Skip to main content

Creativity Quote by Luciano Pavarotti

"I am a tenor buff. I hear myself"

About this Quote

Luciano Pavarotti compresses humor, confidence, and craft into the remark, declaring himself not only a tenor by trade but a connoisseur of the very art he embodies. To be a tenor buff is to be an aficionado of tenors past and present, from Caruso and Gigli to Björling and Corelli. Pavarotti studied them relentlessly, absorbing legato, phrasing, diction, and squillo. When he adds, "I hear myself", he positions his own voice among those subjects of loving scrutiny. It is not empty vanity; it is the working method of a craftsman who listens like an audience member while he performs like a star.

Singers often warn that what they hear inside the skull is not what the hall hears, and opera houses can distort self-perception further. Pavarotti bridges that gap by cultivating an external ear. He listened to rehearsals and recordings, tested how the top notes bloom in space, monitored the chiaroscuro of the timbre, and judged whether breath and passaggio are carrying the line without strain. Hearing himself, in this sense, means accepting the discipline of playback and the vulnerability of honest appraisal.

The line also captures the cheerful self-possession that made him a global figure beyond opera. At the height of the Three Tenors phenomenon, he could bring Nessun dorma to stadiums without apology because he knew what his instrument could do. He trusted his taste and his technique, and he invited millions to share the same avid listening he practiced on himself.

There is a paradox at work: deep humility before the tradition, and the audacity to place oneself within it. Pavarotti is both fan and subject, collector and specimen, measuring his own sound against the standards he idolized. The result is a portrait of artistic maturity: the ear that loves tenors is the same ear that polishes the tenor he became.

Quote Details

TopicMusic
More Quotes by Luciano Add to List
I am a tenor buff. I hear myself
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

Italy Flag

Luciano Pavarotti (October 12, 1935 - September 6, 2007) was a Musician from Italy.

26 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

David Coverdale, Musician
Debra Wilson, Comedian
Sara Paretsky, Author
Small: Sara Paretsky