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| Birth Name(s) : Luciano Pavarotti |
Date of Birth: N/A |
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Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Actor |
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Full Luciano Pavarotti Biography
Luciano Pavarotti, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 12, 1935 – September 6, 2007) was a celebrated Italian tenor in opera music, who successfully crossed into popular music becoming one of the most beloved vocal performers. Known for his televised concerts, media appearances, and as one of The Three Tenors, Pavarotti was also noted for a charity work benefiting refugees, the Red Cross, and other causes.
The later years brought a decline in ability to perform on stage due to a weight gain and lack of mobility. Pavarotti's final appearance in an opera was at the Met in March 2004. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy saw him performing for the last time. Pavarotti sang Nessun dorma, with the crowd as its Chorus, and got a thunderous standing ovation. In 2007, he died at home in Modena from pancreatic cancer.
After what appears to have been a normal childhood with a typical interest in sports — in Pavarotti's case football (soccer) above all — he graduated from the Schola Magistrale and faced the dilemma of a career choice. He was interested in pursuing a career as a professional football (soccer) goalkeeper, but his mother convinced him to train as a teacher. He subsequently taught in an elementary school for two years but finally allowed his interest in music to win out. Recognizing the risk involved, his father gave his consent only reluctantly, the agreement being that Pavarotti would have free room and board until age 30, after which time, if he had not succeeded, he would earn a living by any means that he could.
Very early in his career, on February 23, 1963, he debuted at the Vienna State Opera with the same role. In March and April 1963 Vienna saw Pavarotti again as Rodolfo and as Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto. The same year saw his Royal Opera House debut, where he replaced an indisposed Giuseppe di Stefano as Rodolfo.
On December 12, 1998 he became the first (and, so far, only) opera singer to perform on Saturday Night Live, singing alongside Vanessa L. Williams. He also sang with U2, in the band's 1995 song Miss Sarajevo.
He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001 and holds two Guinness World Records: for receiving the most curtain calls — at 165 — and for the best selling classical album (this album is In Concert by The Three Tenors and is thus shared by fellow tenors, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras).
On 13 December 2003 he married his former personal assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani, with whom he already had a daughter, Alice. He started his farewell tour in 2004, at the age of 69, performing one last time in old and new locations, after over four decades on the stage. Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera at the New York Metropolitan Opera on March 13, 2004 for which he received a 12-minute standing ovation for his role as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. On December 1, 2004, he announced a 40-city farewell tour to be produced by Harvey Goldsmith.
On February 10, 2006, Pavarotti sang "Nessun Dorma" at the 2006 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Turin, Italy at his final performance. The final act of the opening ceremony, his performance received the longest and loudest ovation of the night from the international crowd.
Pavarotti himself summarized his career as follows: "I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent and this is what I have devoted my life to."
While undertaking an international "farewell tour," Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July of 2006. The tenor fought back against the implications of this diagnosis, undergoing major abdominal surgery and making plans for the resumption and conclusion of his singing commitments. On September 6 2007, however, in an e-mail statement, his manager, Terri Robson, wrote, "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 was survived by four daughters: three, Lorenza, Cristina and Giuliana with first wife Adua, to whom he was married for 34 years; and one, Alice, with second wife Nicoletta Mantovani. At the time of his death, he had one granddaughter. His first will was opened the day after his death and a second will, within the same month of September. . His fortune was estimated to be roughly between 20-120 million US Dollars with about 20m in the U.S. and included an estate outside his native Modena, a villa in Pesaro, an apartment in Monte Carlo, a villa in Barbados and three apartments in New York City .
He was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. They raised money for the elimination of land mines worldwide. He was invited to sing at her funeral service, but declined, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat". Nonetheless, he attended the service. |
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