Bucks County Herald – November 8, 2007

Nelson Shanks and Luciano Pavarotti

Dear Friends,

Good morning. I wasn’t expecting to hear a vocal recital as I approached Nelson Shanks’ studio a few weeks ago. I associate the famous Bucks County portrait painter with the visual rather than performing arts. As Mighty Betsy would observe, “Wrong again!”

You faithful readers know that I’ve been writing a series of columns about Luciano Pavarotti as seen through the eyes of Bucks County residents. It was Franca Warden from Solebury Township who identified a few of them for me. I knew that Franca was a close friend of Pavarotti and was saddened by his death.

M.B. and I met the famous tenor twice. I was always fascinated by the difference between Pavarotti’s speaking and singing voice. You’d think that the sounds would be identical, but they aren’t always. Isn’t it strange how the brain works? I remember my mother’s sister who had a terrible stammer…but it disappeared when she sang.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when Franca told me to visit Nelson Shanks. He’s painted Pavarotti several times as well as his father, second wife, Nicoletta, and Pavarotti’s secretary.

Nelson’s daughter, Annalisa, met me at the studio. They were listening to a recording of soprano Renee Flemming performing at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She was present as well, and stunning.

The studio was filled with portraits. Two particularly caught my eye. They were King Michael of Romania and Queen Anne. Both portraits looked like they were about to walk out from their canvasses. Shanks has painted hundreds of notables, among them Pope John Paul II, Princess Diana, and former president Bill Clinton.

But I was most interested in the Pavarotti connection. I’ve seen pictures of one of the Pavarotti portraits. The tenor wore red T-shirts for his sittings. “Shouldn’t we use a cape,” Nelson asked Pavarotti?

“No,” Pavarotti replied. “A T-shirt is what I wear.”

Nelson often visited Pavarotti at his Central Park South apartment in Manhattan. Each time, he arrived for a sitting, Pavarotti would request Nelson to change the portrait slightly. “Can you take an inch off my stomach,” Pavarotti asked? And on another visit, it was the same…“Can you take another inch off?”

Nelson talked about Pavarotti’s warmth and gregarious manner. Nelson laughed about Pavarotti once having dinner with Princess Diana. Sitting by her side, he noticed that she hadn’t finished her meal…so Luciano helped the food disappear.

Nelson’s wife, Leona, told me that Pavarotti was so gracious. “He never took his success for granted,” she said. “Once, after a performance, there were 100 people waiting for him at his dressing room door,” Leona added. “He greeted every person.”

Nelson shared an amusing moment where there was a Pavarotti gathering at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. Pavarotti, Nelson, and Leona got off the elevator and commandeered an elegant luggage cart standing in the hallway. Pavarotti climbed aboard while the others pushed the singer toward the crowd. Pavarotti struck a pose that perfectly mirrored the triumphant entrance scene from the opera, “Aida.”

Pavarotti and Shanks had wonderful moments together. On one occasion, the tenor called Shanks and said, “We fly to California tomorrow.”

“I can’t,” Nelson replied. “I have a full schedule. I can’t just leave for ten days.”

“No is not good enough,” Pavarotti answered. “You must come with me.”

“I have a life [too],” Nelson pleaded, “I can’t go.”

“Yes, we’re going,” Pavarotti demanded.

I learned quickly that Nelson is a world traveler. In 2005, he exhibited at the Castello di Sarzana in Italy. In the meantime, the famous Uffizi Gallery in Florence asked him for a self-portrait. It will be the first time that the gallery will hang a self-portrait since Marc Chagall. Next year, Nelson will exhibit at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. And then it’s off to Russia…first to St. Petersburg and then to the Academy in Moscow.

Shanks must be Bucks County’s most famous living artist. His portraits range from $50,000 to $500,000. Although painting is his passion, Nelson cares deeply about music. Once, he sponsored a concert at the Kimmel Center, which made $500,000 for a chamber orchestra.

His daughter, Annalisa is a budding pianist and at 14, plays beautifully. I sat by her side, turning pages for her as she rattled off an intricate J. S. Bach selection, followed by Mozart’s Fantasia in D minor. The pages were a sea of black notes which absolutely frightened me.

But fright is all in a day’s work, and my visit with Nelson Shanks was a delight.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith