Luciano Pavarotti - Ah si ben mio... Di quella pira - Live 1975

Luciano Pavarotti in one of his stunning Manrico debut performances. Here we have him singing the aria Ah si ben mio and the stretta Di quella pira from act III of Verdi's Il Trovatore.

He sings with a fantastic, liquid legato line in Ah si ben mio. Sutherland is making her debut as Leonora and is in good vocal shape, and though not perfect for the role, shows some beautiful singing in the passage of music separating Pavarotti's big pieces. The Di quella pira is phenomenal, Joan Sutherland later called it 'unforgettable' in an interview. The Cs ring perfectly, better than on his studio recording. He has a tiny problem letting go of the last high C, but that's no big detraction from the splendid singing we get here.

The San Francisco Opera orchestra and chorus are conducted by Richard Bonynge, very well too, I might add.