Pavarotti and a funeral Celebrated by Thousands
November 26, 2009
Pavarotti and a funeral Celebrated by Thousands
He toured the United States in 1965 encouraged by his soprano singing partner, Joan Sutherland. By the mid seventies he had become well known around the world, sought out for his beauty of tone and perfect pitch – especially in the upper register where his high C became one of his trademarks. In the 1990s his worldwide popularity was further strengthen when he teamed with popular tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras to perform as The Three Tenors. Pavarotti sold more than 100 million records during his career and held the distinction of producing the first classical album to reach the number one spot on the pop charts. He was a generous man, founding the Pavarotti and Friends annual charity concerts in his hometown of Modena, Italy where millions of dollars were earned for United Nations causes. He was invited to sing at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin – his last public performance. After his death, more than a hundred thousand mourners filed past the open white casket, paying their last respects to the tenor whose charisma and voice were celebrated around the world. The funeral attracted 50,000 people, the largest crowd at a commemorative function since the funeral for Pope John Paul II. Guests at his funeral included state and entertainment celebrities such as Italy’s Prime Minister and President; a former UN Secretary; U2’s Bono; tenors Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras; and film director Franco Zeffirelli. At the funeral, inside Modena’s 12th-century Romanesque cathedral, this man who made his mark on the world was remembered as “a messenger of peace and fraternity,” by Prime Minister Romano Prodi. His white maple casket was covered in golden sunflowers, his favorite flowers. Outside, thousands of invited mourners watched the ceremony on large screens. Bulgarian-born soprano Raina Kabaivanska, a long-time friend and sometimes co-star, cried when she sang the Ave Maria from Verdi’s Otello. The Dance of the Blessed Spirits from Gluck’s Orfeo e Euridice was played by flautist Andrea Griminelli, and tenor Andrea Bocelli sang Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus. The most poignant part of the service was the playing of a 1978 recording of Pavarotti and his father singing “Panist Angelicus. To this, crowd responded with a last standing ovation for a man well-loved. Then Italy’s Air Force precision flying team flew over the cathedral, releasing red, white and green smoke in the colors of the Italian flag. The event was televised live on RAI, Italy’s state broadcaster. Pavarotti’s friend, Italian rock singer Zucchero wrote this message in a memorial book. “I hope St. Peter welcomes you with a chunk of parmesan and a bottle of Lambrusco, ice-cold as you like it.” With the public outpouring complete his family moved on to a private burial at the Montale Rangone cemetery, in the family’s tomb, next to his father Fernando, mother Adele and a stillborn son.
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