50 years ago this year on September 21st 1963 the legendary Luciano Pavarotti made his first major international opera appearance, deputising for an indisposed Giuseppe di Stefano at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, a performance which brought him to the world's attention.
1963 also marked the beginning of the 27-year-old singer's relationship with Decca, the label he recorded with for his entire career, making this one of the longest exclusive relationships an artist has ever experienced with a major label. Towards the end of his life, Pavarotti said, “I have made so many wonderful recordings with Decca. The company has been a major part of my career – really, it has been part of my family.” – Luciano Pavarotti
To celebrate these momentous events, Decca is releasing the first recording ever made of Luciano Pavarotti's voice. This historic recording of the aria from La Boheme, 'Che gelida manina' ('Your tiny hand is frozen'), has been lying dormant in the archives for 50 years, only now to be unearthed, re-mastered and made commercially available for the first time.
This previously unreleased track is here amongst the 50 best recordings ever made by the man who brought opera to the masses, while remaining the critics' favourite. Pavarotti's voice made football fans the world over fall in love with opera, when his version of 'Nessun Dorma' from Puccini's Turandot was used by the BBC as the theme tune for the coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. The enormous success of The Three Tenors followed when Pavarotti teamed up with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, and truly bridged the gap between opera and pop culture.
These 50 recordings, across just two CDs, have been digitally remastered for 'Pavarotti 50 Greatest Tracks', making this album the definitive, expertly selected survey of the singer's recorded output. The collection takes the listener from 'Nessun Dorma' to 'Caruso', 'La Donna E Mobile' to 'Granada' and incredible duets with fellow superstars Frank Sinatra, Bono, Eric Clapton and Sting, celebrating these milestones in the late-opera star's long and unprecedented career.
