I met Luciano Pavarotti in Vienna in the fall of 1986. I was a college exchange student in the EIS program when Bob Funk and I went from major hotel to major hotel in the city looking for a bar that had cold beer and was showing American football on TV. We stumbled into the Sheraton which was just off the Karnterstrasse and while investigating how cold the beer was we noticed a large glassed in room on the far side of the lobby. In the glassed in room was a gleaming black Piano, a small pianist and a larger than life Pavarotti, warming up for a performance of La Boheme at the Vienna Opera House later that week. Being a couple of young knuckle heads - we finished our beers and walked over to get a closer look. Fortunately, we had a camera with us and when we caught his eye we showed him the camera and he nodded his head. We waited about 15 minutes for him to finish and was very kind to take a picture with us and chat a bit. He seemed much taller from far away but was only 5′ 9″ or so but big around! He told us that he was performing and that we should see the opera and experience the music in the historic Vienna Opera House. We thanked him and left. But there’s more.

We learned later that day that in the Vienna Opera House, the royal boxes had been turned into standing room only sections. By arriving at the Opera House early in the day and waiting in a line on the side of the building, you could buy a very inexpensive ticket (about $14 dollars back then), enter around 4pm, secure your spot in the standing room only area with a scarf or coat wrapped around the railings in the box area, go get dinner, then return in time to see the show. It was fantastic! We ended up seeing 5 operas while in Vienna during that semester and I’ve been a low budget fan ever since.

When the wife and kids are gone, I’ll pull on the headphones and crank up some of the famous Pavarotti Arias and remember a great time in a wonderful city and the impact of a man on my musical DNA. Goodbye Luciano and thank you. Listen to Luciano Pavarotti on Rhapsody by clicking here.