Tenor's Performance Pleases Seattle Fans

Concert review Luciano Pavarotti, tenor, in concert, with conductor Janos Acs, soprano Carla Maria Izzo, flutist Andrea Griminelli; KeyArena, yesterday.

Into the KeyArena they came, in tuxes and sequins and tennis shoes and shorts: all fans of superstar tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Pavarotti has long found the Opera House too small for both his fans and his fee schedule, and the KeyArena stop was the most recent of his stadium appearances on a concert tour that never seems to stop, particularly when Pavarotti's appearances with the other Two Tenors are factored in.

If the Opera House was too small, the KeyArena may be a bit too large. Facility ushers estimated the crowd at around 6,000 of an available 11,000 seats (about 5,600 seats were reported as pre-sold), and the concert was delayed 20 minutes to accommodate as many last-minute ticket-buyers as possible.

Few details about the concert were released beforehand by Pavarotti's presenters, the Tibor Rudas organization, who apparently figured (probably correctly) that Pavarotti's fans wouldn't care who the conductor was and who the supporting performers were.

Even if these had been announced beforehand, few would have known who they were; conductor Janos Acs, soprano Carla Maria Izzo, and flutist Andrea Griminelli are not exactly household names. Judging from yesterday's performance, with a pickup orchestra assembled from several Seattle professional orchestras and

freelancers, they aren't likely to be household names anytime soon. Acs has a great deal of dash, but is not a good accompanist of voices; Izzo is an attractive but technically inept lyric soprano, and Griminelli left a trail of missed notes behind him.

No matter. Everybody came to hear Pavarotti, and he did not disappoint his fans. There is still enough voice left to negotiate the familiar arias and encores, though a few have been gently transposed downward. Particularly in the beginning of the program, Pavarotti's distinctive voice had some of the freshness and ease of production that established him as the world's most famous tenor in the 30 years he's been at the top of his profession, in arias such as "Che gelida manina" (from "La Boheme").

The sound quality was not as bad as it might have been. The orchestra sounded a bit tinny and distant, but the solo voices were clear and present.

The roars of approval rose louder as the recital progressed. Just before the tenor launched into his encores (beginning with "Granada" and "E lucevan le stelle"), he sang the song "Non ti scordar di me" ("Don't forget me"). Judging from the shouts and cheers, there's no chance of that happening.