “took off” and he was in huge demand he could still be lured back for concerts in 1979 and 1980 followed by a huge “event” of a concert at the RDS in 1990 – which at the time was possibly the biggest “gig” that Ireland had ever witnessed! His farewell to Dublin took place at the Point in 2005.
But the story of his association with Ireland began a little earlier than that – with “Madama Butterfly” in Belfast and a concert appearance in Dundalk – it was celebrated with a radio documentary in 2021: “A Fiver for a Tenor”
“A Fiver for a Tenor” (2021)
Luciano Pavarotti. To the vast majority of Irish opera lovers the name did not register in that early summer of 1963. As far as they were concerned the only tenor in the news was Giuseppe di Stefano. But Colonel O’Kelly believed that before long Luciano Pavarotti’s name would be well known in the operatic sphere. He had engaged him to sing in that season’s “Rigoletto”, having first heard him in Loreto in Italy. One Sunday the Colonel found himself in Rome with impresario Maestro Botti and with not a lot to do – the previous day they had completed auditions in the city. ‘Maestro, is there any opera worth seeing anywhere tonight?’ he asked Botti, who shook his head as if to indicate nothing of importance. O’Kelly persisted and Botti told him there was a performance of “La Traviata” in the town of Loreto in Perugia but that was some distance from Rome. ‘Never mind,’ said the Colonel, ‘let’s go and look for ourselves.’ He had often relied on his instincts and discovered a talented tenor or soprano. He had to admit though that the “Traviata” was pedestrian and the production dull and unimaginative. Vocally it was undistinguished except for the tenor’s performance as Alfredo and had to check the programme for his name: Luciano Pavarotti. He was tall, thin and had an easy ringing top to his voice and an attractive tonal quality. Since Maestro Botti was slow to commit himself, his response wasn’t enthusiastic when O’ Kelly suggested that Pavarotti would make an acceptable Duke of Mantua for them. He got his way and before he left for Ireland that week it was agreed to sign the tenor on the dotted line. Pavarotti was in his late twenties and from a musical background – his father was a baker and also blessed with a tenor voice. Young Luciano was twelve when he was brought to the local Modena theatre to hear Beniamino Gigli in concert and for the next two hours his eyes were transfixed to the stage. Although Gigli’s voice was familiar to him through his father’s almost worn-out records, he was thrilled to be close to the great tenor and to hear him sing. To get even closer to his idol, he rushed round afterwards to meet him and said, ‘When I grow up I’m going to be a tenor too.’ Gigli, by now in his fifties, looked at the sturdy boy before him and remarked, ‘Bravo. But you will have to work hard, and realise that every time you sing you start all over again; you never stop singing.’ Pavarotti was to say later on, ‘I can’t tell you what an impression that made on me. Beniamino was world-famous, acknowledged by everyone to be one of the finest singers of all time; yet he was still working to improve his artistry, still studying. I think about that every day, and I hope I am the same, that I will always keep the desire to become better.’ Eventually he discovered he had a good tenor voice and told his parents he wanted to be an opera singer. His self-confidence seemed justified for early in 1961 he entered a singing competition and won first prize. The prize was the role of Rodolfo in “Boheme” in Reggio Emilia, which is about twenty-five miles from Modena, and there he joined a company of singers, all hopeful but penniless. The opera was directed by Mafalda Favero, a famous singer in her day and young Luciano says he learned some stagecraft and movement from her. He was very nervous though before the actual performance mainly because of his fear of conductor Maestro Molinari-Pradelli who had given him a tough time in rehearsal. But he sang well and felt very good after the audience loudly applauded his ‘Che gelida manina.’ On the way home his father cautioned him. ‘It was very nice Luciano, very nice, but you still don’t sound like Gigli and Schipa. You must work harder.’ He was more encouraged by what the Nova Gazette di Reggio Emila had to say: ‘The tenor Luciano Pavarotti sang with estimable good taste and with vivid musicality, likewise displaying vocal equipment both penetrating and flexible. He was liked more than his colleagues.’ By this time be had fallen in love with a young teacher and they were married in September 1962. She had no doubt he could make a living from singing. ‘If I don’t I’ll go back to selling newspapers,’ he joked to his pretty, dark-haired young wife. He sang a few more “Bohemes” in Lucca but he feared they had not gone as well as his first in Reggio Emilia. He was astonished to be visited after one performance by another of his idols, Tito Schipa, and the veteran tenor assured him that his voice was beautiful. ‘You should sing just as you are singing and don’t listen to anybody,’ he advised. ‘Do not push your voice to sound like anyone else.’
In May of ’63 Luciano got the break he needed. Before he was due to sing in Dublin he was engaged to sing Pinkerton for Northern Ireland Opera Company. A number of opera fans from Dublin and Dundalk attended the performance of “Madama Butterfly” at the Opera House, Belfast. Frances O’Gorman and her Gramophone Society friends from Dundalk remember enjoying the performance and afterwards meeting the young tenor. Looking back, she says he had one of the most charming voices she had heard for a long time. And off-stage he had a warm and genial personality and good sense of humour. They decided to book for the DGOS “Rigoletto” in May of that year. Maureen Lemass and her DGOS friends were impressed by Pavarotti’s Pinkerton, especially his range and ringing high Cs. As in the case of Frances O’Gorman, they too felt he would make an ideal Duke of Mantua. En route to Dublin the tenor joined other Italian artists from Dublin to sing in a celebrity concert at the Town Hall, Dundalk. The annual concerts were organised by Father Shields and the Gramophone Society committee and usually there was a clamour for tickets and the hall would be sold out long before curtain up. Apart from Pavarotti, the other performers were Plinio Clabassi, Anna di Stasio, Loris Gambelli, Ernesto Vezzosi and Margherita Rinaldi. The accompanist was Maestro Annovazzi and it was customary for Colonel O’Kelly, Bertie Timlin and other DGOS management committee members to attend. Frances O’Gorman recalled that Luciano Pavarotti created an excellent impression in such arias as ‘Che gelida manina’, ‘La Donna e mobile’ and in the love duet from “Madama Butterfly”. That week-end he slipped into Dublin a virtual unknown. Chorus members could be forgiven for treating him like any other young Italian artist; indeed the main interest in “Rigoletto” was in Piero Cappuccilli’s portrayal of the jester and in Margherita Rinaldi’s Gilda. The chorus members were usually fairly good judges of singers with potential, but in the case of Pavarotti I found that Tom Carney’s words seemed to sum up the general reaction. ‘We didn’t take a great deal of notice of Pavarotti at rehearsals,’ he said. ‘I did get the impression though that he was on his way up. He was a quiet personality then, making his way socially and musically.’ John Carney felt his voice projected easily and he had no trouble at all singing the Duke of Mantua’s music. To Monica Condron, he was musical and approached his music seriously. ‘I would imagine he was ambitious and eager to get on, though in those days he appeared somewhat shy. Of course he was, singing with the society for the first time and didn’t know anyone really. Bill O’Kelly mixed with the guest singers and tried to make them feel at home. He encouraged the chorus members to talk to them and have a cup of tea with them.’ Aileen Walsh said they were always delighted to get singers on the way up. For one thing, they didn’t cost a lot and sometimes you got a real discovery. Joan Rooney remembers Pavarotti as tall and good-looking and a natural tenor but she saw nothing that indicated he would one day be a superstar. Paddy Brennan recalls that Pavarotti studied the role of Riccardo in “A Masked Ball” with Umberto Borso, but unfortunately he was never to sing it in Dublin. ‘Borso was an excellent Riccardo so Pavarotti was in very good hands. Because of the fuss being made about di Stefano, I think that Luciano had little hope of capturing the limelight, but he had the notes for the Duke of Mantua and You could spot the potential in his voice. He had a long way to go, however, before he would be in any way convincing as an actor.’ That season’s Rigoletto is remembered as superb. Donnie Potter felt that Cappuccilli, Rinaldi and Pavarotti made a fine trio of principals. But the opening night took place with some tension bchind the scenes. The Pope of the time, John XXIII was gravely ill and expected to die. Colonel O’Kelly was on tenterhooks all day because the custom in Ireland at the time was that if His Holiness died during the day, performances must be cancelled; if he died after the first interval, the performance would be completed, and the following day’s performances cancelled. Another problem was that in the event of cancellation the society would have to return the ticket money but would still have to pay the singers’ fees. In the circumstances, Col. O’Kelly did not think it improper to let “Rigoletto” go ahead despite the fact that the Pope had died. He had somehow managed to keep the news from everyone until the curtain rose. At the interval, though, an announcement was made about the Pontiff’s death. Pavarotti would say later that the company knew all evening that the Pope had died. The critics generally picked out Pavarotti as promising though Charles Acton in the Irish Times commented, ‘The tenor seemed to have a hard unsympathetic voice of very little variety.’ Mary MacGoris was more impressed. ‘He was extremely convincing. As the all-powerful amoral Duke his voice is clear, strong, agile and efficient, if a trifle slightly produced, though he should remember that “La donna e mobile”, the well-known aria, is a careless song however difficult to sing.’
Pavarotti at the Gaiety – 20th December 1979
An enterprising member of the chorus set their cassette recorder rolling in the wings and preserved the second of these wonderfully convivial concerts on 20th December 1979; Pavarotti was in fine form for the occasion chatting with the Gaiety audience beween items – some of whom he knew – he also sings Adeste Fideles with the DGOS Chorus. Whilst not a high-quality recording, it nevertheless preserves the flavour of the occasion.
Luciano Pavarotti in Ireland 1957-2005
The celebrated Italian Tenor was born in Modena 12 Oct 1935 and died there on the 5th September 2007. He participated in the Cork International Choral Festival in 1957, which marked his first appearance in Ireland, singing as a member of the Societa Corale Gioacchino Rossini from his home town; his father, Fernando, was also a member of the Corale.
Prior to his first Dublin appearances in May 1963 he had sung the role of Lieut. B.F.Pinkerton in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” at Belfast’s Grand Opera House for the local Grand Opera Society.
He also sang in a concert in Dundalk during that May 1963 visit.
The Dublin Grand Opera Society [later to become Opera Ireland] was founded in 1941 by Bill O’Kelly and a like-minded group of enthusiasts and presented two seasons of Opera each year in the Gaiety Theatre, South King St, Dublin. From 1955 to 1965 the Spring Season was facilitated by a generous subvention from the Italian Government which meant that Dublin audiences heard and saw the cream of Italian vocal talent. Radio Eireann provided the full resources of the RTESO which underpinned the high musical standards attained.
The DGOS 1963 Spring Season came to be known as the year of the tenors! The headline attraction was undoubtedly the Dublin debut of one of the world’s leading singers – let alone tenors – Giuseppe Di Stefano in one of his signature roles – the painter, Mario Cavaradossi in “Tosca.” ln recital, Dublin heard Ferrucio Tagliavini, the foremost “tenore di grazia” of the day and acknowledged successor to the legendary Tito Schipa, in his first and only Dublin appearance. Umberto Borso, a regular visitor since 1957, would be heard in both “Un Ballo in Maschera” and “Aida.” Three tenors new to Dublin were Carlo Menippo as Macduff in “Macbeth”; Ugo Benelli in “La Sonnambula” (he would continue to captivate lrish audiences in both Dublin and Wexford for over 30 years) and the 27 year old Luciano Pavarotti as the Duke in “Rigoletto.”
In the summer of 1962 the DGOS Chairman Bill O’Kelly had seen the young Pavarotti in Loreto , Italy singing Alfredo in “La Traviata” and promptly arranged a contract for the following year.
His first appearances in Dublin in that 1963 “Rigoletto” were pivotal in the way his career flourished and developed.
In his book – Pavarotti MY OWN STORY [1981] – the tenor credits an Irish woman with arranging his first appearance in a major international opera house. Joan Ingpen was Controller of Opera Planning at the Royal Opera in London and was a regular visitor to DGOS productions searching out new talent. She liked what she saw and heard in Pavarotti’s Duke and offered him a contract to cover Di Stefano in the September 1963 run of Puccini’s “La Boheme” in London, with the promise of singing the final performance. ln the event Di Stefano cancelled after the first performance and Luciano’s fame was sealed.
Two further significant milestones in his career arose out of his Royal Opera House debut: first Glyndebourne offered him the role of Idamante in Mozart’s “Idomeneo” for summer 1964 – which he duly accepted and as he said himself – the music staff in Glyndebourne and particularly Jani Strasser taught him to sing in the Mozart style – piano and legato. Secondly he met up with Richard Bonynge and Joan Sutherland who were planning a tour of Australia for 1965. For them he was a godsend – a tall tenor who could sing her repertoire and for him he got to work for 3 months with them which in his own words ‘was the final important experience of my education as a singer’.
Last but by no means least, Di Stefano also cancelled an appearance on ITV flagship “Sunday Night at the Palladium” that September 1963; Luciano stepped in and he became a household name.
He also distinguished himself on the football pitch during that first Dublin visit when he took part in a kick-about in the Phoenix Park with fellow Italians, members of the Stage staff, orchestra and chorus which had been organised by fellow Italian, Plinio Clabassi! I should remember this event … I was goalkeeper on the ‘Italo/Coro Dublino’ Team and, because I brought the ball, Sgr. Clabassi ruled that I should play in goal for our team, a position Luciano wanted for himself. Nonetheless his skills and speed on and off the ball impressed us all. For a big man he had remarkable agility and dexterity on the football pitch.
Luciano returned to Dublin the following year as Rodolfo in “La Boheme”[Listen to it here] and Alfredo in “La Traviata”[Listen to it here] .
It was Bill O’Kelly’s fervent wish to bring Pavarotti back to Dublin. After many false starts a contract was agreed for 2 concerts in the Gaiety Theatre for December 1979http://rec.. Alas Bill O’Kelly died on the 7th November just 6 weeks before his dream was realised.
When Sgr. Pavarotti wrote expressing his extreme sorrow on hearing of the death Colonel O’Kelly, for whom he had very great affection, he stated that he was really regarding his return to Dublin as a gesture of friendship to Colonel O’Kelly as much as a pleasant artistic event. Keenly interested in horse riding and Equestrian events, it was during this Dublin visit that he bought his first horses, a 14 year old hunter named Shaughran and a 4 year old gelding called Herbie. Both were transferred to his new house and stables outside Modena, where he later built an arena and organised show jumping events, followed in later years by pop concerts. He sent his teenage daughters and other family members to the Iris Kellett School in Kill, County Kildare to learn horse riding and horse management and made a number of private visits to the RDS in Dublin for the Annual Horse Show.
Pavarotti returned to Dublin 4 April 1990 for a concert in the RDS Simmonscourt Arena with the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland conducted by Leone Magiera, in association with the Dublin Grand Opera Society.
He was back in Dublin the following year for a concert in the Point Theatre which was relayed to an enthusiastic crowd in College Green as part of the Dublin 1991 European Year of Culture celebrations.
Irish impresario Jim Aiken had Pavarotti play in his native Belfast 11 September 1999, bantering with the big man’s manager over the choice of venue. Pavarotti’s man said the singer would play anywhere there was a castle or where the Pope had visited. Aiken retorted, with a typical mischievous smile, he’d do better than that and provide a venue the Pope would never visit – Stormont Castle. The Italian tenor sang an aria from Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly”, which he had sung for his Belfast debut on 7th May 1963, at the outdoor concert at Parliament Buildings in Stormont, a location more ‘famous for its intense political negotiations than operatic arias’.
The tenor’s 2005 farewell tour Dublin concert scheduled for May 24 was cancelled due to illness and took place on Sept 7 in the Point Theatre http://rec%20to%20follow..
Paddy Brennan
A short TV report of his 1990 Dublin concert can be viewed here; and with minor variations here and here.
News of Pavarotti’s death in September 2007 provoked an outpouring in the Irish press – including some front page coverage and extensive feature articles:
Opera in Ireland 