RSJ
Well-Known Member
Funnily enough i was just reading BBC news before i went to sleep last night and they were saying he was gravely ill. Died just before i got up this morning.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6981032.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6981032.stm
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home in the northern city of Modena, his manager has announced.
The singer, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, was 71.
His charismatic performances - particularly alongside fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - helped bring a new audience to opera.
Pavarotti had cancer surgery in July 2006 in New York, five months after his last performance. He had not made any public appearances since then.
He underwent five bouts of chemotherapy in the past year, and was admitted to hospital with a fever on 8 August. He was released two weeks later following diagnostic tests.
Fellow tenor Domingo said he had "always admired the God-given glory" of Pavarotti's voice.
'Long, tough battle'
Although his wife had told papers he was fighting like a lion, it had been feared that he had gone home to die among his friends and family, says the BBC's Christian Fraser in Rome.
Manager Terri Robson said in a statement that the tenor died at 0500 local time (0400 BST) on Thursday.
"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life," she said.
"In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness."
Pavarotti enjoyed 40 years on the world stage and became one of the world's biggest-selling artists.
He brought a new audience to opera, particularly with his signature tune Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, which became associated with the 1990 football World Cup.
'So much fun'
His performances with Domingo and Jose Carerras at this time - in the Three Tenors concerts - were seen around the world.
"We've reached 1.5 billion people with opera," Pavarotti told critics of the shows.
"If you want to use the word commercial, or something more derogatory, we don't care. Use whatever you want."
In a statement from Los Angeles, Domingo said he had fond memories of the Three Tenors shows.
"We had trouble remembering we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves," he said.
Nessun Dorma was part of Pavarotti's final performance, at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006.
London's Royal Opera House - where the tenor last performed in Tosca in January 2002 - called Pavarotti "one of the finest singers of our time".
"He was one of those rare artists who affected the lives of people across the globe in all walks of life," it said.
"Through his countless broadcasts, recordings and concerts he introduced the extraordinary power of opera to people who perhaps would never have encountered opera and classical singing, in doing so he enriched their lives. That will be his legacy."
