The Luciano Pavarotti tribute concert staged in the world heritage site of Petra in Jordan, in front of just 500 people, will now be available to a much wider audience.
A 90-minute filmed version of the Oct. 12 2008 show is being screened in 24 U.K. cinemas tomorrow (Dec. 2) in high-definition, followed by the Dec. 8 DVD release “The Pavarotti Tribute: One Amazing Weekend In Petra” (Decca). All money raised from the sale of the DVD will go to the UNHCS World Food Program; the commercial deal for the cinema release also includes a charity contribution.
“The cinemas are looking at more and more opportunities, now that they have got high-definition technology, to have these kind of events,” event producer and promoter Harvey Goldsmith told Billboard.biz. He said it would get a wider release at 60 U.K. VUE cinemas in January and would then head to cinemas in America and Australia.
A launch screening is being staged at the VUE cinema in London’s Leicester Square tonight (Dec. 1), hosted by Pavarotti’s widow Nicoletta Mantovani Pavarotti and Goldsmith, ahead of the screenings across the U.K. tomorrow.
The event “Salute Petra, Celebrating The Life Of Luciano Pavarotti” was staged to coincide with the birthday of Pavarotti. The world-renowned tenor died aged 71 in September 2007.
The Oct. 12 show at the Amareen Camp featured Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, who had performed with Pavarotti as the Three Tenors for more than 17 years. Among the other performers were Sting, Angela Gheorghiu and Andrea Bocelli.
“It was an extraordinary event, it was a really fitting tribute to Pavarotti,” said Goldsmith. “It’s just such an amazing setting and we put this incredible show together. We wanted to reflect both sides of his life – his classical side and his popular side.”
Given the intimate nature of the show in the ancient site of Petra, Goldsmith said a release of the filmed performance “was always in our mind to do.”
The weekend’s events were conceived by Nicoletta Mantovani Pavarotti and HRH Princess Haya of Jordan. A memorial was held on Oct. 11, featuring tributes from Sting and Bono. So far the Pavarotti tribute concert project has raised around €2.4 million ($3 million), according to Goldsmith.
