Pavarotti Dies at 71

This is a great loss to the world of Opera music. I know he's been accused of being commercial, but he's undeniably talented, personable and effervescent. His is the few Reader's Digest celebrity interviews that I bothered reading.

Farewell, Pavarotti. May you rest in peace. I hear they serve wonderful pastas in Heaven (Try their Angel Hair).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6981032.stm

Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti has died at his home in the northern city of Modena, his manager has announced.

The singer, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, was 71.

His charismatic performances - particularly alongside fellow tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - helped bring a new audience to opera.

Pavarotti had cancer surgery in July 2006 in New York, five months after his last performance. He had not made any public appearances since then.

He underwent five bouts of chemotherapy in the past year, and was admitted to hospital with a fever on 8 August. He was released two weeks later following diagnostic tests.

Fellow tenor Domingo said he had "always admired the God-given glory" of Pavarotti's voice.

Manager Terri Robson said in a statement that the tenor died at 0500 local time (0400 BST) on Thursday.

"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life," she said.

"In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness."

Pavarotti enjoyed 40 years on the world stage and became one of the world's biggest-selling artists.

His music reached far beyond the usual opera audience, particularly his signature tune Nessun Dorma, from Puccini's Turandot, which became associated with the 1990 football World Cup.

His performances with Domingo and Jose Carerras at this time - in the Three Tenors concerts - were seen around the world.

"We've reached 1.5 billion people with opera," Pavarotti told critics of the shows.

"If you want to use the word commercial, or something more derogatory, we don't care. Use whatever you want."

In a statement from Los Angeles, Domingo said he had fond memories of the Three Tenors shows.

"We had trouble remembering we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves," he said.

Nessun Dorma was part of Pavarotti's final performance, at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006.

London's Royal Opera House - where the tenor last performed in Tosca in January 2002 - called Pavarotti "one of the finest singers of our time".

"He was one of those rare artists who affected the lives of people across the globe in all walks of life," a statement said.

"Through his countless broadcasts, recordings and concerts he introduced the extraordinary power of opera to people who perhaps would never have encountered opera and classical singing, in doing so he enriched their lives. That will be his legacy."

Pavarotti was married to his first wife Adua, with whom he had three daughters, for 35 years until they split in 1996.

He then got together with his secretary Nicoletta Mantovani, who was 26 years old at the time. In 2003, they had been due to have twins, but only one survived, a daughter called Alice.

The couple married in a lavish, star-studded ceremony later that year.

Behind the Scenes

Moment's Notice - John Coltrane

Thank God they have left!

As of writing this, the CNA crew has just scampered away. I couldn't be more relieved!

The shooting didn't turn out as I expected. It wasn't grand and the host (if any) was rather low-key. Thank goodness, because I don't want to imagine how the guys in the office will act had the host been someone like Pia Guanio or Iya Villania (though I'd love to have Sam Oh come pay us a visit. She's the coolest host ever, and we know each other). I still HATE this experience. We were taut, and it felt very unnatural and suffocating. I was right in believing all along that with cameras on, we were nothing but thespians, putting on a show that we're more productive than we really are (and I can't say I'm free of guilt, as I played my role in this stupid facade). All along, I was thinking "I can't wait for everyone to act normal again."

Going through all this only fostered my belief that Reality TV isn't real or organic. Who's buying all the notion that the participants aren't putting a show anyway?