Meyer Sound News : In Memoriam: Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007)

In Memoriam: Luciano Pavarotti (1935-2007)

Photo by Judy Kovacs.

"Working with Pavarotti was always a deeply rewarding experience. He demanded the very best sound available, and Meyer Sound was the one company willing and able to meet his high standards... There is sadness at this time of his passing, but also cause to celebrate his outstanding career and achievements."

- John Pellowe
Former FOH engineer for Pavarotti and
Project Director of Constellation Systems at Meyer Sound

In recognition of the recent passing of legendary opera star Luciano Pavarotti, Meyer Sound wishes to pay tribute to his extraordinary life and career. Pavarotti's many contributions to music and culture are invaluable, as was the nearly 25-year relationship between Meyer Sound and the artist and his sound engineers and technicians -- a relationship which helped enable the development of a number of the company's technological innovations.

Pavarotti was a pioneer of massive opera concerts that demanded pristine sound reproduction on a scale previously used almost exclusively for rock and popular music. His performances in arenas and outdoor venues introduced millions to opera for the first time. Even when singing to crowds numbering in the tens of thousands, Pavarotti was known for his remarkable ability to thrill audiences with performances of passion and intimacy.

"When Pavarotti began performing in large venues, we needed to figure out not only how to manage the frequency response during live shows while the audience was listening but we also had to figure out how the audience wanted to hear the music – were they expecting the concert to sound like it would in a traditional opera house?" says John Meyer, who was introduced to Pavarotti by Roger Gans, then of the San Francisco Opera. "As it turned out, they wanted to hear it as intimately as if they were listening to their hi-fi at home."

John Meyer, along with SIM instructor, Bob McCarthy used SIM System II to analyze the frequency response during these early shows and make decisions about how to maintain it during shows. "Changing the EQ during a show was unheard of," says Meyer. "That Pavarotti and his engineers allowed us to do this was characteristic of the symbiotic and collaborative relationship that we shared."

Over the years, audio systems for more than 250 Pavarotti concerts around the world were built from Meyer Sound equipment. In 1990, Pavarotti joined forces with fellow tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome for the first concert of The Three Tenors. As usual for Pavarotti's concerts, Meyer Sound provided the FOH sound equipment heard by the live audience. The recording of this electrifying and groundbreaking event is listed in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the best-selling classical album of all time.

"Working with Pavarotti was always a deeply rewarding experience," says GRAMMY-winning engineer John Pellowe, who worked with the singer for over 30 years, both as a recording engineer and as his FOH engineer in concert. "He demanded the very best sound available, and Meyer Sound was the one company willing and able to meet his high standards. This formed the basis of the long relationship between Pavarotti and Meyer Sound. For me, there is sadness at this time of his passing, but also cause to celebrate his outstanding career and achievements. I will miss him deeply." Since leaving Pavarotti's employ, Pellowe has become an integral member of Meyer Sound's Constellation electroacoustic architecture development team.

Between working with Meyer Sound in its earliest days and returning as the director of R&D for the company's digital group, Alexander Yuill-Thornton II (aka "Thorny") spent 18 years on tour with Pavarotti designing and tuning the sound systems used for his concerts. "My career was profoundly shaped by the privilege of being involved with Pavarotti's large-venue concerts from early on. Working with him and his recording and FOH engineers — Jimmy Lock and John Pellowe — encouraged me to explore system design and optimization techniques that facilitated Pavarotti's ability to connect with his audiences. His passing marks the end of an era, but his legacy will live on in all of those that heard him sing."

John Monitto, Meyer Sound's director of technical support, also worked extensively with Pavarotti as crew chief and system tech when he was on staff at Pro Media, which supplied sound systems for numerous concerts by Pavarotti and The Three Tenors.

Pavarotti's exacting demands and his desire for sound of the highest attainable standard directly contributed to the development of new technologies and products at Meyer Sound. Meyer Sound is honored to have had the unique opportunity to work with such an inspiring and talented artist over so many years.

September, 2007