When he auditions for his first major role, Pavarotti singles himself out by his ability to hit a high C with command and authority during his performance.

He performs with sopranos of world renown such as Joan Sutherland and Mirella Freni and also launches a recording career.

There Pavarotti, Carreras, and Placido Domingo happen to be staying at the same hotel for a period of time with the Metropolitan Opera season underway.

A promoter hears of the three of them staying at the same hotel, and knowing that they are all soccer fans, suggests to them that he could arrange for a concert on the eve of the World Cup Final, where the three of them could perform in the same venue.

Their playful singing of "’O sole mio" becomes a stand-out hit, with Carreras and Domingo echoing Pavarotti's signature trills from his repetition of the song's opening lyrics.

The recorded version of the 1990 concert becomes the best-selling classical music album of all time, outselling established rock star acts on the top Billboard 100 lists.

The film was produced with the cooperation of Luciano Pavarotti's estate using family archives, interviews, and live music footage.

[5] In addition to directing the documentary, Ron Howard served as a producer alongside Brian Grazer, Nigel Sinclair, Michael Rosenberg, and Jeanne Elfant Festa.

[1] An official soundtrack album, Pavarotti: Music from the Motion Picture, was released worldwide on digital download and CD on June 7, 2019, by Decca Records.

[30] In New Zealand, the film was released on June 13, 2019, through Madman Entertainment, grossing $46,260 in its opening weekend across 50 screens, finishing eighth at the box office.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Pavarotti pays entertaining tribute to a towering cultural figure with a documentary whose evident affection for its subject proves contagious.

[36] The Washington Post described the documentary as "terrible but timely", a "mediocre film, imperfect and annoying", that opera lovers should nevertheless watch.