Luciano Pavarotti - Che Gelida Manina 1961 live (his debut!) video free download

For Mr. Mooorhe, who requested =)

Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007) Born and died in Modena, Italy, Pavarotti was an Italian tenor who was known for his seemingly effortless high Cs during the early stage of his career.

In 1961, he made his professional debut at the Teatri di Reggio Emilia, in a production of La Boheme, replacing the great Giuseppe di Stefano, who was ill that night and already beginning the premature decline of his voice, as Rodolfo.

Here is the 'Che gelida manina' from that performance.

It's been a while since I've listened to Pavarotti's debut...when I dug this recording up today, I thought to myself, 'no way is the debut che gelida going to be that good'. Good grief, I was wrong. That Pavarotti debut rendition is almost as good as di Stefano's 'Che gelidas' in his prime!

I'm sure many in the audience that night thought the same. Listen to how they gasp and try to hold their applause after Pavarotti launches a perfect C on 'la speranza'. I bet they weren't expecting that...neither was I, even though I'd listened to it before.

What really amazes me is how pure his voice sounds. As he got older, he developed more ring to his voice, which was nice, but I still like his younger voice better. In that sense the debut 'che gelida' may be my favorite Pavarotti rendition of the aria.

Enjoy.