Luciano Pavarotti as a young man, this is how he was

Luciano Pavarotti as a young man was very different from what everyone remembers and we want to show you; this is how he was

Luciano Pavarotti was one of the greatest Italian artists and his unforgettable voice has remained forever imprinted in our minds and hearts. His image is also unmistakable and anyone who sees a photo of him recognizes him instantly. But what was Luciano Pavarotti like when he was young ? Well, we have discovered it and we will show it to you.

Everyone knows Big Luciano but few remember him as a young man and even less as a child . Yet there are many photos that portray him in his early years of life. In these photos , however, the tenor is unrecognizable : many less kilograms, no moustache and an almost sculpted physique. Don’t believe it? Below you can see him in one of the few photos as a young man together with his family.

In this photo Big Luciano, who at the time was not so big, was 25 years old and was in Santa Margherita Ligure , together with his mother Adele (on the left), his sister Gabriella (on the right) and some family friends. A Luciano Pavarotti without beard and moustache , athletic and very attractive .

Son of Fernando Pavarotti , a baker in the Carabinieri and Adele Venturi , Luciano Pavarotti was born on October 12, 1935 in Modena. From his father he took his passion for music. The man, in fact, sang at an amateur level in the Corale Gioachino Rossini , a small association of non-professional choristers in Modena.

But the young Luciano Pavarotti did not immediately dedicate himself to music. He wanted to become a physical education teacher and he succeeded. He enrolled at the Modena Teacher Training Institute and taught physical education in elementary schools for 2 years. In the meantime, however, he decided to continue studying singing with the tenor Arrigo Pola.

Three years later, Arrigo Pola left for Japan and the young Luciano Pavarotti continued his musical studies with maestro Ettore Campogalliani.

The young tenor’s first musical success came alongside his father at the Llangollen Festival in Wales where the Rossini Choir won first prize.

His first personal recognition came in 1961, at the Achille Peri International Competition where he won. The prize gave him  artistic recognition : Luciano Pavarotti stepped onto the stage of the Teatro Municipale in Reggio Emilia. On that occasion he played the role of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La bohème, conducted by Francesco Molinari Pradelli.

From there Luciano Pavarotti’s career was always on the rise, success after success. His private life also changed in the same year (1961): Big Luciano married his historic girlfriend, Adua Veroni . The two had been together for 8 years: the tenor had met her when she was only 16 and he was 17.

The love story with Adua Veroni continued for many years. Together they had 3 daughters: Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana.

In 1993, however, something began to creak. The American media talked about an extramarital affair with the young Italian model Lucia Debrilli that the tenor categorically denied.

But in 1994 he began dating a young entertainment manager, Nicoletta Mantovani , and fell in love with her. The scandal led the tenor to divorce Adua Veroni, in 1996, after 41 years of love.

You already know the rest. Luciano Pavarotti married Nicoletta Mantovani on December 13, 2003 and, from their marriage , in 2003 Alice Pavarotti was born , the tenor’s fourth daughter.

The tenor died of pancreatic cancer in Modena on 6 September 2007.