Word: operas
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...Pavarotti died at 5 a.m. local time at home in the northern city of Modena where he was born. As word of his death spread, the singer was remembered both by experts and ordinary folks for reinvigorating and reinventing (some critics would say, ruining) the classical art form of opera, or la musica lirica, that was born here in the 17th century. "Like Ferrari, he was the symbol of Italy in the world," said noted music critic Mario Luzzato Fegiz. "He was admired for his talent, for his capacity to be a tenor without pretensions, to be close...
...bottom up to the very top of the tenor range." Back in Italy, Minister of Culture Francesco Rutelli concluded that, "Luciano Pavarotti was a giant of the 20th century. His unrivaled and imposing vocal power, like his stage presence, made him one of the top protagonists of the Italian opera tradition...
...Modena baker, himself an amateur opera singer, the young Pavarotti grew up dreaming instead of a career as a soccer player. Decades later, he would sing his signature tune Nessun Dorma at the inauguration of the 1990 World Cup in Italy, which by many accounts may have been his most widely seen peformance by hundreds of millions of television viewers. His last major appearance was singing at the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin...
...both a perfectionist and a born showman, as his status as cultural icon was sealed by unprecedented duets with rock and pop music singers, from Bono to Stevie Wonder to Celine Dion. Some opera purists will never forgive the tenor for these Pavarotti and Friends performances, which he acknowledged in one of his final interviews last year with Italian journalist Ettore Mo. "There were polemics because I'd thrown myself into a completely different genre," Pavarotti noted. But in the same interview, just a few months after cancer surgery, Pavarotti was counting his blessings. "I am and have been...
Audience members at the Metropolitan Opera looked at one another in amazement. Did we just hear what we thought we heard? Onstage, the strapping young Italian tenor singing opposite Joan Sutherland in The Daughter of the Regiment had just trumpeted a ringing high C, then another, and another. He was singing an aria that most tenors transpose down a step, in order to get by on B-flats (tough enough). But this fellow tossed off every high C in the aria with astonishing ease and brilliance - nine in all. The effect was electrifying. Within a day the Met box office...