Pavarotti Passes

Legendary tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, died of pancreatic cancer yesterday at his home in Modena, Italy. He was 71 years old.

Pavarotti’s manager, Terri Robson, said,

“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.”

Pavarotti had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year. He underwent surgery in July 2006 to remove a cancerous mass; he had also been receiving radiation treatments.

Pavarotti’s death came only one day after becoming the first recipient of the new “Excellence in Italian Culture Award” from the Italian government, the Italian Culture Ministry reported on Tuesday evening. The tenor received the award for promoting Italian culture abroad and within Italy itself. The opera house where he performed for the first time 40 years ago, La Scala opera house in Milan, stated it will organize a singing contest in honor of the Italian tenor.

Following his first professional appearance in 1961, Pavarotti made his Met debut on November 23, 1968, as Rodolfo in La Bohéme opposite Mirella Freni. By the time he gave his farewell performance on March 13, 2004, as Cavaradossi inTosca, he had sung with the company in 378 performances, more than anywhere else in the world.

According to the All Music Guide:

Pavarotti appeared in the first “Live from the Met” broadcast on the PBS network and has been the most consistent draw on that series for years. His outstanding catalogue of recordings on the London (Decca) record label preserves nearly every role he ever performed and will be hard to match for its quality and scope. His charity work has including AIDS benefit concerts and world hunger gala events, as well as his “Pavarotti and Friends” concerts to benefit children, especially in the former Yugoslav states. He also founded a quadrennial contest to identify talented young singers and boost their careers. And, as one of the “Three Tenors,” he has brought operatic singing to a wider popular audience than previously might have been thought possible. In 2003 he released his first solo crossover CD, Ti adoro.

The Met will broadcast the following tribute concerts on Sirius:

• Thursday, September 6: La Fille du Régiment - Donizetti (Jan. 6, 1973) Richard Bonynge; Joan Sutherland, Regina Resnik, Luciano Pavarotti, Fernando Corena
• Friday, September 7: Il Trovatore - Verdi (Jan. 21, 1989) James Levine; Aprile Millo, Fiorenza Cossotto, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Paul Plishka
• Saturday, September 8: L’ Elisir d’Amore - Donizetti (Apr. 29, 1989) Marcello Panni; Kathleen Battle, Luciano Pavarotti. Gino Quilico, Paul Plishka
• Sunday, September 9: Tosca - Puccini (Apr. 1, 1995) Daniel Oren; Elizabeth Holleque, Luciano Pavarotti, Juan Pons
• Monday, September 10: Rigoletto - Verdi (February 10, 1973) James Levine; Reri Grist, Joann Grillo, Luciano Pavarotti, Ingvar Wixell, John Macurdy
• Tueday, September 11: Un Ballo in Maschera - Verdi (Jan. 26, 1997) James Levine; Deborah Voigt, Young-Ok Shin, Barbara Dever, Luciano Pavarotti, Juan Pons
• Wednesday, September 12: Luisa Miller - Verdi (Jan. 23, 1982) Nello Santi; Katia Ricciarelli, Bianca Berini, Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, Paul Plishka, John Cheek
• Thursday, September 13: I Puritani - Bellini (Mar. 13, 1976) Richard Bonynge; Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, James Morris [first time on Sirius radio]