Luciano Pavarotti

:"The King of the High C's" as he was known by opera fans ," due to his ability to belt out this money note without breaking a sweat with a purity unmatched. A simple country boy from Modena, Italy who went on to become one of the world's best known and beloved opera stars after Enrico Caruso.
He won acclaim for his gorgeously lyrical voice that would fill the even the largest arena with very little or no effort. .Whether he was singing on the opera stage or as a guest a late-night television talk show, his simple Italian charm won audiences over time and again.

Zubin Mehta, former Los Angeles Philharmonic music director, who frequently collaborated with him over several decades, stated that whatever he did, he did "always with great joy." Mehta went on to add that as a singer, "he set a standard that will remain with us for decades to come."

Pavarotti's popularity had even rivaled some of the established rock bands during the 80's. He had become the most popular classical music figure than anyone that preceded or since. He came up with the concept of arena shows for classical music.

He broke new ground for opera stars by performing solo in Las Vegas venues and at Madison Square Garden in New York City .

As part of the Three Tenors, he - along with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras - performed before hundreds of thousands of fans and sold millions of CDs, a feat unprecedented for the classical music field. The televised concerts attracted billions and earned huge amounts of money.

He made the aria "Nessun dorma" from Puccini's last opera, "Turandot,"as recognizable as a pop hit after singing it for the 1990 World Cup soccer tournament.

In 1961 as an award for the prize for winning a local voice competition, Pavarotti professionally debuted cast as Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme," which played in the town of Reggio Emilia, not far from his hometown, Modena. It would later become one of his most famous roles, which was spectacularly recorded in 1987 with the Vienna Philharmonic, conducted Herbert von Karajan.