Luciano Biography and Works.

Luciano was born on October 12, 1935, in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, in Northern Italy. His father, Fernando Pavarotti, was a gifted amateur tenor, who instilled a love for music and singing in young Luciano. His mother, Adele Venturi, worked at the local cigar factory. Young Pavarotti showed many talents. He first sang with his father in the Corale Rossi, a male choir in Modena, and won the first prize in an international choir competition in Wales, UK. He also played soccer as a goalkeeper for his town’s junior team.

Pavarotti made his operatic debut on April 29, 1961, as Rodolfo in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, at the opera house in Reggio, Emilia. Eventually, Pavarotti stepped in for Di Stefano in 1963, at the Royal Opera House in London as ‘Rodolfo’ in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, making his international debut. Pavarotti made his American debut opposite Sutherland in February of 1965, in Miami Opera. In March 2004, Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera as painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca’ at the New York Metropolitan Opera.

Luciano Pavarotti died of kidney failure on September 6, 2007, at home in Modena, Italy, where he was surrounded by his family. He was laid to eternal rest with his parents in the family tomb in Montale Rangone cemetery near Modena. His funeral ceremony in Modena was an international event attended by celebrities and over fifty thousand music lovers from all over the world.

Trivia

He was a recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.

Quote

“Above all, I am an opera singer. This is how people will remember me.”