EXCLUSIVE: Women Occupy Hollywood, the L.A.-based production company committed to female-driven storytelling, has secured rights to Italian writer-director Ivana Massetti’s dramatized Luciano Pavarotti biopic project Vox Divina.
The fruit of two years of research, the project aims to chronicle the legendary tenor’s life from his boyhood in Modena, Italy, to his confirmation as a star at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the 1970s.
“He’s the world’s most beloved tenor, and this story delves into his ascension to ‘The King of the High C’ on the stage of New York’s Metropolitan Opera.” said writer-director Ivana Massetti.
Over the course of two years, Massetti interviewed dozens of people who knew Pavarotti intimately, from family members such as his daughters Cristina and Giuliana Pavarotti, to his best friend Franco Casarini, known as Panocia, and long-time collaborators such as Met pianist Gildo Di Nunzio, promoter/producer Tibor Rudas, to the women who shaped his journey.
She also spoke to his first wife, Adua Veroni, and his second wife, Nicoletta Mantovani.
“During Ivana’s interviews with me,I appreciated her solid preparation on Luciano’s artistic training, her tireless desire to understand, and her rare, sensitive capacity to listen,” said Veroni.
“This project was born out of love and respect for Pavarotti. His voice goes straight to my heart, to my gut,” Massetti explained.
“When he was young, the Bel Canto was for everyone. Then it became an elite artform. Luciano made opera accessible again, he gave opera back to the people. His divine voice pierces our soul. Generously. Joyously. Passionately. That’s my Young Pavarotti. A tale full of passion, determination, love and beauty. Art is a mystery. His divine voice is a mystery. It blesses and inspires all of us and will continue to bless and inspire the world. Forever. He represents the best part of Italy,” she added.
Massetti initially developed the project as a TV series but has since decided that Vox Divina would work better as feature film, which in turn connected her to Women Occupy Hollywood. The company is now embarking on financing for the developed project.
