Great Performances Sunday, September 14, at 7 p.m. John Denver: A Song's Best Friend
Sunday, September 14, at 9 p.m.
on WKAR-HD and WKAR-23 The Late Luciano Pavarotti and John Denver Featured in WKAR "Best of..."
Great Performances: Pavarotti: A Life in Seven Arias Sunday, September 14, at 7 p.m.
Great Performances marks the first anniversary of the passing of one of opera’s most cherished voices with an encore of Pavarotti: A Life in Seven Arias. Combining archival and rarely seen performance footage with fresh reminiscences by friends and colleagues, the musical feast offers a concise yet compelling look at the tenor’s meteoric career trajectory. From soccer-playing son of a Modena, Italy, baker to onstage partner of “La Stupenda,” world-renowned soprano Joan Sutherland, from media darling to truly one-of-a-kind superstar, it is a story writ as large as the great one himself.
But, as all agree, it was the voice, with its unique golden timbre, that will be the enduring legacy. His recordings of the 1960s, 70s and early 80s offer the definitive performances of the great romantic operas — Rigoletto, Turandot, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Fille du Régiment among them.
Assembled by acclaimed filmmaker David Thompson Carreras and Domingo are joined by sopranos Sutherland, Montserrat Caballé and Renata Scotto; PR whiz Herbert Breslin, credited with creating the Pavarotti Phenomenon; and Terri Robson, the tenor’s manager from 2000 until his death. Also on hand: delightful young Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez, who tells of dialing the maestro on his cell, moments before stepping on stage at Covent Garden to attempt the killer high Cs aria, “Pour mon âme,” made famous there by his idol 40 years earlier.
The seven arias, and the chapters they represent in the singer’s life, are:
1. “Che gelida manina,” from Puccini’s La Bohème, the opera that marked Pavarotti’s debut, shown here in a rare 1965 performance from Modena with Mirella Freni.
2. “Pour mon âme,” from Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, the work he toured with Joan Sutherland. Its famous aria and nine astronomical high notes he detonated from the stage at Covent Garden earned him the sobriquet King of the High Cs.
3. “Panis Angelicus,” the haunting César Franck work he sang as a youth in Modena with his father. The duet affords a visit to his beloved hometown and a chance to recall friends there and participation in the city’s renowned Rossini Chorale.
4. “Questa o quella,” from Verdi’s Rigoletto, marking the beginning of the Pavarotti media blitz.
5. “Nessun dorma,” from Puccini’s Turandot, the aria he makes his own and immortalizes in the first Three Tenors concert.
6. “E lucevan le stelle,” from Puccini’s Tosca, underscores the last years and final Met performance.
7. “Ingemisco,” from the Verdi Requiem.
Others offering remembrances and observations are tenor Kim Begley; conductor Richard Bonynge, husband of Joan Sutherland; critic Rupert Christiansen; director John Copley; former Royal Opera House wig and make-up master Ron Freeman; and critic Norman Lebrecht.
John Denver: A Song’s Best Friend
Sunday, September 14, at 9:30 p.m.
Those who love the music of the late singer/songwriter John Denver may well remember him for such hits as “Rocky Mountain High,” “Country Roads,” “Annie’s Song,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders” and many other favorites of the 1970s.
But Denver was more than merely a performer who wrote his own songs. Others, like “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” which became a big hit for Peter, Paul and Mary, became standards in their own right. He was also an enthusiastic activist with a passion for preserving the environment.
John Denver: A Song’s Best Friend is a performance documentary that features comments from many of his colleagues, including fellow performers, producers, and his one-time wife, Annie. Their words, combined with many musical numbers performed by Denver in concert and in footage from his various television specials, provide a unique, entertaining and thoughtful biography of a man whose work has lived on long after his untimely death.
Best of Animusic
Sunday, September 14, at 10:30 p.m.
This quirky musical special combines computer animation and music for a unique viewing experience.
WORKSHOP: Imagine, Create, and Play Middle schoolers! Learn how to create video games at this FREE workshop from WKAR. Saturday, Feb. 11. More info and SIGN UP HERE.
