ITALY / FILE: Legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who brought opera to the masses, died on Thursday after a battle with cancer. He was 71

Although Luciano Pavarotti's health had been seriously failing for a year, the death of the rotund, black-bearded tenor known as "Big Luciano" saddened people ranging from stars, impresarios and critics of 'bel canto' to fans who could barely afford tickets. While past opera stars often locked themselves in a gilded, elitist world, television viewers around the world heard Pavarotti sing alongside pop stars like Sting and Bono in his famous "Pavarotti and Friends" benefits for the needy. Already famous in the opera world, he rocketed to planetary superstardom when he, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras sang at Rome's Caracalla Baths during the 1990 soccer World Cup in Italy. Sales of opera albums shot up after the concert and the aria "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot, which has the famous victory line "At dawn I will win", became as much a feature of soccer fever as the usual stadium chants. Italians going to work on Thursday (September 6) reacted with sadness to the news that opera star Luciano Pavarotti, hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, had died in the early hours of the morning. "I'm very sorry. He was a man who has done a lot to push opera in Italy." said Romolo Franchi, in Rome. "And he was a person who has done a lot to push Italy forward in the world." he added. "A great man of music has died. I am deeply moved, because I have followed his work for a long time" said Mario Testori, on his way to work. In Venice, visitors and entertainment industry workers at the film festival on Thursday (September 6) woke up to the news of opera singer Luciano Pavarotti's death. While morning newspapers were still running articles about Pavarotti's deteriorating health, the news of the tenor's death at 5 a.m. (0300gmt) quickly spread amongst journalists and visitors arriving for the early morning movie screenings. Italian festival attendee Matteo Logreco said Pavarotti had not been given enough acknowledgement in his home country following his success abroad. "He represented the voice of Italy but I have to say, that Pavarotti, like many Italian artists travelled outside of Italy to acquire fame and when he returned he was boycotted for this. The authorities should care more for the Italian artists," he said. "I am sad, for me it's something touching because I live and work in Modena and he was sort of a local myth," another festival-goer, Marco Cipolloni said. 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 shot to fame with a stand-in appearance at Covent Garden in 1963 and soon had critics gushing. His big break came thanks to another Italian opera great, Giuseppe di Stefano, who dropped out of a London performance of "La Boheme" in 1963. Covent Garden had lined up "this large young man" as a possible stand-in -- and a star was born.

ITN Source | September 6, 2007

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