2007年VOA标准英语-Italian Opera Star Pavarotti Dead at 71

By John Stevenson
Washington
06 September 2007

Hailed as one of the last century's greatest tenors², Luciano Pavarotti died September 6 in Modena, Italy at the age of 71. He was considered one of the last in the line of classic Italian tenors. Pavarotti earned the nickname "King of the High C's" after executing a string of high notes in Donizetti's opera Daughter of the Regiment³, which has long been considered a challenging work for tenors. His large, rich voice and endearing personality made him a favorite with music lovers around the world. VOA's John Stevenson recalls the career of Luciano Pavarotti.

Luciano Pavarotti (2005 file photo)

A New York Times newspaper critic once commented that "God has kissed the vocal⁴ chords" of Luciano Pavarotti. The opera star distinguished⁵ himself as the master of "bel canto⁶" works, or those that require pure tones and exact articulation⁷ in the higher register of notes.

Born in Modena, Italy, in 1935, Pavarotti was first encouraged to sing during his early childhood. His parents often played recordings⁹ by great Italian tenors such as Caruso and Gigli. Aspiring¹⁰ to a career as a professional soccer player, Pavarotti decided¹¹ to earn a teaching degree, and was an instructor¹² at an elementary school for two years. His father encouraged him to continue with voice lessons, which paid off when he won a singing contest in 1961, and was offered a role in a local production of Puccini's opera, La Boheme.

During the early-1960s, Pavarotti appeared in other operas, where he enraptured¹³ audiences with his powerful voice and his ability to soar through difficult musical passages. In 1965, he made his American debut¹⁴ with the Greater Miami Opera Company in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and in 1968, he appeared for the first time at the Metropolitan¹⁵ Opera in New York City, performing as Rodolfo in La Boheme.

As Pavarotti's voice grew in richness and depth, he expanded his repertoire¹⁶ to include works by Verdi, Mozart and other composers. Admitting to being a slave to his throat, Pavarotti once said that tenors were like athletes and had to constantly train to maintain muscle control.

"That's absolutely true. You have to be like an athlete," he said. "You have to do it every day. It doesn't mean that you have to destroy yourself. Sometimes 10 minutes is enough, but the instrument should always be there."

By the early-1980s, he had earned his place as one of the world's leading opera figures. Television performances of some of his greatest roles helped Pavarotti broaden his audience and sustain his position of classical music superstar. In 1986, 250 million Chinese listeners heard his Beijing performance of La Boheme.

Pavarotti also became famous for his free, outdoor concerts, which included arias¹⁷ as well as popular tunes¹⁸ from his native Italy. The 1990 recording⁸ of the "Three Tenors" concert in Rome, featuring Pavarotti with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, sold millions of copies. Pavarotti's free concert in New York's Central Park drew a crowd of 500,000 fans. Surprisingly, Pavarotti suffered from pre-concert stage fright, saying that he dreaded¹⁹ the moments right before going onstage rather than the actual singing.

"Yes, because before [you go onstage], you don't know what is going to happen," he said. "The moment you are putting your feet on the stage, you realize what is the situation of your voice, of your body. More than everything, there is a click that happens when you are there to make you become another person. The 15 minutes before, you really would like to be somebody else."

Pavarotti's 1993 Central Park Concert was a reaffirmation of his popularity and his confidence following painful knee surgery and a strict, weight-loss diet. He received tumultuous applause from the audience as well as praise from the critics. He embraced the rock and pop fields with the release of Pavarotti And Friends, a charity concert that featured the renowned²⁰ opera star singing with British rocker Sting, The Neville Brothers, and Queen guitarist Brian May. In 1993, Pavarotti and fellow tenor¹ Placido Domingo celebrated²¹ the 25th anniversary of their debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera.

Pavarotti avoided the question of retiring, saying that his audience would let him know when it was time.

"How much longer would I like to sing? I don't know," he said. "You tell me how much longer. That is not my decision. I'm going to sing until they want me. A couple of years ago, I was thinking about retirement²² because I did not feel well for certain reasons. But today, I really feel good, and it's not on my mind for the moment."

Pavarotti was also known for his humanitarian²³ works. In 1988, he performed a concert to benefit victims of an earthquake in Armenia that killed 25,000 people. During the Bosnian war in the 1990s, he collected aid with U2 lead singer Bono.

In July 2006, as he was about to resume a tour, doctors diagnosed the singer with pancreatic cancer, one of the most dangerous forms of the disease. He underwent surgery, and cancelled the remainder of his concerts.

In a statement announcing Pavarotti's death, his manager, Terry Robson, said, "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer that eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing²⁴ to the last stages of the illness."

Opera great Luciano Pavarotti, dead at age 71.

1 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

2 tenors   

n.男高音( tenor的名词复数 )；大意；男高音歌唱家；（文件的）抄本

参考例句：

• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration. 3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His one -- a-kind packaging thrilled an opera world ever-hungry for tenors. 他一对一类包装激动世界的歌剧以往任何时候都渴望的男高音。 来自互联网

3 regiment   

n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制

参考例句：

• As he hated army life,he decide to desert his regiment.因为他嫌恶军队生活，所以他决心背弃自己所在的那个团。
• They reformed a division into a regiment.他们将一个师整编成为一个团。

4 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

5 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

6 canto   

n.长篇诗的章

参考例句：

• It's the fourth canto of Byron's "Childe Harold".这是拜伦长诗《恰尔德·哈罗尔德游记》的第四章。
• The Fifth Canto of the Srimad Bhagavatam tells of innumerable universes.《圣典博伽瓦谭》第五篇讲述了有无数宇宙存在。

7 articulation   

n.（清楚的）发音；清晰度，咬合

参考例句：

• His articulation is poor.他发音不清楚。
• She spoke with a lazy articulation.她说话慢吞吞的。

8 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

9 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

10 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

11 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

12 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。

13 enraptured   

v.使狂喜( enrapture的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was enraptured that she had smiled at him. 她对他的微笑使他心荡神驰。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were enraptured to meet the great singer. 他们和大名鼎鼎的歌手见面，欣喜若狂。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

15 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

16 repertoire   

n.(准备好演出的)节目，保留剧目；(计算机的)指令表，指令系统， <美>(某个人的)全部技能；清单，指令表

参考例句：

• There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
• He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。

17 arias   

n.咏叹调( aria的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Can you pick out the operatic arias quoted in this orchestral passage? 你能听出这段管弦乐曲里有歌剧式的咏叹调吗？ 来自辞典例句
• The actions are large and colour, there are arias and recitatives. 动作夸张而华美，有唱段也有宣叙部。 来自辞典例句

18 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 dreaded   

adj.令人畏惧的；害怕的v.害怕，恐惧，担心( dread的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• The dreaded moment had finally arrived. 可怕的时刻终于来到了。
• He dreaded having to spend Christmas in hospital. 他害怕非得在医院过圣诞节不可。 来自《用法词典》

20 renowned   

adj.著名的，有名望的，声誉鹊起的

参考例句：

• He is one of the world's renowned writers.他是世界上知名的作家之一。
• She is renowned for her advocacy of human rights.她以提倡人权而闻名。

21 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

22 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

23 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

24 succumbing   

不再抵抗（诱惑、疾病、攻击等）( succumb的现在分词 )； 屈从； 被压垮； 死

参考例句：

• Mrs. Smith washed and ironed clothes for him, succumbing to him. 史密斯太太被他迷住了，愿意为他洗衣烫衣。
• They would not in the end abandon their vital interests by succumbing to Soviet blandishment. 他们最终决不会受苏联人的甜言蜜语的诱惑，从而抛弃自己的切身利益。