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Luciano Pavarotti music biography continued...

on October 12, 1935, in Modena, in Northern Italy, to a father who was a gifted amateur tenor and a mother who encouraged Luciano's obvious musical gifts. In 1954, at the age of 19, Pavarotti decided to make a career as a professional opera singer. He took serious study with professional tenor Arrio Pola, who discovered that Pavarotti had perfect pitch, and offered to teach him for free. Pavarotti's operatic debut came in April 1961, as Rodolfo in La Boheme by Giacomo Puccini, at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. From there, blessed with what critics called a voice of startling clarity, range and beauty, Pavarotti's career took off. In 1966 he became the first tenor to hit all nine "high C's" in a single opera. He repeated this feat in his legendary 1972 Met performance and was nicknamed "King of the High C's" in rave reviews. Pavarotti's popularity was arguably more widespread than that of any other living tenor in the world. His 1993 live performance in the New York's Central Park was attended by 500,000 fans while millions watched it on television.
During the late 1990s and 2000s Pavarotti was still showing his ability to deliver his clear ringing tone in the higher register, albeit in fewer performances. During this time, he joined with Placido Domingo and Josep Carreras to form "The Three Tenors," an act that was responsible for the best-selling classical album of all-time—The Three Tenors in Concert. During this time, Pavarotti also became a world-renowned philanthropist, giving back to the international community that had supported him for so many years. In March 2004 Pavarotti gave his last performance in an opera as the painter Mario Cavaradossi in Giacomo Puccini's 'Tosca' at the New York Metropolitan Opera. In 2005 Luciano Pavarotti started a 40 city farewell tour. He sang his signature aria 'Nessun Dorma' from 'Turandot' by Giacomo Puccini, at the 2006 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Turin, Italy, on February 10, 2006. He developed pancreatic cancer in the same year and later died of kidney failure on September 6, 2007. He was buried in a family plot in his home town of Modena, where thousands continue to pay their respects.