Luciano Pavarotti, has died at the age of 71 after a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer. His death was announced by his manager Terri Robson: "In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness." His manager confirmed this morning that he had died at his home in the northern Italian city of Modena. Pavarotti died at 5am local time on Thursday.
Pavarotti was considered by some critics to have been the greatest tenor since Enrico Caruso. He had a unique ability to touch people with the emotional and brilliant quality of his voice. He was a man with the common touch and the most extraordinary gift. His most high-profile performance in Britain was the Pavarotti in the Park concert in a rain-sodden Hyde Park in 1991. His friend, Diana, Princess of Wales, was in the front row. Pavarotti was known for his powerful high C's and a showmanship that helped popularize opera. In sheer numbers of fans, Pavarotti was more popular than anyone before in classical music. Millions around the world came to recognise his signature tune Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, which became associated with the 1990 football World Cup.
The legendary opera star is regarded by many as the finest singer of his generation and is best known for his Three Tenors project with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. Domingo today led the tributes to his fellow tenor. "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," he said. "I also loved his wonderful sense of humour and on several occasions of our concerts with Jos�arreras we had trouble remembering that we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves."
Pavarotti was a lifelong fan of Italian soccer giant Juventus which posted a farewell message on its website saying: "Ciao Luciano, black-and-white heart"
send to friend
pavarotti # 1 fan
loved this video 
