Bucks County Herald – October 25, 2007

Franca Warden and Luciano Pavarotti

Dear Friends,

Good morning. “The woman who possesses you hasn’t been born yet,” Franca Warden told Luciano Pavarotti as he posed for the famous Bucks County artist, Nelson Shanks. The first person I thought of when the famous tenor died was Franca. It was she who introduced Pavarotti to Mighty Betsy and me, 30 years ago.

I doubt that anyone in Bucks County knew Pavarotti better than Franca so I asked her to tell me all about him over lunch. That Pavarotti quip occurred while Shanks was painting the singer at Pavarotti’s Central Park South apartment in Manhattan. Franca was a close friend of Pavarotti and knew Nelson Shanks. It was she who arranged their meeting in 1991.

“Put your hand on my shoulder as if you possessed me,” Pavarotti told Franca. That’s when her flamboyant response popped out.

It’s strange the way columns beget more columns. During Franca’s and my lunch, it became obvious that I should write about Nelson Shanks some day soon. And she gave me another lead for a Pavarotti story with a Bucks County connection. Russell “Rusty” Thomas (also of Solebury Township) created floral arrangements for Pavarotti when Rusty presided over flowers and events at the Carlyle Hotel in Manhattan. We’ll visit Rusty and Nelson in separate columns in a week or two.

Franca shared many pictures of Pavarotti and her. My favorite is the 1987 photo of Pavarotti kissing Franca. “I was a bit heavier then and he was thinner,” she laughed.

Franca has been connected to opera for decades. Her friends, Adele and Douglas Paxson were major patrons of the Lyric Opera Company in Philadelphia and the Academy of Vocal Arts, known as AVA. Franca reminded me that AVA will make its annual pilgrimage to Bucks County on December 1 at Central Bucks East. Mozart’s opera, Cosi Fan Tutte gets top billing. Be sure to reserve the date. For tickets, write Ms. Susan Kane, 64 Chapel Rd., New Hope, 18938, and include a check made payable to the Bucks County Opera Association for $ 40 each.

The opera is an absolute howl. Cosi Fan Tutte is Italian for “Women Are Like That,” meaning women are fickle. Now ladies, please don’t be angry…quite frankly, I happen to think that men are basically like dogs. I’ll have to write a column about that some day. Most of you know that I’m convinced that women are much smarter than men…rather like cats being smarter than man’s best friends. For proof about intelligence, you need to look no further than Mighty Betsy and me.

But I stray.

Franca could write a book about Pavarotti and has hundreds of stories about him. One of my favorites is how he delayed an Alitalia jetliner scheduled for Rome…four hours late! Pavarotti was an excellent equestrian and cook. Adele and Doug Paxson’s Lahaska farm and her horses were legendary. Their love of horses and elegant dinner parties suited Pavarotti’s tastes to a tee. Adele had a French cook and invited Franca, Pavarotti and 24 others to a sit down lunch at noon. That’s right. The Paxson dining room table sat 24, comfortably.

Pavarotti arrived at 2:30.

He was surprisingly agile in spite of his girth. An excellent tennis player, Pavarotti also loved horses, big horses. After all, the tenor weighed 350 pounds at his heaviest. The Chicago Opera Company had recently given him a handsome saddle, which rode solo in a stretch limousine. Pavarotti filled the second limo. Hours flew by. He had such a good time at the Paxson’s that he realized at 6 PM that he’d be late for his 7:30 plane at the Kennedy airport on Long Island. What did the world’s most famous tenor do?

“Please hold the plane,” he pleaded to Alitalia. And they did. The passengers did not complain because he sang to them (says I, not to be confused with the facts).

“Luciano was wonderful with young people,” Franca continued. “He followed the careers of AVA graduates and was dedicated to helping young singers.” He hosted three vocal competitions in Philadelphia and consistently interacted with promising young singers.

“Luciano wanted to make opera known to young people,” Franca told me. “That’s why he related so well with show business singers. He generously gave his time and money to undiscovered singers.”

Because Franca was born and raised in Italy, Pavarotti often had her assist him at social events. Franca was (and still is) a charming translator. He also invited Franca to his second wedding but she was unable to attend because of an AVA conflict. And speaking of AVA, Franca is helping to compile its archives. There’s a history of the AVA in the making and Franca will be very involved.

Franca is one of Solebury Township’s famous residents. It’s fun to hear her stories.

Sincerely,

Charles Meredith