Luciano Pavarotti
On the occasion of the birth of his son, Luciano, Fernando Pavarotti obtained a five-day leave. It was the 12th of October 1935 and the young father did not even have time to change out of his uniform: he rushed to the hospital in Modena to embrace his child and his adored wife Adele. "Lucianino" immediately revealed his vocal talents: he shrieked so loud that the doctor said "what a high-spirited little voice, he'll grow up to be a tenor".

As he grew older, he continued to live up to these expectations. At the age of four he used to climb onto the kitchen table, give the cue for the lights to be turned off and sing La donna è mobile, much to the delight of his whole family. His first audience consisted of his parents, his grandmother Giulia, of whom he was deeply fond, his great-grandmother and aunts; in 1940 they were joined by his sister Gabriella, who was to become his inseparable childhood companion. The lively young Luciano was especially fascinated by his father, who was a baker by profession but had a beautiful voice and sang in the Corale Rossini of Modena. He never tired of repeating "my father is a tenor, I'm a "tenorino" and spent hours listening to recordings of great singers from his father's vast collection.

Luciano spent a carefree childhood, full of outdoor fun and games played with his sister and cousin and enjoyed the warm affection and indulgence of all the women in the family. His mother Adele worked in a tobacco factory and often left him in the care of his grandmother Giulia. But Pavarotti also had a very close, intense relationship with his parents: a relationship among free, independent individuals who were deeply united at crucial moments - indeed they even took votes before making decisions. When Luciano finished teachers' training-college they voted to decide whether he should become a gym instructor or study singing, though the pursuit of a career as a professional tenor was an arduous and uncertain enterprise. And yet his destiny seemed settled, practically foreordained.

Thus the young Pavarotti, who had already been singing together with his father in the Modena Choir for some time, began to attend the lessons of the maestro Arrigo Pola, whose principles and rules would guide him throughout his long career. Three years later Pola, a tenor by profession, went to work in Japan and

Luciano continued his studies with the maestro Ettore Campogalliani, under whose guidance he perfected his phrasing and concentration. These are, and will remain always, his only and most highly esteemed maestros.

In 1955 he travelled to Wales with the Corale Rossini, which won a prestigious contest among choruses from all over the world. For Luciano it was a very important moment: public recognition and above all a new exciting singing adventure to be shared with his father Fernando.

However, it was in 1961 that Pavarotti made his real debut in the singing world by winning the international "Achille Peri" prize. 1961 was indeed a fundamental year in the tenor's life, a sort of watershed marking the passage from youth to maturity. It was the year in which he got his driver's license, married Adua Veroni after an engagement of eight years and - above all - it was the year of his first professional triumph: on the 29th of April Luciano Pavarotti debuted at the Teatro Municipale of Reggio Emilia, singing the part of Rodolfo in a widely applauded performance of Bohème conducted by Francesco Molinari Pradelli.