Sir, - What an experience was captured by Lyric FM in its broadcast of the Pavarotti concert at Stormont! The great edifice that is this voice from heaven may be eroding at the extreme edges, but the performance demonstrated that the tenor's beguilling magic does not hang solely on strings of glistening high Cs. It is to be heard over the entire range of beautifully forged vowels and words, resonating on a cavernous timbre of burnt sienna and gold. It is borne on arching, thrilling contours of sound that ensnare our senses and emotions, melodious, intense and achingly lovely.
I was reminded of the critic Kenneth Tynan's description of Laurence Olivier's spellbinding voice in the theatre "echoing across the valleys of the centuries". - Yours, etc.,
Oliver McGrane, Marley Avenue, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16.