Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

From Reuters -

Thu Sep 6, 2007 7:49AM EDT MODENA, Italy - Legendary Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who brought opera to the masses with his powerful voice and jovial personality, died on Thursday of pancreatic cancer, aged 71.

Although his health had been failing for a year, the death of the bearded tenor, known as "Big Luciano" because of his 127 kg (280 lb) bulk, saddened everyone from impresarios and critics of to fans who could barely afford tickets.

While past opera greats often locked themselves in a gilded, elitist world, television viewers around the world heard Pavarotti sing with pop stars such as Sting and Bono in his "Pavarotti and Friends" benefits for the needy.

Vienna's opera house flew a black flag to mourn a human being who had an extraordinary impact through his art and who gave endlessly to his audience.

Already famous in the opera world, he leapt to superstardom when he and two other tenor greats, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, sang at Rome's Caracalla Baths during the 1990 soccer World Cup in Italy.

Sales of opera albums shot up after the concert. The aria "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's Turandot, which has the famous line "At dawn I will be victorious", became as much a feature of soccer fever as the usual stadium chants.