Pavarotti (film)

Director Ron Howard, winner of the Oscar, offers a new look at the life and career of the legendary opera singer Luciano Pavarotti. Having traveled a long way from the son of a simple baker to the best tenor in history, he gathered up to 500 thousand spectators and twice got into the Guinness Book of Records. Pavarotti to this day symbolizes an unattainable height not only in art, but also in the desire to make the lives of people around the world better ^[3] .

The film was shot using the Pavarotti family archives, interviews, and live music recordings ^[4] . The creators communicated not only with wives, family members, students and colleagues of the maestro from the world of opera and rock music, but also with managers, promoters and marketers who helped Pavarotti build his phenomenal career.

The format of the picture is a three-act opera. According to the editor and, concurrently, the executive producer of the film, Paul Crowder, this decision to the creators of Pavarotti was prompted by the singer’s life itself, which can be harmoniously divided into three acts. “In the first act, he suddenly turns from a village teacher in Modena into a famous opera singer. The second act is marked by the era of the Three Tenors, which for Pavarotti is associated not only with incredible fame, but also with doubts about his own solvency. And finally, the final act is the period of Pavarotti, when he, together with friends, raised funds to help children and actively collaborated with other artists. ”

To improve the sound quality of the arias performed by Pavarotti, the Oscar-winning sound engineer Chris Jenkins (“ Mad Max: The Road of Fury ”, “ The Last of the Mohicans ”, “ From Africa ”) used the modern multi-channel Dolby Atmos sound technology in the recording studio Abbey Road ^[5] .

Ron Howard, in addition to acting as a director, also acted as a producer on the project, working with Brian Grazer, Nigel Sinclair, Genie Elfan Festa and Michael Rosenberg. David Blackman and Deacon Steiner acted as executive producers of the film ^[6] .

Soundtrack

The official soundtrack album for the film, entitled Pavarotti: Music from the Motion Picture, was released on Internet platforms and CDs on June 7, 2019 via Decca Records . The album contains a total of 22 tracks, including studio tracks and live recordings ^[7] .

Pavarotti is an American-British project, the main distributors of which are CBS Films and HanWay Films ^[8] . In Russia, the distributor of the film is the film distribution company Volga.

The trailer for the film was first shown on February 10, 2019 at the 61 Grammy Awards ceremony ^[9] . On the net, the original trailer was published by CBS Films on April 9th ^[10] . Its localized version appeared on the Internet on June 3 ^[11] .

The world premiere of the documentary "Pavarotti" took place on June 4, 2019 ^[12] . The film will be released in Russian rental on July 25 ^[13] .

On the Rotten Tomatoes portal , the film rating is 85%. It is based on 39 reviews with an average rating of 6.76 / 10. The consensus of opinion is as follows: “The film pays tribute to an outstanding cultural figure with such documentary that the creators’s obvious attachment to the object of the picture is contagious” ^[14] . Pavarotti's Metacritic website has an average rating of 67 out of 100. It is based on 14 reviews and indicates generally favorable reviews on the film ^[15] .

According to CBS News , a documentary about Pavarotti soars just like his legendary voice ^[16] . USA Today expressed the view that the film “serves as a vivid reminder of the enormous role played by the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti in the life of a generation” and that “the passionate lifestyle of a contagiously shining opera star who loves Hawaiian shirts is the most captivating element in the film” ^{[ 17]} . In The New York Times, the picture was called life-affirming ^[18] .

Among other things, the following statements about the film take place in the media: “Pavarotti, who passed away 12 years ago, thanks to Ron Howard will further increase the army of his fans” ^[19] ( The Hollywood Reporter ). “Ron Howard allows the viewer to understand what Pavarotti really was” ^[20] ( Variety ). "Howard's film is full of passion, like opera." ^[21] (National Review). “If you are not a fan of the opera, after the magnificent film“ Pavarotti ”by Ron Howard, you may have to change your mind about this art genre” ^[22] ( Deadline ).