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The world's sultan of song, Luciano Pavarotti, died at 71 from pancreatic cancer early this morning. He was at his home in Modena, Italy -- where he was born in October of 1935.
Last summer he was in New York for surgery and hadn't made any public appearances since then, apparently retreating to Modena afterwards. The AP received the following email statement from his manager: “The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness.”
The legendary Italian operatic tenor was arguably the most recognizable and popular amongst the Three Tenors. Placido Domingo and José Carreras never seemed to gain his celebrity status -- known not only by the opera world, but also by the pop culture minded (The NY Times actually refers to him as "a titan of pop culture"), this crossover helped bring the Opera to the masses.
Pavarotti kept an apartment on the Upper West Side and often referred to The Met as his home. It was, after all, the place where he famously first sang nine high C's in succession in 1972, turning him into an international superstar and gaining him the nickname the "King of the High C's". He also gave his last performance in an opera at The Met on March 13th, 2004 -- a night where he received a 12-minute standing ovation for his role in Puccini's Tosca.
The NY Times has much more on the life of this legend, here.
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Alas, John Rys Davies, you will be missed.
Wait ... that's not Gimli!?
Was he diabetic?
he was very fat.
Unfortunately the Met is where superstars go to coast on their reputations for twenty years past their prime. Of course, New Yorkers assume thier opera must be the best in the world. It certainly is the best for uninspired, phoned-in performances.
I heard the third tenor (whoever that guy is) is very upset.
who's second?
This is what happens when you use olive oil for toothpaste.
#4 - You need to get laid NOW.
i'm surprised he made it to 71.
#4 - You need to get laid NOW.
????????
He was the best. He will be missed. I am glad that I got to see him before he died. Rest In Peace Luciano.
I loved him on Jackass.
The irony, I think, is that he really would have had a lesser career if he was more vigilant about his health.
I'm not so sure if his career would have been any worse if he had taken care of himself and not let his weight get so out of control. The idea that opera singers should be fat to have a big voice is mostly a myth. If anything, a thin Pavarotti would have made him more dramatically believable in, say, the role of a starving artist in La Boheme.