Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti dies at 71

MODENA, Italy, Sep 6 (Reuters) Italian opera star Luciano Pavarotti, hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, died today after a long battle with cancer, his manager Terri Robson said.

''The great tenor Luciano Pavarotti died today at 5 am (0830 hrs IST) at his home in Modena,'' Robson said in a statement.

He was 71.

''The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the pancreatic cancer which eventually took his life.

''In fitting with the approach that characterised his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness.'' The rotund, black-bearded tenor known as ''Big Luciano'' helped bring opera to the masses and performed to vast stadium audiences round the world.

He shot to fame with a stand-in appearance at London's Covent Garden in 1963 and had soon had critics gushing about his voluminous voice.

His last public singing performance was at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin in February 2006, singing Puccini's aria ''Nessun Dorma''.

In July last year, Pavarotti underwent surgery in New York for pancreatic cancer and retreated to his villa in Modena. He had to cancel his first planned public reappearance a few months later.

Pavarotti was taken to a hospital in Modena last month and treated for more than two weeks. He was released on August 25, and spent his final hours at home with family and friends nearby, the statement said.

''He remained optimistic and confident that he would overcome the disease and had been determined to return to the stage to complete his Worldwide Farewell Tour,'' the statement said.

ITALIANS SADDENED He is survived by his wife, Nicoletta, their four-year-old daughter, Alice, as well as three daughters from Pavarotti's first marriage.

The news saddened Italians, particularly those in Modena, Pavarotti's hometown. Police stood watch outside Pavarotti's villa as television crews gathered.

''For Modena, it is a enormous loss. Modena is known to the world thanks to Pavarotti,'' said Antonio Dibiccari, 39.

Perhaps Pavarotti's biggest gift to the music world was when he joined forces with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras at the 1990 soccer World Cup and introduced operatic classics to an estimated 800 million people around the globe.

Earlier in his life, Pavarotti's parents wanted him to have a steady job and for a while he worked as an insurance salesman and a teacher.

He started singing on the operatic circuit and his big break came thanks to another Italian opera great, Giuseppe di Stefano, who dropped out of a London performance of ''La Boheme'' in 1963.

Covent Garden had lined up ''this large young man'' as a possible stand-in and a star was born.

In 1972 he famously hit nine high C's in a row in ''Daughter of the Regiment'' at New York's Metropolitan Opera, which he referred to as ''my home''.

Thirty years later, Pavarotti was still one of the highest paid classical singers even though his public performances were fewer and further between.

Robson said that up until just weeks before his death, Pavarotti gave several hours each day to teaching his pupils at his summer villa in Pesaro, on Italy's Adriatic Coast. Pavarotti launched an academy for young singers in Modena two years ago.

''He was also planning to complete a recording of sacred songs and unveil the next phase of the Pavarotti International Voice Competition,'' the statement said.

REUTERS RJ DS1220