PAVAROTTI (12A)
★★★ ★★
NEAR the beginning of Ron Howard’s documentary, which incorporates footage from concerts and interviews to recount Luciano Pavarotti’s journey in his own words, the ebullient Italian tenor is asked to imagine his legacy.
“I’d like to be remembered as a man who took opera to the people,” he replies modestly, flashing the camera a pensive smile.
There are plenty of reasons to grin at Howard’s affectionate portrait of flawed musical genius. Pavarotti’s well-documented faults are largely glossed over to concentrate on the coterie of admirers and celebrity friends he accumulated as he took opera into stadia, as well as the strain of performing.
There are colourful sections involving concert promoter Harvey Goldsmith and the singer’s cutthroat manager Herbert Breslin before Bono offers his forthright opinion on the appeal of Pavarotti.
“He is one of the great emotional arm wrestlers,” comments the U2 frontman, “and he will break your arm.”
Howard’s film treads too lightly to break anything, certainly not fans’ hearts.
The documentary hits a high note with excerpts of The Three Tenors concert featuring Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. The men spark off each other as they deliver a thunderous rendition of the Nessun Dorma aria from Turandot.
Nothing in Howard’s film tarnishes that memory.
■ In selected cinemas.