Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

By Gilles Castonguay 路透社

MODENA, Italy (Reuters) – 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.

“There were tenors, and then there was Pavarotti,” said Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli.

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.

“He was one of those rare artists who affected the lives of people across the globe, in all walks of life,” London’s Royal Opera House at Covent Garden said in a statement.

“Through his countless broadcasts, recordings and concerts, he introduced the extraordinary power of opera to people who perhaps would never have encountered opera and classical singing. In doing so, he enriched their lives. That will be his legacy.”

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,” director Ioan Holender said.

2007年是告别的一年……我可以不关心郑多彬的自杀理由，也可以无视许纬伦的车祸事故，但我不能回避Zard和Pavarotti的去世。对我来说，这是一件奇怪的事情——如此不关心娱乐界的我，竟然是今年第二次在blog上发出明星讣告。当mama在饭桌上说起Pavarotti逝世的消息，我不由得一惊，原本炖得很好喝的鸭汤也变得难以下咽了。几天前，是知道了他入院治疗的事情，可是万万没想到，这么快就去了。胰脏癌……还是癌症……71岁，虽已是“古稀”之年~可在这个21世纪来说，在这个年纪去世，也还是走得太匆忙。

艺术就是这样奇妙，作者无法永远留在这世上，可那些他们留下的作品却印刻在了记忆之中，永远传承。我想起了，1998那个法国巴黎世界杯的激情之夜，是三大男高音最后一次同台演出，最后在安可中加演《弄臣》里的“女人善变”——他们的笑容，他们的歌声，突兀地在脑海中重叠回荡。在这个有雨的秋夜里，突然发现自己很想听卡雷拉斯——这是我唯一的庆幸，我最爱的他，还好好地活着。