L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, AUGUST 25, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 4 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS " I've always been my father's number one f a n . " W i t h t h e s e w o r d s , C r i s t i n a Pavarotti, Luciano Pavarotti's eldest daughter, introduced herself during the ceremony for the placement of a s t a r o n t h e H o l l y w o o d Walk of Fame dedicated to t h e g r e a t I t a l i a n t e n o r . "Undoubtedly, a privileged f a n . S o a l l o w m e t o t h a n k h i m f o r a l l t h e t i m e s h e g r a b b e d m e s u d d e n l y a n d lifted me up from the chair by the stage or from the arm- c h a i r w h e r e I w a s s i t t i n g , bringing me higher and high- er with a nuance of his voice, with a beautiful, poignant fraseggio, with a pianissimo or with a bright high note." Knight of the Grand Cross o f t h e I t a l i a n R e p u b l i c , Luciano Pavarotti received countless other honors and p r e s t i g i o u s n a t i o n a l a n d international awards. For his g r e a t c o m m i t m e n t t o humanitarian causes, the tenor was awarded, among o t h e r s , t h e A w a r d f o r Humanity Services of the International Red Cross, the Nansen Refugee Award, a n d w a s n a m e d U n i t e d N a t i o n s M e s s e n g e r o f P e a c e . T h i s S t a r , o n c e again, underlines the inter- n a t i o n a l i m p o r t a n c e o f Italian opera, a candidate to enter, starting from 2023, the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity pro- tected by UNESCO. A c c o m p a n i e d b y h e r daughter Caterina and on b e h a l f o f t h e o t h e r h e i r s Lorenza, Giuliana, and Alice P a v a r o t t i , a s w e l l a s N i c o l e t t a M a n t o v a n i , Cristina paid tribute to her father who died in 2007 at the age of 71. During the award ceremony, tradition- a l l y o r g a n i z e d b y t h e H o l l y w o o d C h a m b e r o f Commerce and held on 21 A u g u s t 2 0 2 2 a t 7 0 6 5 H o l l y w o o d B o u l e v a r d , Cristina Pavarotti welcomed t h e p r e s t i g i o u s a w a r d t o g e t h e r w i t h J a m e s Conlon, musical director of the Los Angeles Opera. We of L'Italo-Americano h a d t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o interview both of them. Cristina, how did you feel when you saw your father's name immortal- ized with those of other a r t i s t s , o n t h e m o s t f a m o u s s t r e e t i n Hollywood? It is a great honor to rep- resent him on this beautiful occasion, and I can't tell you h o w m u c h I w i s h h e w a s here. But this is not possible and so I can only share with you a few memories of him among the many that often come to mind when I think o f h i s i n c r e d i b l e a r t i s t i c adventure. Can you share some with us then? I remember, for example, w h e n a f t e r t h e p e r f o r - mances, happy, but tired and hungry, sometimes with his stage costume still on, he would keep signing auto- graphs for hours, so that no admirer would be upset. How would you like him to be remembered by people? If I think of my father, the value and quantity of things h e m a d e , t h e p a t h s h e opened, and the many emo- tions given and received, I still feel lightheaded. All I c a n s a y a b o u t h i m n e v e r seems enough to me. A c a r e e r l i k e h i s undoubtedly involved a lot of stress. How did he handle difficulties? I r e m e m b e r o n e evening... He was on stage, in front of an audience that, not knowing what to expect and perhaps fearing to be bored at an opera concert, had welcomed him quite coldly. I noticed he took up the challenge, he was gal- vanized by it and, aria after aria, just like in a ritual of Continued to page 6 Pavarotti's star shines bright on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Luciano Pavarotti in 1987 (Photo: Primo Gnani) SILVIA GIUDICI

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