Thursday, September 06, 2007

Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

I remember hearing Pavarotti for the first time and thinking my heart would stop. Pace! Whatever the shortcomings of his life (and they were many), whatever his penchant for spectacle (and it was ample), he was ultimately appreciated for what Time calls the "sheer splendor of his voice" (Jeff Israely, "Luciano Pavarotti Dies at 71," Time-CNN, September 6, 2007).

Placido Domingo, stated after his singing partner's death: "I always admired the God-given glory of his voice — that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range." Pavarotti died early Thursday morning after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer. He certainly helped me fall in love with opera. I will miss him. Let us pray for him.

No comments: