'World empty without Pavarotti'
2007-09-07 17:02
London - Britain's Prince Charles said on Friday the world would seem an emptier place without Luciano Pavarotti, in a message of condolence following the legendary tenor's death.
Charles, heir to the throne, sent his message as Pavarotti's native Italy prepared to say goodbye to the opera singer at his funeral in his home town of Modena on Saturday.
Hailed by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, Pavarotti died on Thursday aged 71 at his villa near the northern Italian town after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Charles said Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Princes William and Harry were also mourning the singer's death.
"My wife and I, and my sons, join with countless others from around the world who mourn the passing of Luciano Pavarotti, one of Italy's national treasures," said the prince, 58.
"His unique gifts, which brought such joy and inspiration to millions, will ensure that his remarkable contribution to the world of music will never be forgotten."
Close friend of Princess Diana
"As patron of the Royal Opera for 32 years, I know what a star he was in operatic firmament and I am profoundly grateful to have lived during a period when such a prodigious talent inhabited this Earth.
"The world will seem an emptier place without him, and without his generosity of spirit, and our hearts go out to the Italian people at such a sad time."
Charles was to send a floral wreath to Pavarotti's funeral.
The tenor was a close friend of the prince's first wife Diana, princess of Wales.
Pavarotti was asked to sing at her funeral in 1997 but was too upset to do so.
He achieved widespread fame in Britain when the BBC used his rendition of Nessun Dorma, an aria from Giacomo Puccini's 1926 opera Turandot, as the theme music for its coverage of the 1990 football World Cup in Italy.
He sang before more than 150 000 people in London's Hyde Park in 1991.