To read the Opera Chic exclusive of Juan Diego Florez's moving tribute to Luciano Pavarotti, click here
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To read Opera Chic's own tribute to Pavarotti scroll down or click here
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As Opera Chic said below, not only Luciano Pavarotti has been one of the biggest stars in the Met's history, he was also an unabashed, enthusiastic lover of all things New York, a city he always visited with joy. And the city he chose for his surgery, sadly, when it fell upon him to decide how to proceed in the treatment of his illness.
A happy resident of Hampshire House on 150 Central Park South, benefactor of St. Vincent's Hospital and of Scuola Marconi, il maestro was a constant, cheerful (and hungry) presence at the tables of San Domenico (he could also order out from them the way you and I order Chinese, how kewl!!!) on 240 Central Park South.
Pavarotti, after all, veteran New Yorker that he was, has been appearing at the Met beginning Nov. 23, 1968, with a glorious ending on March 13, 2004, his last hurrah: throughout eight US Presidencies and seven different managements at the Met; here at the Met he was Cavaradossi in Tosca for 57 times, Nemorino in L'Elisir d'Amore for 49 times. And then Rodolfo in La Boheme for 34 times.