Tributes poured in yesterday to the man that has been described as possibly the greatest opera singer ever, Pavarotti, who, as previously reported, died in the early hours of yesterday morning after losing his battle against pancreatic cancer.
Following on from the Placido Domingo tribute reported on yesterday, the other of the 'Three Tenors', Jose Carreras told reporters: "The best memories are the ones in intimacy. He was a very entertaining kind of personality. We have to remember him as the great artist he was, a man with such a wonderful charismatic personality".
Bono, meanwhile, who collaborated with Pavarotti on the 1995 track 'Miss Sarajevo', observed: "Some can sing opera, Luciano Pavarotti was an opera". A statement from Pavarotti's favourite football club, Juventus, said, simply: "ciao Luciano, with the black and white heart".
Elsewhere, the Vienna Opera and Salzburg Festival Hall both raised black flags, while in the opera star's hometown of Modena hundreds of mourners stood in line to pay their last respects at the city's cathedral where Pavarotti's body 'lay in state'. The public will be allowed in to the cathedral until tomorrow morning, when the church will be closed in preparation for Pavarotti's funeral, which is due to take place at 1pm local time.