A voice for all time

PAVAROTTI’S beguiling magic did not hang solely on strings of glistening high Cs. It was heard over the entire range of beautifully forged vowels and words, resonating on a cavernous timbre of burnt sienna and gold. Melodious, intense and achingly lovely, it ensnared our senses and emotions.

I am reminded of critic Kenneth Tynan’s description of Laurence Olivier’s voice in the theatre “echoing across the valleys of the centuries”.

Oliver McGrane