COMMENTARY
PAVAROTTI KISSED ME
This time of year reminds me of
opera star Luciano Pavarotti,
who passed away on September
6, 2007. Then I remember his last
concert in Tampa, which I attended along
with 10,000 other people in the University
of South Florida Sun Dome in 2005. At
the time, the Sun Dome, now called the
Yuengling Center, was larger than any
other performing arts center in the Tampa
Bay area. It was packed for Pavarotti, as it
was over the years for entertainers such
as Frank Sinatra, Elton John, and others.
Pavarotti died from cancer in Moderna,
Italy, just two years after his electric
performance in Tampa.
I wanted to interview him when he
arrived for his one and only rehearsal,
which was to be at the Straz Center in
Tampa with our friends in The Florida
Orchestra. I was told Pavarotti did not do
interviews, but I decided to try anyway. I
waited inside a side door for his arrival.
I saw him get out of a limousine carrying
two suitcases, which I was told he used
to carry two complete sets of scores for
his concerts, one a musical step or “key”
higher than the other. He would use the
score with the “lower key” if he didn’t feel
comfortable with all his high notes at the
time of his performance.
I placed myself in the middle of
the hallway. He was walking fast as
he approached me, and I tried to stop
him and asked for an interview, but he
brushed me off quicker than you can say,
“Ave Maria.” As he walked away, I said,
“Rosalia Maresca says hello!” He stopped
cold, turned around and came back to me.
Then he put both hands on my shoulders
and said, “How do YOU know Rosalia?”
I explained that she played piano for my
wife and I when we performed many of
our concerts. He then kissed me on both
cheeks and said, “That is for Rosalia!” He
walked away and went on to his rehearsal.
Our now famous accompanist, Rosalia
Maresca, is a former opera star herself who
performed in many parts of the world and
had obviously captured the attention of
Pavarotti years ago. She started singing
128 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2021
when she was 9, made her professional
debut at 21 at the Brooklyn Academy of
Music and went on to perform in this
country and Europe. She came to St.
Petersburg years ago to help organize
opera in the Tampa Bay area and to teach
voice at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater
and elsewhere. She is still executive
director of the Florida Lyric Opera
Association and was not only a terrific
singer in her day, but also has been a
producer, director and voice teacher.
My wife Mary K and I went to Pavarotti’s
concert with everybody else, and I found
myself looking at The Florida Orchestra
members to see how many violin players
had gray hair. Many did. A member of
the orchestra had told me that Pavarotti
had requested only violin players with
gray hair because he wanted mature string
players. It was an exciting evening. My
meeting with Pavarotti was unforgettable,
especially that kiss on the cheek, all because
we knew Rosalia Maresca. But I never got
my interview. 9
EDITOR’S NOTE: John Wilson, who retired
from Fox TV in 2014, worked more than 50
years in radio and television news broadcasting.
By John Wilson
John Wilson