The world-renowned tenor Pavarotti and Domingo had very interesting and unusual choices when making career planning, which can give us some fresh enlightenment when making career choices.
Pavarotti is the "perpetual motion machine" in the tenor world. He sang loudly on the stage all his life, and continued to perform until the year before his death. Many people may have such a picture in their minds: The elderly Pavarotti, out of his love for music and the stage, has overcome his physical weakness tenaciously and brought everyone a wonderful performance. It seems to be an image of a conscientious old artist.
But this is not the case. Pavarotti knew how to do what he could in his later years.
First of all, he never overdos it, and only performs 4 to 5 times a month. The selection of the repertoire is also more cautious. Basically, the repertoires such as "Tosca", "Turandot" and "Masked Ball" are almost impossible to make mistakes. Moreover, he never played the role of a voiceless voice. Once he became unwell, he would cancel the show regardless of the ticket sales. But even so "willful", fans are still rushing.
In his later years, he strives to be "frugal." For example, there is a plot in "Turandot" in which the actor should beat the drums before singing. But he changed it himself. When he was about to beat the drums, he could just draw a picture or find someone to beat the drums for him.
Is this a suspicion of playing big names? not at all. In fact, Pavarotti cares about the audience very much. In his own words, I am the servant of the audience. He loves his body and throat so much to ensure that he can always maintain a perfect state until the last moment of his life.
You know, tenor is a profession that is highly dependent on physical conditions. If you want to sing for a long time, you must protect your capital when you are young and prevent all unnecessary losses. Pavarotti did a very good job at this point. For example, when he returned to his hometown in full glory to participate in the Llangollen Festival in Wales, the local audience looked forward to it and waited outside the venue three hours in advance. However, Pavarotti didn't say a word when he arrived, and walked directly into the stadium.
Regarding this matter, media reports at the time stated that Pavarotti was afraid that the dust around the stadium would hurt his throat.
Perhaps for Pavarotti, from the moment he took the stage, he had already planned to sing for his entire life. For this reason, he cherished his voice very much. This is how he manages his career-I only do one thing, and do the best, and strive to be the best all the time. Therefore, I need to use my capital very carefully.
But another master, Domingo, is different. Domingo is known as the "King of Opera". You know, many tenors have focused their careers on concerts after they get older, because pure singing is easier than opera. However, Domingo has always insisted on performing opera, unreservedly swaying his passion on the stage.
Isn't Domingo afraid of overdrawing his body? It's not that he is not afraid, but because he has been prepared, he has planned for his next career very early.
The first move is to return to the baritone. In 2009, after 50 years of singing soprano, he announced his transformation and returned to baritone. The midrange is obviously easier to control than the treble, and this transformation is to prolong his career. The second move is to embark on a transformation as a command. Starting in his 40s, Domingo often went to some second-line opera houses as conductors to gain experience. Indeed, commanding is a profession that can be done to the old. Domingo's choice is perfect for a singer.
The biggest difference from Pavarotti’s one-to-one selection is that Domingo uses a multi-stage plan. He does not miss the brilliance of the tenor in the past, and is good at discovering new increments in the surrounding resources and finding new directions for his career. This ensures that he can find a career that suits him best at every age. However, the career plans of these two masters have one thing in common, that is, they both set the end of their careers at the last moment of their lives.
On the other hand, most people now regard retirement as the end of their careers, dreaming of growing flowers and plants and traveling around the world after retirement for several years.
Unfortunately, this kind of career planning is no longer applicable.
As the average life expectancy increases, we are likely to live for many more years after retirement. If your career stops here, questions will arise, for example, is the money enough? What to do if life loses its purpose and meaning?
This requires us to consider more long-term when making career planning. In terms of strategy, you can compete for the top in an industry like Pavarotti, and protect your capital and maintain your advantage; you can also plan your next career early, like Domingo.
No matter what kind of strategy, in the final analysis, we need to establish a new concept-a lifelong career view. This is the real inspiration for our generation from the experience of the two masters.
