He was arguably the most famous opera singer in the world for more than 35 years… and now, as actress Whoopi Goldberg announced this morning on ABC’s “The View,” God’s choir of angels just gained an amazing tenor.
For those of you who missed the news: Luciano Pavarotti, the great Italian tenor who helped popularize opera in the 20th century, has died. He was 71.
The singer had been battling pancreatic cancer since last year and last night (early morning in Italy) he finally succumbed to the insidious disease at his home in Modena. According to Pavarotti’s manager, the Maestro “remained positive until the last stages of his illness.”
Born the only child of a baker, Pavarotti’s boyhood desire was to play soccer, not to sing. It was only after he won an award with his local chorus that young Pavarotti decided to pursue a career in opera. In 1961 he made his professional debut as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme. Four years later he would make his American debut in Miami with Joan Sutherland. However, it wasn’t until 1972 that the larger-than-life opera star would become a household name when he took center stage at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and delivered nine flawless high Cs.
In the 1990’s the Three Tenors concert, with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo made Pavarotti – and opera – accessible to members of the hip-hop generation. Prior to the concert, which ran almost continuously on PBS, opera singers seemed to belong to a gilded and elitist world. In the last decade Pavarotti would open up the world of opera by singing with pop culture icons such as Sting and Bono.
Today Pavarotti’s friends and colleagues described the famous opera singer as a “one of the most charismatic men on the planet” and his voice “as smooth as silk.”
Fellow tenor Placido Domingo issued this statement about Pavarotti’s legacy: “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. They threw away the mold when they made Luciano. He will always be remembered as a truly unique performer in the annals of classical music.”
Around the world fans and friends of Pavarotti paid homage to the man known as “the King of the High C’s.” The Vienna State Opera raised a black flag in mourning. Meanwhile, newscasts across the globe, from Japan to Israel to the United States and Europe, led with reports of his death and thousands of radio stations aired his unmistakable recordings in tribute to his memory.
Pavarotti was a best-selling classical artist and sold more than 100 million records since the 1960s. He also had the first classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts.
What are some of your favorite Pavarotti memories?
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