Howard admits he wasn’t an avid opera fan before his Eight Days a Week producer Nigel Sinclair pitched him the Pavarotti project.

“Similar to The Beatles: Eight Days a Week movie, he said ‘Look, we found some new footage. I think the family is interested or willing to talk. We don’t know for sure, but does the character interest you at all?’” Howard says in this week’s episode of Variety and iHeart’s movie podcast The Big Ticket.”

“And I said ‘Well, it’s kind of perfect for me because I love explorations where I have an innate respect and fascination, but not necessarily all that much knowledge,’ which by the way even includes The Beatles.”

“I understood how charismatic he was,” Howard said. “A little bit later in my life, I began to appreciate the talent but I had no idea what the journey was.”

Luciano Pavarotti was one of opera’s most celebrated tenors. He was 71 when he died in 2007 from pancreatic cancer.

Pavarotti utilizes never-before-seen footage, as you might expect, but also uses state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos sound technology to make the documentary sound as if you’re sitting there listening to the singer perform for you. So, while you may be used to checking out docs from the comfort of your own home, which works for many of the genre’s best offerings, Pavarotti begs you to watch it in a theater, on the biggest possible screen, with the best possible sound.

Howard’s film is a love letter to the icon, but ultimately Pavarotti is a more of a celebration of the individual behind that façade and a reminder that it’s as much his humanity as his talent that made him a star.

Prorom will release Pavarotti in Slovakia on July 4, in Czech Republic on July 11 (in collaboration with Bonton) and in Hungary through our own company Big Bang Media on October 10, 2019.

Sources: Variety, The Playlist, The Wrap.

Howard will reunite with Nigel Sinclair, Brian Grazer and Michael Rosenberg, his team of producers from The Beatles: Eight Days A Week, in addition to Jeanne Elfant Festa, for the documentary.

Pavarotti is a riveting film that lifts the curtain on the icon who brought opera to the people. Howard, an Oscar-winning director, puts audiences front row center for an exploration of the Voice, the Man, the Legend.

Luciano Pavarotti gave his life to the music and a voice to the world, and this cinematic event features history-making performances and intimate interviews, including never-before-seen footage and cutting-edge Dolby Atmos technology.

The film will give audiences around the world a stunningly intimate portrait of the most beloved opera singer of all time. The Documentary also features testimonies from his fellow Three Tenors members José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, as well as U2’s Bono.

As the trailer shows, the singer dedicated a large portion of his life to a series of benefit concerts titled Pavarotti & Friends, giving proceeds to humanitarian causes, for which he raised more money than any other individual.

Legendary musicians and celebrities from all over the world joined him, like Princess Diana, Elton John and Mariah Carey.

During his international farewell tour in 2006, Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died at his home in Modesta, Italy, in September 2007. CNN aired the funeral in its entirety.

Pavarotti is a Imagine Entertainment, Polygram Entertainment, StudioCanal and White Horse Pictures Production, distributed by CBS Films in select theaters on June 7 in the US.

Prorom has acquired the rights for Pavarotti in the following territories: Romania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia.