Luciano Pavarotti Dies

While undertaking an international "farewell tour", Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006.

The tenor fought back against the implications of this diagnosis, undergoing major abdominal surgery and making plans for the resumption and conclusion of his singing commitments. On Thursday 6 September 2007, he died at home in Modena from pancreatic cancer, aged 71. Within hours of his death his manager, Terri Robson, noted in an e-mail statement, "The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness"

His final performance in an opera was at the Metropolitan in March 2004. The 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, saw him on stage for the last time, where Pavarotti performed Nessun dorma, with the crowd serving as the aria's chorus, and he received a thunderous standing ovation. On Thursday 6 September 2007, he died at home in Modena from pancreatic cancer, aged 71.