Luciano Pavarotti

I rose and discovered that the world had lost one of its great men: Luciano Pavarotti, one of the greatest opera singers of all time. Although I did not know Pavarotti in person, I knew him through his music and his joy and happiness in life. In times of stress and unhappiness, he has given me contentment and peace through his music and the enthusiasm for beauty in life he constantly displayed both in his public and private lives.

Pavarotti's charismatic persona and ebullient showmanship but most of all his creamy and powerful voice made him the most celebrated tenor since the great Enrico Caruso and one of the few opera singers to win crossover fame as a popular superstar.

For serious fans, the unforced beauty and thrilling urgency of Pavarotti's voice made him the ideal interpreter of the Italian lyric repertory. His thrilling performances of standards like "Nessun Dorma" (his signature piece) from Puccini's "Turandot" came to represent what opera is all about.

Instantly recognizable from his charcoal black beard and tuxedo-busting girth, Pavarotti radiated an intangible magic that helped him win hearts in a way Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, his partners in the hugely popular "Three Tenors" concerts, never quite could.

The son of a singing baker, Pavarotti  was known as the "King of the High C's" for the ease with which he tossed off difficult top notes. He became an instant celebrity and the darling of opera fans around the world when he hit nine glorious high C's in quick succession that turned him into an international superstar during a performance of Donizetti's "La Fille du Regiment" at the Met in 1972.

I saw him twice in performance and was enthralled each time, chills racing up and down my spine whenever he hit that high C. That same thrill came every time I heard him hit that tenor barrier on his recordings.

He will be sorely missed.

Requiescent in pace.