Shropshire Star

Listen: Pavarotti 'returns' to Llangollen Eisteddfod thanks to hidden archives

Luciano Pavarotti has "returned" to grace Llangollen International Eisteddfod with his eternal presence again this year - thanks to priceless and historic recordings of a choir he sang and won with when he was just 19 years old.

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  • Pavarotti recordings courtesy of BBC Wales

The successful Chorus Rossini, choir from Modena in Italy, launched the career of the larger-than-life tenor Pavarotti.

And a rousing recording of its performance from 1955 has been rediscovered in the archives of Llangollen Eisteddfod, which opened last night when top United States opera stars Kate Aldrich and Noah Stewart sang Bizet's Carmen.

Pavarotti was just 19 and a trainee teacher, when he first came to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in 1955 with his father, Fernando, as part of the choir.

Pavarotti says he learned to say the word, Llangollen, biting his tongue many times as trying.

Pavarotti at Llangollen

But when they left as the overall winning choir, he went home determined to make music his career.

Pavarotti, who died in 2007, had joined his local choir because his father, a baker, was a stalwart member. And the moment the Modena choir won the competition left an indelible impression on him and he often spoke of it as "the spark that ignited that determination" to succeed.

In 1995 on his triumphant return to Llangollen he said: "I always say that to the journalists when they ask me what is a day more memorable in my life, and I always say that it is when I won this competition because it was with all my friends."

And in an interview with Pavarotti from 1991 re-released yesterday, he said: "You can imagine in 30 years in my profession, there are many beautiful moments but the moment you are asking me about is a moment that took place in July 1955."

The two tracks are Bonjour Mon Coeur and O Bon Jesu, sung by the Chorus Rossini on their way to winning the choral competition in 1955 – the competition later became the Choir of the World event for the Pavarotti Trophy.

The moving recording was on a CD hidden among the archives in the Eisteddfod offices and was found and dusted down by the festival's operations manager Sian Eagar.

Sian Eagar, a schoolgirl volunteer at the Eisteddfod when Pavarotti returned to Llangollen in 1995, said: "It was among a pile of things in a tray and written on it was Pavarotti 1955.

"I didn't know what to think and didn't want to get too excited but it seems to be the real thing.

"It had been produced by the Welsh Development Agency in 1991 with material from the BBC and from 1955.

"Back then all the performances were recorded and put on vinyl so it could have been re-recorded from that as part of the build-up to Pavarotti's 1995 return to Llangollen.

"There are three tracks on it, one a recording of a Pavarotti press conference from 1991 when he's asked by a BBC Wales reporter about Llangollen and two songs by the Chorus Rossini from 1955 – they're not very long and they're a bit crackly but these must be incredibly rare recordings and quite historic."

Former Eisteddfod Chairman Gethin Davies was an usher back in 1955 and admits he doesn't recall the young Pavarotti.

He said: "I kept a diary in those days and was looking through it recently and it just said, 'Male Voice Choir today and a choir from Italy won'. I think I was more interested in my current girlfriend.

"I've got the video recording of the 1995 concert and still watch it – it still pops up on the Sky Arts Channel quite regularly too."

Wednesday will be International Children's Day and will include choral and dance competitions and also a new Under 16s solo competition while the evening will feature the Voices of Musical Theatre.

The great Bryn Terfel will headline the 70th Classical Gala Concert on Thursday evening, while the day will see the crowning of the Children's Choir of the World.

To book tickets and for more details on the 2016 festival go to international-eisteddfod.co.uk

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