Luciano Pavarotti Has Pancreatic Cancer

The news that Luciano Pavarotti has pancreatic cancer has saddened me greatly.

For years he was the only opera singer whose name I knew. The first I really listened to. I even read his autobiography years ago and remember reading how careful he had to be about running in and out of hotels, for instance, because of having to protect his throat.

At 70 years old, his voice has lasted a long time, and he has lived longer than many great singers -- Franz Wunderlich, Mario Lanza, even Jussi Bjorling.

Here's what one blogger wrote:

"He's only 70. I've read that he was difficult, unfaithful... add your characterization here. But, he had the most beautiful voice. And, it filled my home. If I think aobut it, his music was the soundtrack to many of my important memories of the past 20 years.

I remember days when all the doors in the house stood wide open, and our stereo speakers blared into the yard while my husband gardened, my children ran in and out and I worked on my thesis. I remember hand stitching seed pearls from one of her great-great-grandmother's dresses onto the lace of my niece's wedding gown, while sipping chianti. (Living dangerously that.) I remember lonely and quiet evenings alone when his voice, soft and rich as fine satin, wrapped itself around me and filled the emptiness.
A voice for every feeling.
I wish him well as he confronts this illness. I think it's time for a little Pavoratti. So good with morning coffee."

A friend of mine wrote, "That man has given me more happiness than any person on earth."

This reminds me of something written about Wagner. It was written by a Jewish gentlemen, and his family has saved the letter all these years. He said that Wagner borrowed money and didn't pay it back, took other men's wives, and ... but he wrote Tristan and Isolde. He asks his family to forget about him, when he is old and bitter, perhaps, and to remember Wagner and Tristan.

Greatness is so hard to come by.

Another blogger writes: "The recording of Verdi's Rigoletto with Pavarotti, Joan Sutherland and Sherrill Milnes was one of the first opera recordings I bought. It was a box of cassettes-- that's how long ago it was. It's an oldish recording, so the singers are in their prime, and Pavarotti's Duke is just amazing-- he sounds like liquid fire. Listening to that Rigoletto helped get me into opera."

A voice like that doesn't come along very often.

Godspeed, Pavarotti. Get well. We're all pulling for you. For all the hours of bliss you have given us.

Enjoy!
Pavarotti singing Idomeneo by Mozart