Pavarotti & Friends

Last updated

Pavarotti & Friends was a series of benefit concerts hosted by Italian operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti between 1992 and 2003 in his home town of Modena, Italy. Proceeds from the events were donated to humanitarian causes including the international aid agency War Child [1] and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. [2] The concerts featured Pavarotti performing with special musical guests [3] and each concert was released as a compilation album and DVD under London Records/Decca Records.

Contents

Concerts

From left, journalist Vincenzo Mollica, Luciano Pavarotti, Lucio Dalla e Zucchero on the first edition (1992) Lucio Dalla, Pavarotti e Zucchero al Pavarotti e friends 1992.jpg
From left, journalist Vincenzo Mollica, Luciano Pavarotti, Lucio Dalla e Zucchero on the first edition (1992)

Ten benefit concerts were held between 1992 and 2003. The concerts have been broadcast in various countries and each concert was released as a compilation album and DVD under London Records/Decca Records. The Pavarotti & Friends Collection: The Complete Concerts, 1992–2000, a DVD featuring the first eight concerts, was released in November 2002 under Decca. [4]

Pavarotti & Friends (1992)

The first Pavarotti & Friends concert was held on 27 September 1992, featuring guest stars Sting, Bob Geldof, Brian May and Mike Oldfield. A compilation album and DVD was released under Decca Records. [5] The compilation album sold 120,000 units in the US [6] and around 1.5 million units worldwide. [1]

Pavarotti & Friends 2 (1994)

Pavarotti & Friends 2 took place on 13 September 1994, and featured guest performances by Bryan Adams, Andreas Vollenweider, Nancy Gustafson, Giorgia and Andrea Bocelli. A compilation album and DVD was released under London Records (now Decca Records) and sold around 1 million copies worldwide. [6] [1]

Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Bosnia (1995)

Pavarotti & Friends 1995 Pavarotti&Friends 1995.jpg
Pavarotti & Friends 1995

Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Bosnia took place on 12 September 1995 in support of the War Child charity, specifically to benefit war-torn Bosnia. [1] The concert featured guest performances by Bono, Meat Loaf, Simon Le Bon, Michael Bolton, The Edge, Brian Eno and Dolores O'Riordan. [7] [8] The concert was broadcast on PBS [1] and a compilation album and DVD was released under London Records (now Decca Records). [9]

Pavarotti & Friends for War Child (1996)

Elton John with Luciano Pavarotti (1996) Elton John with Luciano Pavarotti in Modena 1996.jpg
Elton John with Luciano Pavarotti (1996)

The Pavarotti & Friends for War Child concert was held on 20 June 1996. Proceeds from the concert were donated to the international aid agency, War Child, specifically in aid of children in Bosnia. The concert featured guest performances by Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Eric Clapton, Liza Minnelli and Joan Osborne. [10] [11] The compilation arrived at position 19 in Danish Chart. [12]

Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia (1998)

The Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia was held on 9 June 1998, in support of the War Child charity, specifically to benefit the orphans of war-torn Liberia. [13] The concert was directed by Spike Lee and featured guest performances by Stevie Wonder, Celine Dion, Jon Bon Jovi, Spice Girls, Trisha Yearwood, Natalie Cole and The Corrs. The concert was broadcast on BBC and PBS, [14] and on syndication in the US, [15] [16] and also released as a compilation album and DVD. [17]

Pavarotti & Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo (1999)

The Pavarotti & Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo concert was held on 1 June 1999, and raised $1 million for War Child programs to aid young refugees from Kosovo and Guatemala. [18] [19] The concert featured guest performances by Mariah Carey, Ricky Martin, B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Boyzone, Lionel Richie, Gianni Morandi, Renato Zero and Gloria Estefan. [20] The concert was released as a compilation DVD and album. [21]

Pavarotti & Friends for Cambodia and Tibet (2000)

The Pavarotti & Friends for Cambodia and Tibet concert took place on 6 June 2000, in support of a number of charities to benefit children in Cambodia and Tibet. The concert featured guest performers including George Michael, Eurythmics, Aqua, Enrique Iglesias, Monica Naranjo, Darren Hayes, Caetano Veloso, Tracy Chapman, Irene Grandi and Skunk Anansie. [22] Special guests included the Dalai Lama who opened the event. [23]

Pavarotti & Friends for Afghanistan (2001)

The Pavarotti & Friends for Afghanistan concert took place on 29 May 2001 to raise money for Afghanistan refugees through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) programme. The concert featured guest performances by Tom Jones, Barry White, George Benson, Anastacia, Deep Purple, Bond and Morcheeba, as well as guest appearances by actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and designer Donatella Versace. [24] [3] The concert raised $3.3 million for its cause. [18]

Pavarotti & Friends for Angola (2002)

The Pavarotti & Friends for Angola benefit concert took place on 28 May 2002 to raise money for Angolan refugees through the UNHCR programme. Guest performers included Andrea Bocelli, James Brown, Elisa, Grace Jones, Gino Paoli, Sting and Lou Reed. [25]

Pavarotti & Friends for SOS Iraq (2003)

The Pavarotti & Friends for SOS Iraq concert was held on 27 May 2003 to raise money for Iraqi refugees in Iran through the UNHCR programme. The concert featured guest performances by Bono, Queen, Eric Clapton, Deep Purple, Ricky Martin, Andrea Bocelli, Lionel Richie, Laura Pausini, Zucchero and Maná, and raised over €2 million for the UNHCR cause. [2] [18]

Criticism

There was some criticism with regards to Pavarotti, a classically-trained opera singer, performing pop songs with pop stars at his charity concerts. Pavarotti responded to the critics saying: "Some say the word pop is a derogatory word to say 'not important'—I do not accept that. If the word classic is the word to say 'boring,' I do not accept. There is good and bad music." [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayley Westenra</span> New Zealand singer (born 1987)

Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand classical crossover singer. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached number one on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide, making it one of the fastest selling albums in her country's history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luciano Pavarotti</span> Italian operatic tenor (1935–2007)

Luciano Pavarotti was an Italian operatic tenor who during the late part of his career crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most acclaimed tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for his tone, and gaining the nickname "King of the High Cs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Corrs</span> Irish musical group

The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings: Andrea, Sharon, Caroline and Jim. They are from Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Bocelli</span> Italian tenor (born 1958)

Andrea Bocelli is an Italian tenor. After performing evenings in piano bars and competing in local singing contests, Bocelli signed his first recording contract with Sugar Music. He rose to fame in 1994, winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing "Il mare calmo della sera".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Three Tenors</span> Operatic singing group

The Three Tenors were an operatic singing trio, active between 1990 and 2003, and termed as a supergroup consisting of Italian Luciano Pavarotti and Spaniards Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. The trio began their collaboration with a performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy, on 7 July 1990, the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final, watched by a global television audience of around 800 million. The image of three tenors in formal evening dress singing in a World Cup concert captivated the global audience. The recording of this debut concert became the best-selling classical album of all time and led to additional performances and live albums. They performed to a global television audience at three further World Cup Finals: 1994 in Los Angeles, 1998 in Paris, and 2002 in Yokohama. They also toured other cities around the world, usually performing in stadiums or similar large arenas to huge audiences. They last performed together at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on 28 September 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zucchero Fornaciari</span> Italian musician (born 1955)

Adelmo Fornaciari, more commonly known by his stage name Zucchero Fornaciari or simply Zucchero, is an Italian singer, musician and songwriter. His stage name is the Italian word for "sugar", as his elementary teacher used to call him. His music is largely inspired by gospel, soul, blues and rock music, and alternates between Italian ballads and more rhythmic R&B-boogie-like pieces. He is credited as the "father of Italian blues", introducing blues to the big stage in Italy. He is one of the few European blues artists who still enjoys great international success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War Child (charity)</span> Non-governmental organisation

War Child International is a independent non-government organization founded in 1993 by film-makers Bill Leeson, David Wilson, and peace activist Willemijn Verloop. The organization work with parents, caregivers, community members, NGOs, governments, corporations, and other partners worldwide to ensure children have access to protection, education and psychosocial support. War Child's works rooted in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miss Sarajevo</span> 1995 single by U2 and Brian Eno

"Miss Sarajevo" is a song by Irish rock band U2 and British musician Brian Eno, credited to the pseudonym "Passengers". It was released on 20 November 1995 as the only single from their album Original Soundtracks 1. Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti makes a vocal appearance, singing the opera solo. The song was written about a group of women who held a beauty pageant during the Siege of Sarajevo as an act of defiance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anoushka Shankar</span> British-American musician (born 1981)

Anoushka Hemangini Shankar is a British-American sitar player and musician, as well as occasional writer and actor. She performs across multiple genres and styles—classical and contemporary, acoustic and electronic. In addition to releasing seven solo studio albums beginning with Anoushka (1998), she has also worked alongside a wide variety of musicians, including Karsh Kale on the full-length collaboration Breathing Under Water (2007) and her father Ravi Shankar. She has received nine Grammy Awards nominations and was the first musician of Indian origin to perform live and to serve as a presenter at the ceremony. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vivian Chow</span> Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress

Vivian Chow Wai-man is a Hong Kong-based Cantopop singer-songwriter and actress.

Harvey Goldsmith is an English performing arts promoter. He is best known as a promoter of rock concerts, charity concerts, television broadcasts for the Prince's Trust and more recently the Teenage Cancer Trust shows at the Royal Albert Hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">What More Can I Give</span> 2002 song by Michael Jackson

"What More Can I Give" is a song written by American singer Michael Jackson and recorded in 2001 by Jackson and a supergroup of singers following the September 11 attacks. The inspiration for the song had initially come to Jackson after a meeting with the President of South Africa Nelson Mandela in the late 1990s. The initial Mandela–inspired version of the song was to be performed by Jackson in concert, and Jackson said it would be issued as a charity single for the refugees of the Kosovo War, which ended in 1999, but these plans were not carried out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nenad Bach</span>

Nenad N. Bach is a Croatian American recording artist, composer, performer, producer and peace activist. He has performed with a wide range of artists, including Luciano Pavarotti, Bono & The Edge (U2), Brian Eno, Garth Hudson & Rick Danko, Vince Welnick, John Malkovich, Ellen Burstyn, Martin Sheen and Michael York.

<i>Pavarotti & Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo</i> 1999 live album by Luciano Pavarotti and various artists

Pavarotti & Friends for Guatemala and Kosovo is a live album by Italian opera singer Luciano Pavarotti and a variety guest artists, recorded at a benefit concert of the same name held in Parco Novi Sad, Modena, Italy on 1 June 1999. Each track features a different guest artist, usually singing a song they are associated with, in a duet with Pavarotti. The album is part of the Pavarotti & Friends benefit concert series. Among the attendees was 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú Tum.

<i>My Christmas</i> 2009 studio album by Andrea Bocelli

My Christmas is the thirteenth studio album and first Christmas album released by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

<i>My Christmas Special</i> 2009 American TV series or program

The Andrea Bocelli & David Foster Christmas Special, is the PBS Great Performances Christmas special of Andrea Bocelli's first ever Holiday album, My Christmas, produced by multiple Grammy Award winner David Foster. Released on December 8, 2009, it is Bocelli's eighth DVD release.

<i>Concerto: One Night in Central Park</i> 2011 live album (with DVD) by Andrea Bocelli

Concerto: One Night in Central Park is a live album by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli.

<i>Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia</i> 1998 live album by Luciano Pavarotti and Various Artists

Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia is a live album by Luciano Pavarotti, with each track featuring a different artist.

<i>Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Bosnia</i> 1995 live album by Luciano Pavarotti and Various Artists

Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Bosnia is a live Luciano Pavarotti album released on Decca Records in 1995.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Verna, Paul; Clark-Meads, Jeff (23 March 1996). "Pavarotti album gets behind charity". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 12. p. 10,98. ISSN   0006-2510.
  2. 1 2 Tan, Vivian (28 May 2003). "'Pavarotti and Friends' celebrate 10th anniversary, raising over 2 million euros for Iraqi refugees". unhcr.org.
  3. 1 2 Perrone, Pierre (30 May 2001). "Opera/Pop: Pavarotti and Friends". The Guardian.
  4. ↑ "The Pavarotti & Friends Collection". Presto Classical.
  5. ↑ "Pavarotti & Friends". Presto Classical.
  6. 1 2 Rosenblum, Trudi Miller (13 May 1995). "Pavarotti Expands Circle Of 'Friends'". Billboard. Vol. 107, no. 19. p. 16. ISSN   0006-2510.
  7. ↑ Wiederhorn, Jon (19 April 1996). "Together for the Children of Bosnia". Entertainment Weekly.
  8. ↑ Greene, Andy (2 June 2015). "Flashback: Simon Le Bon Sings 'Ordinary World' With Pavarotti". Rolling Stone.
  9. ↑ "Luciano Pavarotti & Friends Together for the Children of Bosnia". AllMusic.
  10. ↑ "Phil Ramone: The Billboard Salute". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 19. 11 May 1996. p. 28. ISSN   0006-2510.
  11. ↑ Grad, David (13 December 1996). "Pavarotti & Friends for War Child". Entertainment Weekly.
  12. ↑ "Week 9 - 1997". Top 20.dk. 1997. Archived from the original on 17 March 2014.
  13. ↑ "The tenor and the Spice Girls". BBC News. 10 June 1998.
  14. ↑ Smith, Dakota (10 April 1998). "Spice Girls Power Up for Pavarotti's Liberia Charity Show". MTV News.
  15. ↑ James, Caryn (9 December 1998). "Television Review". The New York Times.
  16. ↑ Cromelin, Richard (9 December 1998). "'Pavarotti': Good Cause but Too Little Wonder". The Los Angeles Times.
  17. ↑ "Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Liberia". Allmusic. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 "Pavarotti and Bono sing for Iraq". BBC News. 8 April 2003.
  19. ↑ "'Pavarotti & Friends for War Child' 1999 Charity Concert Will Aid the Children of Kosovo and Guatemala". War Child USA (press release). 20 May 1999.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
  20. ↑ Gill, John (13 September 1999). "Mariah Carey on 'Pavarotti & Friends' CD with Ricky Martin, Gloria Estefan, Others". MTV News.
  21. ↑ "Pavarotti & Friends for the Children of Guatemala and Kosovo". AllMusic.
  22. ↑ "Michael and Pavarotti double act". BBC News. 2 June 2000.
  23. ↑ "Over One Million US Dollars Raised for Tibetan children by Pavarotti and Friends Concert in Italy". World Tibet Network News. 13 June 2000.
  24. ↑ "Pavarotti & Friends Sing For Refugees". Billboard. 30 May 2001.
  25. ↑ "Pavarotti Hosts Charity Concert For Angolan Refugees". Digital Journal. 23 May 2002.
  26. ↑ "Italian tenor Pavarotti has died at age 71, his manager tells the AP". wave3.com.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.