• If you would like to get your account Verified, read this thread
  • The TMF is sponsored by Clips4sale - By supporting them, you're supporting us.
  • >>> If you cannot get into your account email me at [email protected] <<<
    Don't forget to include your username

Opera Legend Pavarotti Dies

featherfingers

1st Level Green Feather
Joined
Aug 18, 2004
Messages
4,126
Points
0
477627_pavarotti_200x200.jpg

Opera Legend Pavarotti Dies
By ERIN PARKE | Thursday, 6 September 2007
Reuters

ERA ENDS: Opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home town in Italy.

Luciano Pavarotti, one of the world's best-known tenors, has died at the age of 71 in his hometown of Modena in north-central Italy.

"The great tenor Luciano Pavarotti died today at 5am (3pm NZT) at his home in Modena," Pavarotti's manager Terri Robson said in a statement.

"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 rotund, black-bearded tenor known as "Big Luciano" helped bring opera to the masses and performed to vast stadium audiences round the world.

Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July last year, forcing him to abandon a 40-concert farewell tour to undergo radiotherapy.

He was sent to hospital for several weeks with a fever last month. His health deteriorated quickly after being released on August 25.

"He remained optimistic and confident that he would overcome the disease and had been determined to return to the stage to complete his Worldwide Farewell Tour," the statement said.

He is survived by his wife, Nicoletta, their four-year-old daughter, Alice, and three daughters from Pavarotti's first marriage.

The news saddened Italians, particularly those in Modena, Pavarotti's hometown. Police stood watch outside Pavarotti's villa as television crews gathered.

"For Modena, it is a enormous loss. Modena is known to the world thanks to Pavarotti," said Antonio Dibiccari, 39.

Pavarotti, the son of a baker and a factory worker, was born on October 12, 1935. He developed a keen interest in singing at the age of nine after he joined the local church choir with his father.

At 19 he began formal operatic training, but failed to find recognition and employment for the next six years.

The struggling tenor's parents agreed to support his career choice on the condition he would move out of home at the age of 30 and support himself.

Pavarotti quit singing in 1960 due to a throat nodule, but a rapid recovery saw him return to the stage.

He wrote of this time in his autobiography, "Everything I had learned came together with my natural voice to make the sound I had been struggling so hard to achieve."

Finally, the tenor's profile began to grow, his performances warmly received throughout Italy.

Pavarotti's breakthrough performance came when a tenor took ill on Australian Joan Sutherland's 1965 US tour. Pavarotti filled in at short notice to great critical acclaim.

His fame grew with triumphant performances in London, Rome and Sydney, which had critics gushing about his voluminous voice.

The impassioned performances drove audiences into frenzy - one performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera inspired a record 17 curtain calls.

Pavarotti's signature prop - a white dinner cloth - came about by chance in 1973. Anxious and perspiring before his international recital debut in Missouri, he asked for a hankerchief and was handed a dinner cloth instead.

As Pavarotti's profile as a singer grew, so did his celebrity. In the 1980s he was consider the world's third highest selling musician, behind Madonna and Elton John.

The tenor was known for his democratic approach to music - in 1988 a duet with Vanessa Williams saw him become the first and only opera singer to star on Saturday Night Live.

Perhaps Pavarotti's biggest gift to the music world was when he clubbed together with Spanish stars Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras at the 1990 soccer World Cup and introduced operatic classics to an estimated 800 million people round the globe.

The Three Tenors recording still holds the record for the most classical albums sold. The trio's brand continued to grow with performances at soccer World Cups in 1994, 1998 and 2002.

Throughout the 90s, Pavarotti embarked on a series of massive concerts that raised the profile of classical music and his own status as a bearded icon of opera. In 1993 he performed to crowds of 150,000 in Hyde Park and 500,000 in New York, with millions more enjoying the shows on television.

Pavarotti's march into the mainstream music charts continued with his collaboration with U2 on their 1995 song Miss Sarajevo.

He was unabashedly thrilled by fame, telling Newsweek magazine, "I want to be famous everywhere. I tell you, the time spent signing autographs is never enough."

Pavarotti developed a close friendship with Princess Diana after he joined her campaign against landmines.

He declined an invitation to perform at her funeral, saying he could not sing well with "grief in his throat".

In 1998 Pavarotti became on of only 15 artists to receive the Grammy Legend Award since it began in 1990. His most recent release was the pop-flavoured Ti Adoro, in 2003.

While his private life was marred by tragedy, Pavarotti appeared to have found happiness in recent years.

He married Adua Veroni as an unknown at age 26, but after the birth of three daughters the partnership dissolved.

In 2003 he married long-term partner and assistant Nicoletta Mantovani. The pair had two children, however, due to complications at the time of birth, only one, Alice, survived.

Over 40 years on the stage, Pavarotti developed a reputation for hitting incredibly high notes - but also for unreliability.

Known in some circles as 'The King of Cancellations', he was famously banned from performing at Lyric Opera of Chicago after pulling out of 26 of the 41 scheduled performances in an eight-year period.

Other controversies dogged Pavarotti's career. In 1992 he was sued by the BBC for selling the broadcaster a lip-synched concert.

Pavarotti become embroiled in allegations of tax fraud in 2000, agreeing to repay $12 million in taxes after it was determined his home was in Italy, not Monte Carlo as he had claimed.

Luciano Pavarotti's lasting legacy, however, will be his opera. While purists objected to his commercialisation of classical music, audiences could not get enough of his perfectly pitched high Cs and flamboyant performances.

Regarded as the greatest tenor since Caruso, Pavarotti harnessed the power of television to communicate his music to a global audience. His flexibility as a recording artist is credited with helping to restore opera to the musical mainstream and finding the genre fresh audiences.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2uYrmYXsujI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2uYrmYXsujI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
 
I liked his voice and musical talent. GREAT SINGER! The world became richer by him. :cry1:
 
I could listen to Pavarotti all day.....instead of most of the music that is played nowadays. Truly a legend, a huge loss for music lovers everywhere.

Rest in Peace....

Rob
 
Far from a huge fan, but its still sad to see such a legend leave us.

RIP Pav.
 
Hiya everyone! :sadcry:
Luciano will definitely be missed. So much of today they featured his music and I couldn't help weeping just at the passing of one of God's true gifts. Pavarotti spent himself not only adding to music and connecting it with people of every generation, but in so many meaningful acts to benefit others including concerts for Amnesty International!

The world was richer while he was with us, and feels emptier now without him. May God make him an angel to let his voice ring out across the universe.:dropatear:

Chickles:redheart:
 
Three decades ago, my mom opined that Pavarotti was, by far, the greatest tenor of the twentieth century. She claimed that none other could do what he did, that no one else had the vocal endowment to do so...

I'm not well versed in these things. Tonight, though, on the way home from work, one of the local classical stations played an aria from Puccini's Turandot that became his signature. There was both magic and majesty in his effort; it had to be experienced. I can't articulate it well enough.

One of my favorite Luciano moments was seeing him in a telecast from the Metropolitan in New York, back in 1980, in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera. His performance was that of a giant, sort of an operatic version of the Shakesperian Olivier; it was both exhilirating, and a fun experience, as well.

The impression I got was that Luciano Pavarotti loved life. That in and of itself is a great gift.
 
I know virtually nothing about Pavarotti, but I do remember seeing him on t.v. a few years ago.....on Saturday Night Live, of all places. Anyway, it was during the holidays and he was on with Vanessa Wiliams. Vanessa sang the first verse of "O Come All Ye Faithful" in english, then Pavarotti sang it in italian. I was blown away by his performance! I thought at that point, now I get why this guy is such a legend.


Drew
 
Maestro's legacy will live on in his music.

Maestro Pavarotti is certainly without a doubt, the best singer that ever lived.
That, explaining the term, is what a Maestro is. The best at what they do in music.

I am a huge metal head if you can not tell by forum name. Pavarotti opened my eyes to a much larger musical world when he collaberated with Max Cavalera who was then in Sepeltura. Pavarotti sang with a metal band and did it perfectly. Tell me another opera singer that can pull that off. Not only that, but he enjoyed working with Max and how he could do the 'metal' growl.

Not only that, Pavarotti was always doing huge charities with guest stars like Bono, Bolton, just to name a couple.

I take my hat off to you, Maestro Pavarotti. Thank you for sharing your voice with all of us, not just the opera goers.

May God welcome you into his arms and let your voice ring out it the heavens.

I included him singing "Ave Maria" for you to hear. It's beautiful.:dropatear

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2uYrmYXsujI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2uYrmYXsujI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
 
oops

apologies : just scrolled up and saw Ave Maria was already posted.

Here is another clip to make up for it.

He sings 'Miserere' with Bono

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kCIs3yG9DCs"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kCIs3yG9DCs" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>
 
477627_pavarotti_200x200.jpg

Opera Legend Pavarotti Dies
By ERIN PARKE | Thursday, 6 September 2007
Reuters

ERA ENDS: Opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home town in Italy.

Luciano Pavarotti, one of the world's best-known tenors, has died at the age of 71 in his hometown of Modena in north-central Italy.

"The great tenor Luciano Pavarotti died today at 5am (3pm NZT) at his home in Modena," Pavarotti's manager Terri Robson said in a statement.

"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 rotund, black-bearded tenor known as "Big Luciano" helped bring opera to the masses and performed to vast stadium audiences round the world.

Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July last year, forcing him to abandon a 40-concert farewell tour to undergo radiotherapy.

He was sent to hospital for several weeks with a fever last month. His health deteriorated quickly after being released on August 25.

"He remained optimistic and confident that he would overcome the disease and had been determined to return to the stage to complete his Worldwide Farewell Tour," the statement said.

He is survived by his wife, Nicoletta, their four-year-old daughter, Alice, and three daughters from Pavarotti's first marriage.

The news saddened Italians, particularly those in Modena, Pavarotti's hometown. Police stood watch outside Pavarotti's villa as television crews gathered.

"For Modena, it is a enormous loss. Modena is known to the world thanks to Pavarotti," said Antonio Dibiccari, 39.

Pavarotti, the son of a baker and a factory worker, was born on October 12, 1935. He developed a keen interest in singing at the age of nine after he joined the local church choir with his father.

At 19 he began formal operatic training, but failed to find recognition and employment for the next six years.

The struggling tenor's parents agreed to support his career choice on the condition he would move out of home at the age of 30 and support himself.

Pavarotti quit singing in 1960 due to a throat nodule, but a rapid recovery saw him return to the stage.

He wrote of this time in his autobiography, "Everything I had learned came together with my natural voice to make the sound I had been struggling so hard to achieve."

Finally, the tenor's profile began to grow, his performances warmly received throughout Italy.

Pavarotti's breakthrough performance came when a tenor took ill on Australian Joan Sutherland's 1965 US tour. Pavarotti filled in at short notice to great critical acclaim.

His fame grew with triumphant performances in London, Rome and Sydney, which had critics gushing about his voluminous voice.

The impassioned performances drove audiences into frenzy - one performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera inspired a record 17 curtain calls.

Pavarotti's signature prop - a white dinner cloth - came about by chance in 1973. Anxious and perspiring before his international recital debut in Missouri, he asked for a hankerchief and was handed a dinner cloth instead.

As Pavarotti's profile as a singer grew, so did his celebrity. In the 1980s he was consider the world's third highest selling musician, behind Madonna and Elton John.

The tenor was known for his democratic approach to music - in 1988 a duet with Vanessa Williams saw him become the first and only opera singer to star on Saturday Night Live.

Perhaps Pavarotti's biggest gift to the music world was when he clubbed together with Spanish stars Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras at the 1990 soccer World Cup and introduced operatic classics to an estimated 800 million people round the globe.

The Three Tenors recording still holds the record for the most classical albums sold. The trio's brand continued to grow with performances at soccer World Cups in 1994, 1998 and 2002.

Throughout the 90s, Pavarotti embarked on a series of massive concerts that raised the profile of classical music and his own status as a bearded icon of opera. In 1993 he performed to crowds of 150,000 in Hyde Park and 500,000 in New York, with millions more enjoying the shows on television.

Pavarotti's march into the mainstream music charts continued with his collaboration with U2 on their 1995 song Miss Sarajevo.

He was unabashedly thrilled by fame, telling Newsweek magazine, "I want to be famous everywhere. I tell you, the time spent signing autographs is never enough."

Pavarotti developed a close friendship with Princess Diana after he joined her campaign against landmines.

He declined an invitation to perform at her funeral, saying he could not sing well with "grief in his throat".

In 1998 Pavarotti became on of only 15 artists to receive the Grammy Legend Award since it began in 1990. His most recent release was the pop-flavoured Ti Adoro, in 2003.

While his private life was marred by tragedy, Pavarotti appeared to have found happiness in recent years.

He married Adua Veroni as an unknown at age 26, but after the birth of three daughters the partnership dissolved.

In 2003 he married long-term partner and assistant Nicoletta Mantovani. The pair had two children, however, due to complications at the time of birth, only one, Alice, survived.

Over 40 years on the stage, Pavarotti developed a reputation for hitting incredibly high notes - but also for unreliability.

Known in some circles as 'The King of Cancellations', he was famously banned from performing at Lyric Opera of Chicago after pulling out of 26 of the 41 scheduled performances in an eight-year period.

Other controversies dogged Pavarotti's career. In 1992 he was sued by the BBC for selling the broadcaster a lip-synched concert.

Pavarotti become embroiled in allegations of tax fraud in 2000, agreeing to repay $12 million in taxes after it was determined his home was in Italy, not Monte Carlo as he had claimed.

Luciano Pavarotti's lasting legacy, however, will be his opera. While purists objected to his commercialisation of classical music, audiences could not get enough of his perfectly pitched high Cs and flamboyant performances.

Regarded as the greatest tenor since Caruso, Pavarotti harnessed the power of television to communicate his music to a global audience. His flexibility as a recording artist is credited with helping to restore opera to the musical mainstream and finding the genre fresh audiences.

<object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2uYrmYXsujI"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2uYrmYXsujI" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object>



im not a fan of opera but this guy has an amazing voice i respect him its terrible he died
 
im not a fan of opera but this guy has an amazing voice i respect him its terrible he died

I'm not really a fan of opera either but my next door neighbors grew up in Modena, Italy and were childhood friends of Pavarotti. The man next door lent me some Pavarotti tapes a few years ago and I gained an appreciation for opera, thanks to him. The lady next door said that Pavarotti was older than 71 years old, too. When she was 15 years old, a slightly older Pavarotti once commented about how skinny she was. She's 75 years old now. Anyway, I appreciate his music and I have them to thank for turning me on to it.
 
First Beverly Sills and now Pavarotti. I hope we can find another singer of this calliber that will attract the masses as he did. He opened up opera to people who would not normaly listen to it. And with all the junk around now people need somthing refreshing and bristling with talent.
 
What's New
7/20/25
There will be trivia in out CHat Room this Sunday Eve at 11PM EDT. .
Door 44
Live Camgirls!
Live Camgirls
Streaming Videos
Pic of the Week
Pic of the Week
Congratulations to
*** brad1704 ***
The winner of our weekly Trivia, held every Sunday night at 11PM EST in our Chat Room
Back
Top