Legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti was miming during his last performance at the winter Olympics in Turin in 2006, according to a new book by his long time pianist and conductor, Leone Magiera.
In the book, Magiera admits the performance of his signature 'Nessun Dorma' was mimed, saying "The orchestra pretended to play for the audience, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing. The effect was wonderful."Magiera doesn't mean to bring the star down, admitting "It would have been too dangerous for him, because of his physical condition, to risk a live performance before a global audience."
On the recording sessions for the Turin performance, Magiera said, "he found the force to repeat it until he was completely satisfied. Then he collapsed on his wheelchair and closed his eyes, exhausted."
Pavarotti was is bad shape at the time of the Olympics, but managed to live until September 6, 2007 when he died in his home in Modena, Italy of pancreatic cancer, just shy of his 72nd birthday.
