Opera maestro Luciano Pavarotti, lauded as one of the greatest tenors of his generation, has died at the age of 71.
His manager Terri Robson confirmed to the Associated Press early Thursday morning that he passed away in his home in the Northern Italian city of Modena."The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life," Robson 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."
It was earlier reported that he had slipped into a coma, and that his kidneys had shut down. Pavarotti was released from a Modena hospital last week, after spending more than two weeks in its cancer ward.
It now seems clear that his hospital release signified a wish to spend his final days among family and friends in his own home.
Luciano Pavarotti was born on 12 October 1935 in Modena, and as a young man showed great athletic promise. But his heart lay in the world of music, and at the age of 19 he began studying the art of singing full-time.
He made his professional debut on 29 April 1961, playing the part of Rodolfo in Puccini's 'La Boheme'. European success followed, and in 1965 he teamed up with Dame Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's 'Lucia di Lammermoor' for his US debut. Pavarotti, an understudy at the time, performed at the behest of the Australian opera luminary after the lead tenor was taken ill.
His star grew during the late '60s with a number of standout performances at Milan's legendary La Scala opera house. But it was his 1972 performance in New York of Donizetti's 'La Fille Du R??giment' that helped define his legacy, receiving 17 curtain calls after singing nine effortless high Cs.
His recordings sold platinum in the United States, and Grammy awards followed, though his star was limited to the somewhat cloistered classical music community.
It wasn't until 1990 that Pavarotti cemented his position as an internationally recognised star, when his rousing rendition of Puccini's 'Nessun Dorma', from 'Turandot', became the official theme of the 1990 Football World Cup, held in Italy that year.
He teamed up with Jos?? Carreras and Pl?ícido Domingo as part of The Three Tenors, with their grand performance at the ancient Baths of Caracalla in Rome becoming one of the most famous performances in operatic history. During the 1990s, Pavarotti was performing to some of the biggest crowds in the world, including the 500,000 who gathered to watch him in New York's Central Park, and the 300,000 who witnessed him perform at the Eiffel Tower.
His final performance in an opera was in 2004 in New York for Puccini's 'Tosca', for which he received an 11 minute standing ovation. His last grand performance was during the opening ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, where he performed 'Nessun Dorma' at the ceremony's climax. With the arrangement in a different key due to the deterioration of his famous, booming voice, Pavarotti performed his signature tune for the last time, his glassy eyes and incredulous gaze complementing what he may have sensed was his true farewell to the world.
