September 6, 2007
Plunging opera lovers into a deep mourning, the legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti died this morning at his home in Italy. He was 71.
Hailed as the greatest tenor of his generation and the most popular singer since death of Enrico Caruso, Pavarotti passed away during the night at his villa near the northern city of Modena. He was suffering from pancreatic cancer.
The funeral will be held at Modena Cathedral on Saturday.
Pavarotti was regarded as the king of tenors from the late 1960s through the 1990s. He popularized opera more than any other singer through recordings that made him the best-selling classical artist ever and concerts in parks and stadiums around the world that were televised to millions.
He was also known as the a rock star for people over 30. He was known for taking opera outside the concert hall, while he also shared the stage with rock and pop singers, including Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Sting and Bono of U2, to raise money for charities.
Pavarotti toured the world alongside Domingo and Carreras for the ``Three Tenors'' concerts, which began with the 1990 World Cup and were repeated every four years through 2002. The CD from the first concert broke all records for classical music, selling more than 11 million copies.
Pavarotti first performed at the Miami-Dade County Auditorium in February 1965 with Sutherland. He made his debut at the Met as a relative unknown on Nov. 23, 1968, opposite soprano Mirella Freni, a childhood friend from Modena.
He left his wife Adua in 1996 after 35 years of marriage and three grown-up daughters for his secretary Nicoletta Mantovani, whom he married in 2003, and with whom he had one child. |
