ScreenWize

Opera tends to pass a large portion of the general public by completely unnoticed. I’ll let that statement shock the opera lovers among you, but it happens to be true. One of the few exceptions to this rule, however, was Luciano Pavarotti. He was no oil painting, he lacked anything resembling sex appeal, but he was one of the few artists of the genre who managed to cross over into mass awareness. His voice was, of course, arresting, but he had a deadly combination of good humour, genuine heart, and the talent for collaboration with very marketable friends, and this is what made him a recognisable figure across borders and across generations.

Tribute to Pavarotti is a concert movie of the October 2008 gala staged in Petra, Jordan, featuring Pavarotti’s friends. Apparently the man didn’t have anything but famous, gifted friends, and the lineup includes opera greats like Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli and even Sting.

This is a pretty standard concert film. The staging is marvellous, set against the stunning cliffs of Petra, and lit so that both the orchestra and the cliffs behind them are very much part of the show. Shot in high definition, a somewhat unforgiving medium, the cast look alternatively jaundiced, or as wrinkled and lined as a relief map. But the technical work by production director James Baggott and his entirely imported crew is solid and unobtrusive. What is important is the music, and it is, for the most part, fantastic. The highlights for me were Placido Domingo’s solo, Cynthia Lawrence’s Vissi d’arte from Tosca, flutist Andrea Griminelli’s ‘Gabriel’s Oboe’ from The Mission, and a touching farewell with footage of Pavarotti himself nailing Neesun Dorma. Other great moments include watching Sting trying his hardest not to steal glances down the décolletage of Angela Gheorghiu as they duet together, and Sherrill Milnes wearing what appear to be his mother’s curtains.

Weak moments are the interviews that bookend the film, and the backstage discussions with artists that often do nothing but kill any emotion the musical pieces may have inspired. I also found that while I am sure the sound levels were very respectful to the demographic of the audience, I wanted that concert experience. I wanted volume. Tribute to Pavarotti should appeal to anyone with a genuine love of music – there is a good mix of classical, pop and rock in with the opera, but cash up before you come – this is billed as a ‘premium event’ and the tickets are priced accordingly.

CK

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon