Big names galore from the worlds of entertainment and politics came together to celebrate the life of Pavarotti at his funeral on Saturday. As previously reported, the opera star died last week after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, initiating a mass outpouring of grief, in Italy in particular, and elsewhere among the star's fanbase, within the opera world and far beyond.
Pavarotti's funeral was held at the cathedral in his hometown of Modena, and mourners included Kofi Annan, Bono, and Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, while thousands of fans watched the ceremony on two huge TV screens erected outside the building. Those present were played some of Pavarotti's finest recordings before the ceremony, with a mass rendition of 'Ave Maria' starting the mass, before Italian singer and friend of Pavarotti Andrea Bocelli sang Mozart's 'Ave Verum Corpus'. Following the service, Pavarotti's version of 'Nessun Dorma' was played as the coffin left the cathedral, with ten Italian Air Force planes flying overhead pumping out streams of green, white and red smoke (Italy's colours, obviously), an event usually reserved for state funerals.
Eulogies have been made from around the world since his death, including one from Prime Minister Prodi, and the previously reported tributes from his 'bandmates' (sort of) Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, though neither were in attendance the service.