ITALY: Pavarotti's widow Nicoletta and ex-wife Aduela visit coffin in cathedral as mourners pay their respects

The current and former wife of Luciano Pavarotti have visited the coffin of the opera star as it lies in state in Modena's cathedral, as mourners continue to line up to pay their respects. Members of Luciano Pavarotti's family on Friday (September 7) arrived at Modena's cathedral to pay their respects next to the body of the opera star as it lies in state in advance of the funeral scheduled for Saturday afternoon. The singer's current wife Nicoletta Mantovani, carrying his four-year-old daughter Alice in her arms, was seen to leave the cathedral surrounded by a security escort . Shortly afterwards his former wife Adua Veroni and two middle-aged daughters were also seen entering the cathedral, where rows of people were still streaming past the coffin. "I have so many memories, I was good friends with him," said former policeman Andrea Pollana after paying his respects to the opera star. "I have been to his villa many times, not as a policeman but as a friend. I am really emotional. I can't say anything more, I am so sad," said Pollana. Music stores are reporting record sales of the artist's CDs. "It all goes as long as it's got Pavarotti's face on it. Many Italians (are buying the CDs) but overall foreigners from America, Germany and many people from China," shop manager Riccardo Bozzi told Reuters. Pavarotti, one of the finest tenors of his generation, who did more than any other singer to bring opera to the masses, died after a long fight with pancreatic cancer. He spent his final days in his villa near Modena, where he also owned a restaurant and gave lessons at the local music school even in the final months of his illness.

ITN Source | September 7, 2007

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