Review of Luciano Pavarotti: Live In Barcelona

Introduction

This 1989 recording of the Big Guy in concert is something of a disappointment. Made at the height of his powers, this is a performance made at the Gran Teatre Del Lucea in Barcelona, shortly before the venue was destroyed by fire. It lacks power or occasion. It`s the sort of thing the BBC used to force on the masses in the days before ITV and honestly is technically little better than such performances.

Basically it`s himself banging out a series of arias, accompanied by a bloke on a piano to a theatre-full of the great and good, all looking bored out of their skulls.

Video

Presented in the original 4:3 of the telecast, it is obviously an unenhanced transfer. The picture is soft and slightly bleached out. Digital and analogue video artefacts abound, the worst being a ghost frame wiping across the picture throughout the recording.

Audio

The sound is in plain vanilla Dolby Stereo and therein lies the lack of power in the recording. Considering audio restoration has been applied to the programme, one wonders what kind of state it was in beforehand.

Features

None.

Conclusion

Pavarotti has definitely sounded better, and the only thing recommending this title are the brief glimpses afforded of the venue.