Tom's Life Bits

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===== Pavarotti dies of cancer at age 71 =====

* [[World Mourns Pavarotti]] - AP story in N-O
  * [[Italian tenor Pavarotti]] - N-O Sept 6, 2007
  * [[Luciano Pavarotti, 71, Has Died]] - Opera News Sept 6, 2007

==== PAVAROTTI'S LIFE ====

Oct. 12, 1935: Luciano Pavarotti is born in Modena, Italy, to an opera-loving baker, Fernando, and his wife, Adele.

April 29, 1961: Pavarotti makes his operatic debut as Rodolfo in La Boheme at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. He quickly finds fame and success and travels both within Italy and across Europe, performing everywhere from Zurich to London.

Sept. 20, 1961: Pavarotti marries Adua Veroni. First daughter Lorenza is born in 1962, and daughter Cristina is born in 1964. Their third daughter, Giuliana, is born in 1967.

February 1965: Pavarotti makes his American debut in a Miami performance of Lucia di Lammermoor opposite Joan Sutherland.

Feb. 17, 1972: The Pavarotti phenomenon begins with a production of La Fille du Regiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera. His aria includes nine high C notes and he receives a standing ovation from the audience and a record number of curtain calls.

March 15, 1977: Pavarotti reprises his role as Rodolfo in La Boheme in the first telecast of Live from the Metropolitan Opera. It attracts one of the biggest audiences for a televised opera broadcast.

1982: He performs with the winners of the first Pavarotti International Voice Competition for young singers in excerpts of La Boheme on April 25, 27, and 30 and L'Elisir d'Amore on May 7 and 9 in Philadelphia.

1989: After Pavarotti cancels 26 of 41 scheduled appearances at the Lyric Opera of Chicago between 1981 and 1989, Ardis Krainik, the opera's general director, announces Pavarotti is no longer welcome for future engagements. Pavarotti responds by saying he will no longer consider the Lyric for future performances.

1990: Pavarotti's version of the aria Nessun Dorma from Turandot becomes the theme song for coverage of the 1990 World Cup in Rome. The aria becomes his trademark song. On July 7, the Three Tenors Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras take the stage the evening before the final. The trio goes on to perform all over the world and release a number of live and studio albums.

Sept. 27, 1992: Pavarotti performs in Modena. The BBC buys rights to air the concert, only to discover that Pavarotti was lip-synching his part.

1995: He appears with U2 (recording under the pseudonym Passengers) on the song Miss Sarajevo. In November, Pavarotti announces that he will reprise his star-making role as Tonio in La Fille du Regiment in a series of performances at the Met.

1996: Pavarotti begins living with his former secretary, Nicoletta Mantovani, a woman younger than the tenor's three daughters. Pavarotti and wife Adua Veroni finalize their divorce in 2000.

Dec. 12, 1998: Pavarotti is the first opera singer to perform on Saturday Night Live, alongside Vanessa Williams.

2001: In December, he receives a Kennedy Center Honor, along with Julie Andrews, Van Cliburn, Quincy Jones and Jack Nicholson.

2002: He splits with longtime manager Herbert Breslin, who publishes a critical book about working with Pavarotti. He also loses his mother and dedicates a performance at London's Royal Opera House to her memory.

2003: Mantovani gives birth to their daughter, Alice, in January. In September, Pavarotti releases his most recent album to date, a studio production of original pop-style songs entitled Ti Adoro. On Dec. 13, Pavarotti and Mantovani marry in an Italian ceremony in Pavarotti's hometown of Modena.

March 13, 2004: He gives his final performance in an opera in Tosca, and receives a 12-minute standing ovation. Pavarotti announces a 40-city farewell tour.

March 2005: Pavarotti undergoes neck surgery to repair two vertebrae.

2006: In February, he performs at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin, singing his classic Nessun Dorma. It's his final appearance, because in July, he's diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and undergoes surgery to remove the tumor. His farewell tour is canceled.

Aug. 8, 2007: Pavarotti, running a fever, is hospitalized for tests.

Sept. 6, 2007: The tenor dies at his home in Modena, Italy.

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