This October marks 90 years since the birth of the legendary Luciano Pavarotti. To celebrate, Decca Records is launching a year-long campaign honoring the iconic opera singer. The PAVAROTTI 90 festivities kicked off on July 12 in North Wales. Pavarotti’s widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, returned to the site of his first international performance at the 1955 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod. There, a 19-year-old Pavarotti sang with his father in the Corale Rossini choir, winning against 22 choirs from around the world. Mantovani reflected, “It was the beginning of everything. Luciano often said that without Llangollen, there would have been no career.”
Pavarotti returned to Llangollen 40 years later for a memorable performance, which will be featured on the upcoming live album, The Lost Concert: Live from Llangollen (1995). Set to release on November 21, the album captures a powerful night with Pavarotti at his best. He told the audience, “Forty years ago, my God — it seems to be just yesterday for me. I always say the most memorable day in my life is when I won this competition, because it was with all my friends.”
The Lost Concert will come with a 100-page book filled with essays, photos, and archival material. It also includes two recordings of the Corale Rossini from 1955, believed to be the earliest recordings of Pavarotti’s voice, plus a rare interview about that pivotal performance. A film version of The Lost Concert will be available on BluRay.
In addition to The Lost Concert, PAVAROTTI 90 will feature Novanta, a 74-track compilation of Pavarotti’s career highlights, including early studio recordings and duets with stars like Bono and Elton John. Novanta releases on October 10. Don’t miss out on ordering The Lost Concert!
