:cry: Sweet dreams, Maestro. Your voice made my world and the world a better place.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070908/ap_on_en_mu/pavarottiWorld bids farewell to Luciano Pavarotti
By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Writers
24 minutes ago
MODENA, Italy - Luciano Pavarotti's voice rang out a final time Saturday inside Modena's cathedral, as a recording of the great tenor singing with his father highlighted a funeral attended by family, dignitaries and close friends.
Guests gave the tenor one last standing ovation when "Panis Angelicus," the 1978 duet Pavarotti sang with his father, Fernando, inside Modena's Duomo came to a close.
The duet was one of the most poignant moments of the funeral, which began with a moving rendition of Verdi's "Ave Maria" and a message of condolences from Pope Benedict XVI saying Pavarotti had "honored the divine gift of music through his extraordinary interpretative talent."
Thousands watched the invitation-only service from a huge television screen erected in Modena's main piazza, where a recording of the tenor's most famous works had boomed out during two days of public viewing.
Italy's air force precision flying team flew over the cathedral at the end of the service, releasing red, white and green smoke in the colors of the Italian flag.
Pavarotti's white maple casket, covered in sunflowers — his favorite — lay before the altar during the service, with his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, looking on. Sitting nearby were Pavarotti's three daughters from his first marriage.
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Tenor Andrea Bocelli sang Mozart's "Ave Verum Corpus" while the Rossini Chorus performed hymns throughout the service, which was celebrated by Modena Archbishop Benito Cocchi and 18 other priests.
Bulgarian-born soprano Raina Kabaivanska, a fellow Modena resident who had worked with Pavarotti, cried as she sang the "Ave Maria" from Verdi's "Otello" as the ceremony began. Flautist Andrea Griminelli played the "Dance of the Blessed Spirits" from Gluck's "Orfeo e Euridice."
Cocchi said the presence of so many dignitaries at the funeral was a sign "of the esteem, of the affection and of the gratitude that universally surrounds the great artist."
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Modena city officials estimated that roughly 100,000 people viewed Pavarotti's body over two days.
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Pavarotti was the best-selling classical artist, with more than 100 million records sold since the 1960s, and he had the first classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts.
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