As Always, Pavarotti Aims High

Except for a last-minute substitute for the promised soprano, Luciano Pavarotti’s latest--and, announced, final--visit to San Diego Saturday night at the 14,300-seat Sports Arena proved smooth and predictable.

The superstar tenor, who has endured a range of hurdles--tax difficulties, marital problems and knee and hip surgery--since his last concert here in 1992, was in good voice after a somewhat shaky beginning.

He carried on, did some beautiful singing--loud and soft, impassioned and lyric--throughout the program, and certainly pleased an ample audience, which appeared to fill two-thirds of the house and cheered him on.

Of course, Pavarotti was amplified; there is nothing natural or welcoming about the acoustics in the massive Sports Arena. And in moments, he undersang, relying on the mechanics of microphones to give body to quiet vocal utterances.

He sang his big-arena repertory--all he sings these days--and just what this audience comes to hear: arias by Puccini, Mascagni and Leoncavallo, duets with the American soprano Cynthia Lawrence, and, to close, three built-in encores: “Mattinata,” “Mamma” and “Non ti scordar di me.”

He sang it all with the same reliable technique and admirable fervor remembered from his last Los Angeles visit, to the Forum in 1995. Tickets may cost $303, but Pavarotti delivers.

That vocal technique holds up well for the singer, who turns 66 in October. Sound-amplification removes the temptation to force or strain, and he clearly counts on it. His fervor is less consistent, however, and less youthful than his longtime followers will recall.

His pair of arias from “Cav” and “Pag,” for instance, showed great dramatic focus and measurable passion in Turiddu’s Farewell, but only an indifferent sense of routine in “Vesti la giubba.” The notes were there, but not the drama.

Then, to close, those beloved chestnuts by Leoncavallo, Bixio and De Curtis crowned the evening in an indisputable vocal triumph. The cheering was deserved.

As late as last weekend, Pavarotti was hawking to the San Diego media the local debut of Italian soprano Carmela Remigio as his promised duet partner on this occasion.

But to the surprise of many, including officials of San Diego Opera, a sponsor of the concert, Remigio did not appear.

In her place, the resourceful and accomplished American soprano, Lawrence--who sang with Pavarotti at the Forum, six years ago--gave a stunning demonstration of musical versatility. She held her own in the lengthy “Boheme” duet from Act I, sang disparate arias by Verdi and Puccini, and stole the show, temporarily, in excerpts from “Merry Widow” and “Porgy and Bess.”

As he has done before, Leone Magiera, Pavarotti’s longtime conductor, led the solid San Diego Opera Orchestra through this thicket of musical challenges without mishap.