The opera legend’s legacy is brought to the forefront by his label
This year marks what would have been the 90th birthday on October 12th of one of the most iconic voices in music history – Luciano Pavarotti. To honor this milestone, Decca Records is spearheading Pavarotti 90, a global tribute celebrating the tenor’s unmatched contribution to classical music, his international appeal, and his legacy of bringing opera to the masses.
The year-long tribute begins in Wales, at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod — the very place where a defining moment in Luciano Pavarotti’s life took place. Pavarotti’s widow, Nicoletta Mantovani, returned to North Wales on July 12th, where her late husband first stepped onto the international stage at the age of 19. Decca will release The Lost Concert: Live from Llangollen 1995 on November 21st — a never-before-released recording of Pavarotti’s emotional return to the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, 40 years after the Welsh festival changed the course of his life.
In July 1955, at just 19 years old, Luciano Pavarotti travelled outside Italy for the first time, joining his father in the Modena-based Corale Rossini choir to compete in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in North Wales. Singing against 22 choirs from around the world, they won the male voice competition by a distance. Pavarotti would later describe this moment as a turning point — the experience that first inspired him to consider a professional music career and he promised himself he would one day return.
Forty years later, in 1995, he fulfilled that promise. At the peak of his international fame — following landmark performances with The Three Tenors in Rome in 1990, Hyde Park in 1991, and Central Park in 1993 — Pavarotti returned to Llangollen to give a deeply personal concert. Addressing a packed Pavilion crowd, he reflected, “Forty years ago, my God — it seems to be just yesterday for me. I have done so many things. I always say to the journalists when they ask me what is the most memorable day in my life is, and I always say it is when I won this competition, because it was with all my friends.” This historic and previously unreleased concert was recorded, capturing a unique homecoming moment in his remarkable career.
The Lost Concert: Live At Llangollen (1995) recording features the tenor at the height of his powers performing with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, soprano Atzuko Kawahara, and Corale Rossini. The recording has been remastered and comes with a 100-page collector’s book filled with essays, photographs and archive material. It also includes two original 1955 recordings of the Corale Rossini, Bonjour mon cœur and In Nomine Jesu, believed to be the earliest surviving audio featuring Pavarotti’s voice, as well as a rare interview where he recalls his first visit to Wales.
Alongside the Decca recording, Mercury Studios will also release the film of The Lost Concert on Blu-ray on November 21st, including an archive of Pavarotti and interviews and observational footage from the day.
To commemorate this very special occasion, Nicoletta Mantovani attended the 2025 Eisteddfod on July 12-13 for the first time, and handed over the coveted Pavarotti Trophy to Llangollen’s Choir of the World and the Pendine Trophy to the winner of the International Voice of the Future competition, the finals of which took place at the closing weekend of the 2025 festival. A giant chalk mural of Pavarotti’s face appeared on the fields above the Eisteddfod site, with images revealed today.
The celebration continues with a 74-track collection that explores the full journey of Pavarotti’s musical life entitled Novanta (Ninety), It includes his earliest studio recordings, famous duets with artists including Bono, Elton John and Andrea Bocelli, as well as rare performances from Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica. The album will be released worldwide on October 10th.
This year, the world remembers a voice and a legacy that transformed the landscape of classical music and continues to inspire generations. And the celebration doesn’t end in 2025 – more special tributes will follow into 2026, marking a full year of commemorations. Further details will be revealed.
