Italian Tenor Pavarotti Dies at Age 71 By ALESSANDRA RIZZO Associated Press Writer
Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71.
His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August.
"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," the statement said.
Speaking from inside Pavarotti's home, which was guarded by police, Pavarotti's assistant Edwin Tinoco told Sky TG 24 television that Pavarotti's final days had been calm and spent at home.
For serious fans, the unforced beauty and thrilling urgency of Pavarotti's voice made him the ideal interpreter of the Italian lyric repertory, especially in the 1960s and '70s when he first achieved stardom. For millions more, his charismatic performances of standards like "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot" came to represent what opera is all about.
In fact, "Nessun Dorma" was Pavarotti's last performance, sung at at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, in February 2006. His last full-scale concert was at Taipei in December 2005, and his farewell to opera was in Puccini's "Tosca" at New York's Metropolitan in March 2004.
It was the second monumental loss in the opera world in recent months. American soprano Beverly Sills, whose widespread popularity mirrored Pavarotti's, died July 2 at her home in New York. She was 78 and suffered from cancer.
Instantly recognizable from his charcoal black beard and tuxedo-busting girth, Pavarotti radiated an intangible magic that helped him win hearts in a way Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - his partners in the "Three Tenors" concerts - never quite could.
"I always admired the God-given glory of his voice - that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range," Domingo said in a statement from Los Angeles.
"I also loved his wonderful sense of humor and on several occasions of our concerts with Jose Carreras - the so-called Three Tenors concerts - we had trouble remembering that we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves," he said.
Pavarotti, who seemed equally at ease singing with soprano Joan Sutherland as with the Spice Girls, scoffed at accusations that he was sacrificing his art in favor of commercialism.
"The word commercial is exactly what we want," he said, after appearing in the widely publicized "Three Tenors" concerts. "We've reached 1.5 billion people with opera. If you want to use the word commercial, or something more derogatory, we don't care. Use whatever you want."
Good for you , Luciano. The world will indeed miss you. On the OTHER hand...
Luciano Pavarotti, whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him the most beloved and celebrated tenor since Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar, died Thursday. He was 71.
His manager, Terri Robson, told the AP in an e-mailed statement that Pavarotti died at his home in Modena, Italy, at 5 a.m. local time. Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year and underwent further treatment in August.
"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," the statement said.
Speaking from inside Pavarotti's home, which was guarded by police, Pavarotti's assistant Edwin Tinoco told Sky TG 24 television that Pavarotti's final days had been calm and spent at home.
For serious fans, the unforced beauty and thrilling urgency of Pavarotti's voice made him the ideal interpreter of the Italian lyric repertory, especially in the 1960s and '70s when he first achieved stardom. For millions more, his charismatic performances of standards like "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's "Turandot" came to represent what opera is all about.
In fact, "Nessun Dorma" was Pavarotti's last performance, sung at at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, in February 2006. His last full-scale concert was at Taipei in December 2005, and his farewell to opera was in Puccini's "Tosca" at New York's Metropolitan in March 2004.
It was the second monumental loss in the opera world in recent months. American soprano Beverly Sills, whose widespread popularity mirrored Pavarotti's, died July 2 at her home in New York. She was 78 and suffered from cancer.
Instantly recognizable from his charcoal black beard and tuxedo-busting girth, Pavarotti radiated an intangible magic that helped him win hearts in a way Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - his partners in the "Three Tenors" concerts - never quite could.
"I always admired the God-given glory of his voice - that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range," Domingo said in a statement from Los Angeles.
"I also loved his wonderful sense of humor and on several occasions of our concerts with Jose Carreras - the so-called Three Tenors concerts - we had trouble remembering that we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves," he said.
Pavarotti, who seemed equally at ease singing with soprano Joan Sutherland as with the Spice Girls, scoffed at accusations that he was sacrificing his art in favor of commercialism.
"The word commercial is exactly what we want," he said, after appearing in the widely publicized "Three Tenors" concerts. "We've reached 1.5 billion people with opera. If you want to use the word commercial, or something more derogatory, we don't care. Use whatever you want."
Good for you , Luciano. The world will indeed miss you. On the OTHER hand...
13 comments:
Julieanne and I once got a chance to see the Great Pavarotti close-up back in the days when we were chums with DRAGONHEART producer Raffaella DeLaurentiis. Being Italian and an Opera buff, Raffaella shelled out an obscene amount of money (thousands of dollars, I'm told) for 6 box seats at the Hollywood Bowl. We were one of the chosen couples to sit with Raffy and her guy.
Unfortunately, being Italian and loving Opera and being slightly swozzled on wine, Raffaella was under the mistaken notion that several of Mr. Pavarotti's arias were sing-a-longs and proceeded to join him. This breech of etiquette was bad enough, but Raffaella is also tone deaf and couldn't sing...or certainly can't when she's swozzled. The stares of the well-heeled patrons were ugly and we were probably lucky not to get pitched out on our ass.
Chuck that's priceless!
Is this guy a relation of Dino?
The guy is a gal and, yes, she is Dino's daughter. The lesson learned: Never go to the Opera with an Italian!
Ooops...My bad...
It's a common mistake. Raffaella thought her balls clanked.
Chuck, that is so funny...
I saw him at the Hollywood Bowl too, in the late 90's, when I was living there and was not close at all...way back, as a matter of fact and it still was so beautiful..so beautiful
I was just reminded of all the folks I saw at the bowl in the short amount of time I lived there...I loved that place! another of which was Debbie Renyolds, man that was fun!!
The Hollywood Bowl was/is one of the greatest entertainment values in LA. One could buy a cheap ticket (around two dollars when I first got there; it may have drifted up to 5-6 now) in the highest reaches of the nose-bleed seats, spread out, bring the picnic basket, and the bottles of wine and just listen to great music and artists waft up to you as gazed at the stars under a great LA night (on those rare nights when stars were actually visible).
I heard...because I was usually too far back to see...Tony Bennett, Rosie Clooney, Michael Feinstein, Mandy Patinkin, Babara Cook, Ella Fitzgerald, Cincy Pop's own Erich Kunzel, and many, many more there. And occasionally you'd see a befuddled coyote wander across the stage through the music stands.
For a long time, we lived close enough to walk to the place, but even after we didn't, we always knew the secret places to park in order to elude the crowded parking lots.
Favourite memory. Being in a crowd of departing pedestrians jammed in a tunnel that went under the Cahuengha Pass. Some wag broke into song, "It's A Small World After All", taken up by the whole crowd.
I heard tell them there BEATLE kids played there once!
C, love that story...I really enjoyed the Greek too...saw Bonnie Raitt (msp), Chaka Khan (probably msp. too) and a few others there..when I saw the symphony with YoYo at the bowl, I absolutely knew it was one of most special nights..man oh man
X, Big Congrats to you and your ensemble of compatriots in MA RAINEY! And special kudos to Sidney Shaw for directing a very special production of a terrific play. You all were great! What a great evening in the theatre!
Loved the show yesterday!!! Congrats!
I think we've mourn enough...let's press on, shall we?
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