Earlier today, in Vedano al Lambro, Monza, on the outskirts of Milan, 500 people -- not all of them could be seated inside the small church and had to follow the service from the outside -- gathered to pay their respects at the funeral of Salvatore Licitra.
The officiating priest, Father Eugenio Della Libera, remembered Licitra as a "simple man" who loved the opera and often attended performances like a simple fan, exactly the way he did before becoming a professional singer, for the love of the art form, unwilling to ask for luxury seats or special treatment.
Italian TV will honor the late tenor on Sunday morning, by broadcasting (starting at 10AM) on RAI5 the 2000 "Tosca" from Scala, directed by Luca Ronconi, conducted by Riccardo Muti where Licitra sang alongside Maria Guleghina and Leo Nucci. Then, "Cavalleria Rusticana" from last January, a Scala production also, directed by Mario Martone and conducted by Daniel Harding, where Licitra sang alongside Luciana D'Intino and Elena Zilio.