Well, the great man is no more. Pavarotti, he who gave us the most useful accompaniment to European soccer, to doing the dishes, to life itself, has finally popped his clogs, as they say in Northern England. He's dead.
Pavarotti exploded into the popular consciousness after performing Nessun Dorma at the opening ceremony of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. For the first time, England's beer-bellied idiot fat slob violent thugs were able to experience the soaring joy of release provided by the legendary Italian tenor, in between vicious baton charges and truncheonings from the Italian Carabinieri. Where the working classes in most countries were more accustomed to lending an ear to pop music or jazz, Pavarotti introduced the great tradition of Italy to the European masses that memorable year, and soccer and opera were forever wed. The first of the now globally loved "The Three Tenors" concerts was held on the eve of the World Cup Final, when Pavarotti performed with fellow tenors Plácido Domingo and José Carreras. From that moment, the common people of Europe, even the pig-ignorant English, developed a great love of opera. The rest is history.
Luciano Pavarotti was born outside Modena in north-central Italy, the son of a baker and singer, and a mother who worked in a cigar factory. The family was relatively poor, its four members living in a tiny two-room apartment. Pavarotti's father apparently decided against a musical career for himself largely on the basis of his experiencing jitters before an audience, despite Pavarotti's claims that he had a fine tenor voice. Pavarotti grew up with a deep love of football, or soccer, and song. One glance at his considerable girth, or a brief exposure to his tremulous voice, and it was easy to see why singing won out in the end.
They say it's not over till the fat lady sings, and I would wager that a few million fat ladies, and fat men, are singing today, with tears in their eyes and a clutch of colorful memories of the tenor who gave culture to the hooligans, and romance to every strata of society.
