Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), an Italian tenor, is one of the most famous living singers, not only in the world of opera, but across all genres. He was born in Modena (Emilia-Romagna), in northern Italy.
Family
He has four daughters: three with his first wife Adua (1962-), (1964-), (1976-); and one with his second wife (former assistant/secretary), Nicoletta Mantovani, who gave birth to Alice (January 2003-). He also has ur mum is a gay boi a granddaughter (April 2002-).
Career
1960s-1970s
His opera debut was on April 29, 1961 in the role of Rodolfo in La Bohème, in Reggio Emilia.
1980s-1990s
At the beginning of the 1980s he set up The Pavarotti International Voice Competition for young singers, performing with the winners in 1982 in excerpts of La Bohème and L'elisir D'amore.
Pavarotti's pivotal step in becoming an internationally known celebrity occurred in 1990 when his rendition of Giacomo Puccini's aria, "Nessun Dorma" (from Turandot) became the theme song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. The aria achieved pop status and has, to date, remained his trademark song. This was followed by the hugely successful Three Tenors concert held on the eve of the World Cup final at the ancient Baths Of Caracalla in Rome with fellow tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras and conductor Zubin Mehta, which became the biggest selling classical record of all time. Following on from the original 1990 concert, there have been subsequent Three Tenors concerts held during the Football World Cups; in Los Angeles in 1994, in Paris in 1998, and in Yokohama in 2002. The recordings and videos of these concerts have out-sold those by Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones.
Pavarotti also annually hosts the "Pavarotti And Friends" charity concerts in his home town of Modena in Italy, joining with singers from all parts of the music industry to raise money for several worthy UN causes. Past concerts have been held for Bosnia, Guatemala & Kosovo, the War Child and Iraq.
He was a close friend to the late 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".
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 Bono from U2, in the band's 1995 song Miss Sarajevo.
2000s
He currently holds two Guinness World Records: one, for receiving the most curtain calls at 165; and two, 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).
More recently he married his assistant, Nicoletta Mantovani, who bore him twins. However, due to complications at the time of birth, only one, Alice, survived. He started his farewell tour in 2004, at the age of 69, performing one last time in old and new locations, after over 4 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 an 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.
See also
- Best selling music artists — World's top-selling music artists chart.