Luciano Pavarotti

Arguably no other opera singer in music history achieved the same level of international celebrity as tenor Luciano Pavarotti. His voice launched him into the stratosphere of household recognition usually reserved for pop stars and Hollywood icons, and in the process spurred opera itself on to new peaks of mainstream popularity. His voice was noted for its exciting upper register -- he earned the nickname "King of the high Cs" -- and tailor-made for the operas of Verdi, Bellini, Donizetti, and Puccini. As it darkened slightly over the years, it suited music of the verismo comp...