The King and I: The Uncensored Tale of Luciano Pavarotti's Rise to Fame by HisManager, Friend and Sometime Adversary

Rating:
Summary: PAVAROTTI - UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
Review:


The opera's not over `til the manager sings. At least that's the case in Herbert Breslin's no holds barred dishy tale of his 36 years as manager, friend, and yes, foe of the famed Luciano Pavarotti, arguably the most well known name in contemporary opera. It's all here - the temper, the tackiness, the brilliance.

Of their years together Breslin writes, "Sometimes he was a great, great client. Sometimes he acted like he ruled the world around him and everyone in it, including me. Sometimes he was a close and generous friend. Sometimes he was a real pain in the ....." All of those descriptions are fleshed out with witty, wrathful, and appreciative accounts of their days together.

"The King & I" is one of those bios in which one learns as much about the "I" as we do about "The King." As it turns out, that's pretty good reading, too. Breslin begins when he was 33-years-old working as a speech writer for Chrysler in Detroit. That, he calls misery. After all. He's a New Yorker, and he loves opera. Determined to become a part of the opera world, he began by working for John Crosby who had just founded the Santa Fe Opera. His salary? $0.00.

All he had was determination and a huge hunk of chutzpah. Little did he know that some day he would manage the most famous names in the world of classical music - Renata Tebaldi, Alicia de Larrocha, Marilyn Horne, Placido Domingo, and, of course, Luciano Pavarotti.

Initially, according to the author, Pavarotti was amenable, eager to please. Yet, there must of been some inkling of his later demeanor in the fact that never once in all their years together did Pavarotti ever go to Breslin's office - Breslin always came to him. After five years together Breslin felt very much a part of the Pavarotti family, visiting the tenor's home in Modena, Italy, a number of times. He describes it as a place that was always full with Pavarotti a congenial host. Adua Pavarotti, the singer's wife was in complete charge of their financial affairs as well as having almost total responsibility for the raising of their three daughters, Lorenza, Cristina, and Giuliana.

Early on, Breslin felt that Pavarotti had the makings of super stardom, and he began to devise a plan to achieve this. Of course, singing at the Met was wonderful but Breslin saw it as too confining. He didn't want Pavarotti to leave the Met, he just wanted more. More was to come - the recordings, television, recitals, outdoor concerts, Madison Square Garden and, of course, the piece de resistance - The Three Tenors.

However, there did come a time when, as Breslin describes it, "Working with Luciano was like coming under machine-gun fire." Their relationship came to an end, with Breslin deciding that Pavarotti cared for no one but himself.

Obviously, no one really knows for whom Pavarotti really cares or how he felt about the break-up of their long term relationship. What is known is that the tenor contributed an epilogue for this book in which he expresses gratitude to Breslin.

Whether you're an opera lover, a Pavarotti fan or not, "The King & I" is a jolly good can't-put-down read.

- Gail Cooke

Rating:
Summary: Dreck, Schlock ~ i love it!
Review: ..... Who cares about ANY opera singer today? Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end. So let's hear all about Pavarotti- the Last of the Red Hot Mamas! Hankie and all. ~ Not much was said about his tempestuous affair with Anna Maria Verde (his secretary for a while) but maybe in the sequel- or the movie? Hey, if they can write plays, books and movies about MARIA CALLAS, why not the Big P? Go to Amazon, buy it "used" when it gets down to $3.98. You'll have fun.

Rating:
Summary: The Rise and Fall of a Pesant King
Review: At long last we are given a humerous, introspective and most of all brutally candid look at the long over-hyped and over-rated Pavarotti phenomena!

Mr. Berslin, at the ripe age of 80, has finally committed to posterity his memoires of his life and career with the pesant turned superstar Luciano Pavarotti.
The book is full of anecdotes from the golden age of grand opara, including stories of the quirks and foibles of the great starts of that day.

Of course, Mr. Berslin has inluded more than a healthy dose of his own life's story in the book, which I found a tad superfluous at times, but his recollections and no holds barred observations on the world of opera and Pavarotti himself are priceless.

The book reads well and aside from a few chapters were the author seems to get lost on memory lane, it makes for entertaining reading.

What makes this book unique, aside from the extreme candor of the author, is the inclusion of commentaries form people other than Berslin who witnessed the ascent and eventual fall of Pavarotti.
Most poignant of all are the comments provided by Pavarotti's ex-wife Adua. Her bitterness and resentment toward the man who was considered the greatest tenor is the world adds a very real touch to the story.
Here is a woman who was instrumental in the success of her husbands meteoric career, only to be replaced in a most cowardly and shamefull manner by a host of "affairs" and finally, discarded all together.

The book also has a melancholy side to it, for aside from the humerous antics of the lazy, simple, gluttenous and apparently not overly intelligent Maestro, we see how incredibly difficult life for those around him was and presumably still is.

For anyone interested in the "behind the scenes" look at the great Pavarotti should read this book. It may not be the be-all -end all on the tenors' life but it's as close as we'll get for the time being.

On a final note, A&E may think of procuring the rights to the story and make a TV film based on the life and times of Luciano Pavarotti- The rise and fall of a pesant king..

Rating:
Summary: Compulsively readable backstage memoir
Review: Herbert Breslin, one of the most successful managers of classical artists, whose roster included Joan Sutherland and Alicia de Larrocha, among others, has produced this tell-all memoir about his most famous client, Luciano Pavarotti. Well, it's mostly about Pavarotti. Breslin also manages to include quite a bit about himself, his formative years, how he got started in the business of classical music management, his other famous clients, all quite interesting stuff. However, as the title indicates, the main course is the King of Tenors, and Breslin paints a frequently affectionate but ultimately unsparing portrait of a man whose ego and demands were as outsize as his body and vocal talent. Breslin takes his share of credit for a career that not only produced artistic triumphs such as Pavarotti's sensational Met performances with Sutherland and unexpected successes such as Mozart's Idomeneo, but also equally spectacular public disasters such as the Pav's ill-starred foray into Hollywood filmdom, "Yes, Giorgio." Along the way there are many choice anecdotes about other luminaries of the operatic world such as Birgit Nilsson, Renata Scotto and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf that keep the reader turning the pages. Breslin's ego is clearly as outsize as Pavarotti's and why not? His list of clients who made major careers speaks for itself. The inclusion of snatches of interviews by people he mentions in the main text, giving their own perspective on events Breslin mentions, provides some balance. Most startling of these is a final word from Pavarotti, who appears to bear no grudge against Breslin, and who indeed looks back on their thirty-six year partnership with affection.

It appears Pavarotti has given his final operatic performances (he returned to the Met for a last hurrah a year after the sensational cancellations Breslin describes), and a serious examination of his artistic and vocal accomplishments will no doubt be written sooner or later. In the meantime, Breslin's book will keep classical music aficionados mostly entertained, and occasionally horrified.

Rating:
Summary: A gusty opera tell-all... finally!
Review: It seems we are living in the age of the nice, prim prima donna, the kind that disavows any diva behavior, and takes great pains not to slander anyone else in the business. If you like this kind of goody-goody behavior, read Renee Fleming's newly released bio. If you want some backstage dirt, look no farther than Breslin's book.

On the one hand, I admire his chutzpah and dishing about different singers. On the otherhand, he is an incorrigible old coot. Still, this book serves in a variety of capacities. In addition to shedding some less-than-glowing light on Pavarotti, it also serves as a scrapbook of the golden age of operatic singing, and a how-to book for budding agents.

One thing I thought was particularly tasteless and curmudgeonly was Breslin's tale about his temper-tantrum at the Met when he wanted to see Renata Tebaldi sing Tosca, and flew to New York with his wife only to find out that Tebaldi was ill that night. He threw a royal temper-tantrum, and scored free tickets for another night. Yet, he boasts that no one EVER got free tickets for a Pavarotti event, no matter what. What a miser...



Rating:
Summary: Exciting as overcooked pasta
Review: Mr. Breslin offers the tantalizing promise of an uncensored, behind the scenes review of the life and career of one of the greatest tenors that ever lived. Unfortunately, what he provides is a tiresome, plodding and only semi literate compendum of facts that have long been in the public domain.

We are given the scintillating news that Pavarotti, in private, is much like he is in public. We are told, yet again, about his weight, his ego, his appetite, his fondness for women and an inability to sight read or remember lyrics. The weight of this text is further increased by an especially tedious summary of Breslin's own career.

Yes, there are a few amusing anecdotes such as Pavarotti making himself ill after gorging on a half kilo of caviar at Breslin's Paris flat but, after 35 years of close association, I would have expected much more of substance.

Those whose love of opera and especially the great tenor are as great as mine may find this book somewhat amusing. The rest are urged to invest the price in a Pavarotti recording.

Rating:
Summary: Should read I am the King!
Review: Poor Pavarotti would have never made it if it had not been for the wonderful, intelligent, far thinking Breslin! Forget the greatest voice on earth! It all had to do with Herbie and His talent!

With a friend like Breslin who needs an enemy to stab you in the back. This book is just sour grapes!





Rating:
Summary: How to Feed an Overstuffed Tenor
Review: This book delivers what it promises - a gossipy, uninhibited celebrity tell-all. Fun for Entertainment Tonight fans, but don't expect to learn anything about opera, singing, music history or musical values. You will learn how to care for an overindulged opera star, and that's about it. Anne Midgette writes with a polished style and keeps the story moving briskly. But this project must have been a trial. This book seems to genuinely reflect the nature of the Pavarotti-Breslin partnership, which is the most that can be said for it.

Rating:
Summary: A Guilty Pleasure
Review: Those of us who are ensconced in the world of opera have known for years that Pavarotti freely admits he is a "lazy" (his word) learner with healthy ego. So it comes as no surprise that Herb Breslin has written a candid account -- often amusing, occasionally painful -- about his most famous client. "The King and I" is filled with delicious anecdotes about the tenor's passions, generosity, habits and more, plus rare insights into the personalities and quirks of other classical music luminaries from Joan Sutherland and Kiri Te Kanawa to Georg Solti and James Levine. Breslin also opines, correctly, about the sad state of opera in the eyes of the media today. Debuts, gossip, deaths and other items about opera stars that would have made front-page news 30 years ago are now reduced, at the very most, to a couple of sentences buried in the back of the newspaper. Above all, "The King and I" is an honest acknowledgement of the highs and lows of the relationship between Breslin and Pavarotti. Without Breslin's tireless efforts and brilliant instincts, Pavarotti would never, ever have become a household name. Anyone who suggests this book is mean-spirited is simply off-base.

Rating:
Summary: Delicious, but fattening
Review: What a delicious read - like a high fat, high cholesterol junk food, it may not ultimately be good for you, but it tastes great, is fun to eat, and you'll feel compelled to guzzle the whole thing so quickly that an antacid might be in order. Rather than a pill to get rid of any nasty side effects, I would suggest putting on a recording of Pavarotti in his prime - to name a few from many - "A te o cara" from Bellini's "I Puritani, "Ah si ben mio" from Verdi's "Il Trovatore," or "O muto asil" from Rossini's "William Tell." The Italian sun never shined so brightly - and it is ultimately these recordings and not this admittedly amusing and compelling book that will tell his story.

Actually, Breslin proved to be a sympathetic troubadour to sing of the good, the bad, and the ugly since underneath it all you can sense his abiding respect for the good fortune that came his way in Pavarotti.