Underhill.....Ahhh sooo... That Rock Around the Clock gives it away - I , too, was in highschool then.
Fortunately, I ended up in NYC after college and started going to the Met in 63-64. Have been a subscriber since '66. (I can hardly believe it !!)
Anyhow, at the old Met I heard Nilsson sing both Venus and Elizabeth (sp?) in Tannhauser. How did you hear Bjorling? I thought he was dead by the time I became an addict... or is my history off?

We never had the pleasure as others have on this board to have met him, but we did hear him sing two times and took DD with us, and she's become an opera lover as well.

Once when we were at the sculpture garden on top of the Met, we heard this amazing voice coming from what we thought was a nearby apartment--turned out Pavarotti was doing a free concert at Central Park that night!!! We, along with thousands and thousands of New Yorkers shared in this magical event.

What an amazing talent--he'll live forever in all our lives.

(Also, if you've never heard the CDs--Pavarotti and Friends-- from his charity concerts in Moderno, check them out!)

So here is my Pavarotti story:

On a late fall day in the early 80s, I took a ride from NYC to the Hamptons. A friend and I parked at a beachfront parking lot and noticed that one other car was parked at the lot. We took a walk on the beach and when we got back to the parking lot, who did we see heading to his car after a walk on the beach? It was Pavarotti and a young woman (who I believe he later married) I remember he was wrapped up with a scarf around his neck. I was so startled and had no idea what do do or say. I did not want to feel like a total idiot and just tell him how great I thought he was. So I offered them some of the nice grapes I was eating at the time....

I heard Bjorling in San Francisco while I was in college, years before I became an opera buff. Pure luck! And I think Leontyne Price sang Aida. Heard Pavarotti in Aida, too--not his best role, but still...

Remember. Enjoy. Maybe cry a little.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2R_K...pepad%2Ecom%2F

Thank you kagoo for posting this...am enjoying it while I enjoy Fodors!

Underhill... we seem to have similar musical histories.
I was a freshman in college when I heard Price in the Verdi Requiem (dumb luck).. just before she made her Met debut. It's something I've never forgotten. Oh yes, Richard Tucker and Giorgio Tozzi were there, too -

I enjoyed this clip:

http://tinyurl.com/2saujh

I still feel the sense of loss... His genius is irreplaceable and truly divine. I always thought his voice gave the word inspired a whole new meaning.

The world of music will never be the same. Farewell, Maestro!

PS Underhill: I saw him in Turandot at the Met about 10 years ago. Quite a treat...

Yes, great clip with Pavarotti and James Brown, thanks for that link.

Isn't it? I thought at first it would be cheesy but it works. And now they both are gone, such different talents but in that video it all comes together with class.

Thanks SeaUrchin!!