“Flying from New York to Milan, Pavarotti was unsettled to hear the pilot announce that he was diving into the heavy fog blanketing Milan’s Malapensa airport—not to land, but to examine conditions. He shot down sharply and swerved up just as the ground heaved into sight.

“Pavarotti was beside himself.

“Pavarotti does not like flying.

“In fact, at this moment, Pavarotti does not like Malapensa Airport, snap-down trays, cute little pillows, or anything having to do with planes.

“The pilot announces that he will circle the airport in the hope that the weather clears. If it doesn’t, he could fly to Genoa and land there.

“And the golden voice of Pavarotti fills the plane: ‘Do it!’”

Opera Anecdotes , Ethan Mordden, p. 212-3




“Luciano Pavarotti walks into a clothing store on London’s Savile Row, ultimate posh, and says, “Have you anything that would fit me?”

“Noting the tenor’s golden-age dimensions, the salesman replies, “A handkerchief, perhaps?”

Opera Anecdotes , Ethan Mordden, p. 212




“In later years, Luciano was on the receiving end of countless backstage visits from starstruck young fans; but at the age of twelve, he was the one who came, awed, into the great tenor’s dressing room after a rehearsal and got up his nerve to ask Gigli a question.

‘Maestro, how long did you study?’

‘I stopped studying three minutes ago,’ Gigli said. ‘I am always studying.’”

The King and I: The Uncensored Tale of Luciano Pavarotti's Rise to Fame by His Manager, Friend and Sometime Adversary, Herbert Breslin, p. 31