Luciano Pavarotti dies in Italy

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Thursday 6th September, 2007 Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti, hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, has died after a battle with cancer. He was 71.

Pavarotti helped bring opera to the masses and performed to vast stadium audiences round the world. He shot to fame in 1963 after a stand-in appearance at London's Covent Garden when he deputised for Giuseppe di Stefano. Later in his career, he teamed up with Spanish stars Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras at the 1990 World Cup and introduced operatic classics to an estimated 800 million television viewers round the globe. Since that time, 'Nessun Dorma' from the opera Turandot has been heavily associated with Pavarotti and soccer.

Medical problems affected the final years of Pavarotti's career and he was forced to cancel several dates of his marathon worldwide farewell tour. In July 2006, he underwent surgery in New York for pancreatic cancer and has been subject to chemotherapy since then. Last month he was taken to a local hospital with a fever and undertook more tests. He was released two weeks later and went home to be with his family. Pavarotti is survived by his wife and four daughters.

Meanwhile, tributes are flowing in for the late singer, including one from Dame Joan Sutherland who has hailed Pavarotti as one of the great voices in the history of opera. Dame Joan performed operas including La Traviata and Turandot with Pavarotti, saying there was no question he ranked among the greats. The 80-year-old Australian star said on BBC radio: "I'm very sorry to hear he's gone, God bless."

Luciano Pavarotti dies in Italy

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Guess it'll be post-humous now...

Pavarotti Awarded Prize in Italy
September 05, 2007 - Luciano Pavarotti is getting a new government award for his work promoting Italian culture in his country and abroad.

The 71-year-old tenor, who has been fighting pancreatic cancer, is the first recipient of the prize, the Culture Ministry said Tuesday. No date has been set for the award ceremony. 'This prize fills me with joy and pride,' the ANSA news agency quoted Pavarotti as saying Wednesday.

Last month, the star was hospitalized for two weeks in his hometown of Modena with high fever. The tenor had cancer surgery at a New York hospital in July 2006 and has made no public appearances since then.

Milan's La Scala opera house, where Pavarotti first performed over 40 years ago, said it would join a Modena theater in organizing a singing contest dedicated to him. 'It is a precious chance to pay homage to the career of Luciano Pavarotti, a symbol of Italian music in the world,' La Scala said in a statement.

Pavarotti welcomed the idea, saying he hoped the contest would 'open the door to young people.' 'I've always thought that our real value, our real strength lies in the enthusiasm, the devotion and the encouragement we can transmit to the young,' Pavarotti told ANSA.

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O Sole Mio...

Pavarotti left millions in debts: Italian report
Sunday, October 21, 2007 - Italian opera legend Pavarotti died with 18 million euros (US$25.7 million) of personal debt, an Italian newspaper reported Saturday. The famous tenor's bank accounts were 11 million euros in deficit with another seven million in unpaid loans, said the daily La Repubblica.

"The fact that the maestro had debts is no secret for anyone," said Giorgio Bernini, the lawyer for Pavarotti's second wife, Nicoletta Montovani. After Pavotti's death on Sept. 6, the Italian press had speculated that the singer had left between 30 and 200 million euros.

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