To read Opera Chic's tribute to Luciano Pavarotti scroll down or click here.
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Among the very first friends to visit the late tenor's house, early this morning in Modena, was Pavarotti's dear friend Piero Ferrari, son of the founder of Ferrari cars in nearby Maranello and VicePresident of the automotive giant.
Around 7AM (Pavarotti had died only two hours before) a distraught Piero Ferrari paid his respects and then, his face as gray as his suit, exchanged a few words with the media stationed in front of the Pavarotti family home. Ferrari mentioned that he said goodbye to Pavarotti "three days ago... he was a great fighter, still... what did we say to each other? Sometimes you don't need words".
Franco Zeffirelli spoke to the media, among them to satellite tv channel Sky Italia: "There are tenors; and then there is Pavarotti... He was the first to understand that opera needed to find a new audience among young people, and how popular was he among young people... He saw music as a feast... An extraordinary, generous man: the last time I saw him he was already ill but he noticed I was limping because of a hip problem. He had given me the name of his doctor, the doctor who had fixed his knees, and he ordered me to talk to that doctor, he'd help me too... We argued sometimes, mainly about sports (ed: Zeffirelli is a notoriously rabid, spectacularly uncivil hardcore soccer fan of the Fiorentina team, Pavarotti rooted for Fiorentina's hated Juventus) , but he knew in the end I'd always be on his side when it came to art; and I knew he'd always be on my side".
Placido Domingo: ''I've always admired that voice divine... I loved his sense of humor. So often during the Three Tenors concerts his sense of fun made me and José Carreras forget that we were even on a stage".
Katia Ricciarelli describes Pavarotti as ''the Karajan of tenors. His voice was as precious as platinum, but he was also a man of great sense of humor, very intelligent, who had the courage to tackle music outside of our field. He understood the media system perfectly: He received much, but he gave everything to his career. I wish that his art remains in everybody's memory. He had, absolutely, the most beautiful voice of tenor that ever was, and possibly the best voice, period".
French President Nicholas Sarkozy remembers "the most famous tenor in the world. His art. his warmth, his charisma have given so many a chance to appreciate classical music".
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The great Madame Kaibavanska to ANSA news service: "He had the rarest divine gift: the voice's color became absolute purity of sound. He's the quintessence of Italianate singing, he remembers me of Gigli's voice".
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Zubin Mehta, who conducted the other night at la Scala and had recently visited Pavarotti in Modena, talked to Italian news agency Apcom: "His voice will keep bringing enchantment to the universe, wherever Luciano may be now. Today marks the beginning of a new life for Luciano's soul and his wonderful voice. His life led him to eternity: as I speak now, on the radio and TV all over the world Lucianio's voice is ringing, and people can see his face. His memory will never vanish, we will always feel his presence among us".
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Soprano Daniela Dessì to ANSA Italian news agency: "Losing Pavarotti is like losing the sun. I worked with him many times, the first one was in 1991: Pagliacci, under Muti's baton. Then Don Carlos at la Scala, and many other operas. His voice was extraodrinary, and he was a dear man, down to earth, with a sunny disposition. I'm very sad, because his voice deserved to be eternal".
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Conductor Riccardo Chailly still remembers his 1977 Turandot with Pavarotti in San Francisco: "After Nessun Dorma, the crowd's enthusiasm was so overwhelming and the ovation so long that we had to suspend temporarily the opera because we feared a riot could start any minute in the hall".
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Composer Ennio Morricone on Italian tv SkyTg24: "His voice was the sweetest sword, extraordinary and wonderful... I am not prepared to deal with such a loss"
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Gigi Buffon, goalie of the Italian soccer national team, winner of last year's World Cup, and of Juventus FC, Pavarotti's beloved team: "He was an icon, a symbol of Italy in the world: everybody knows him, and admires him. He was the world champion of opera".
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Scala General Manager Stéphane Lissner: "One of the most beautiful voices of all time, and one of the voices most filled with emotion".
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Teresa Berganza: "He was adorable, tender, funny, and cute. Lately, we spoke on the phone quite often: 'My suffering will be brief', he told me, 'I am nearing the end'. He called me Teresina. Some will remember him with Domingo and Carreras in the stadiums, the voice amplified by mikes, but I will remember Luciano at the Met, in Vienna, where his voice touched your heart and could make the hair on your head stand with its power".
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James Levine: "Few singers in the history of the Metropolitan Opera have had the popularity with the general public and the enormous impact that Luciano Pavarotti had during his 36-year career with the company. I will never forget the sheer magic of that voice, but I will also remember the warm, generous, and exuberant spirit of the man".
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Peter Gelb: "He is, rightfully, a legend already -- an artist whose recordings will be a reference for singers and opera lovers for a long time to come. In the larger than life world of grand opera, Luciano Pavarotti was its greatest symbol, captivating millions with his performances from the Met and elsewhere"
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Roberto Alagna's sweet words to the AFP: "He was the Messiah of the tenors: when I heard the news today, I wept. I always say that being a tenor is almost a religion, then he was our Messiah, our prophet". Alagna won the Pavarotti Award in Philadelphia in 1988, a decisive moment in his career: "He was part of my life, my source of inspiration. He made me happy. He loved the people, he never accepted segregation between genres. He opened the way. He taught me that a tenor must have three perfect notes, mi-fa-sol, E-F-G; and in his voice they were indeed perfect. I called him two weeks ago, and he told me, 'Don't forget the three notes!'. My next show in Marseille, tomorrow night, will be dedicated to him. In the opera Marius Et Fanny there's a line where Marius says, 'Dad, I love you very much'. He was really my spiritual father".