Pavarotti **** (2019, Luciano Pavarotti) – Movie Review

Oscar-winning director Ron Howard’s painstaking 2019 labour-of-love documentary Pavarotti about the life and work of opera legend Luciano Pavarotti is two hours of vintage opera bliss.

Notable among the interviewees are Nicoletta Mantovani, Bono, Angela Gheorghiu, the promoter Harvey Goldsmith, José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Zubin Mehta and Lorenza Pavarotti, Giuliana Pavarotti and Cristina Pavarotti, all with pertinent, kind, fascinating and thoughtful things to say about the art, business, life and loves of the singer.

Howard’s film brings the larger-than-life Pavarotti back to life so vividly that is it hard to believe he is not singing and is gone.

The marvellously well researched clips are brilliant and Mark Monroe’s script is informative, crisp and clear. The film is emotionally exciting and ends up quite moving. Every minute is enjoyable and the whole documentary is a pleasure to enjoy and relish. And it is right and proper that Pavarotti himself comes over as a charismatic crowd-pleaser.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Movie Review

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