OPERA HEADLINERS OF THE
YEAR
From the Desk of Ehprem Gourion, Ben Zorab, Judy Goldsmith
The
opera singer Luciano Pavarotti was last night at the center of a health scare
after reports he was in hospital with "serious health problems". The Italian
tenor, 68, was said to have fallen ill after a recital in Mexico and was flown
to an unnamed hospital in New York. However, Terri Robson, his London-based
publicist later contradicted the reports. "He’s got a common cold from his
daughter, Alice," she said. "When you’ve got a cold and you’re an opera
singer, you can’t sing." Pavarotti, whose voice has mesmerized a generation of
opera lovers, had been scheduled to sing at a concert in Panama on Wednesday.
The tenor has been touring to promote his first pop album, Ti Adoro. The show,
with tickets priced at £120 to £900, was to benefit local charities.
Photo, above:
Luciano Pavarotti during his Picnic with Pavarotti in Hyde Park.
His
performance has now been rescheduled for January. The office of Ruby Moscoso,
Panama’s first lady, had said Pavarotti "suffered serious health problems" on
Saturday and had been flown to hospital. During Saturday’s recital, Pavarotti
- who together with Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo makes up the celebrated
Three Tenors - had to restart his first piece after coughing seconds into the
song. However, Ms Robson said reports of serious health problems were
"completely false".She said the tenor had already had a cold when he performed
in Mexicali, but went ahead with the show, against the advice of doctors, who
gave him antibiotics. The singer’s weight - at his heaviest he has reached 24
st - has contributed to a series of health problems over the last 15 years. In
1993, he cancelled six weeks of performances to try to get it under control,
eventually winning the battle thanks to a strict eating regime developed by
his secretary, Nicoletta Mantovani, whom he later married. He has had hip and
knee replacement operations and on occasions has requested a golf cart to
wheel him around during performances. Pavarotti’s singing career took off in
1961 with his debut in La Bohème in Milan. But it was not until 1972 that the
tenor finally exploded onto the international stage, when he hit nine high-Cs
on the trot in a New York Metropolitan Opera House production of Donizetti's
La Fille du Regiment. He is perhaps best known in the UK for his performance
of the aria Nessum Dorma, which became the theme tune for the BBC’s coverage
of 1990 World Cup finals in Italy. As his health problems have increased,
rumors of his retirement have accelerated. Reviews have also suggested that
his powerful voice has now developed some "senior moments". He now plans to
retire after two more seasons, on his 70th birthday in October 2005. Pavarotti
is due to top the bill at the 75th Royal Variety Performance when it is staged
in Edinburgh next month, in the presence of the Queen and the Duke of
Edinburgh.-Chris Mark & Simon Houp.
