Luciano Pavarotti was an internationally famous opera singer (tenor) known especially for his quintessential Italian larger-than-life personality and showmanship. Born in north-central Italy in 1935, Pavarotti original had ambitions to be a soccer star. Eventually he found himself drawn to his father’s opera albums and began singing. By the age of 20, he was traveling with a hometown chorus, a group which won a international music competition in Wales. At the age of 25, Pavarotti made his operatic debut as Rodolfo in La Boheme; his international operatic debut came two years later at the Royal Opera House in London (also in the role of Rodolfo). America would follow in 1965 when he sang with Australian soprano Joan Sutherland (a partnership which would last for years). Pavarotti’s powerful style expanded the popularity of opera music in the United States, and his famous tours with the “Three Tenors†(Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras) further cemented classical music to the masses. Pavarotti died at the age of 71 in 2007 of pancreatic cancer as the world fell silent of one of the greatest voices ever to grace our airwaves.
