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Pavarotti plans to bow out with 40-date tour for half a million fans
By Terry Kirby, Chief Reporter
02 December 2004

It will be the must-have ticket of the decade. Because when the fat
man sings, it really will be over.

Luciano Pavarotti, the great Italian tenor who retired from the opera
stage this year, has confirmed that he is embarking on a final, 40-
date concert tour, during which he will sing to more than half a
million people.

The tour will include three dates in the United Kingdom, one of which
will be a climatic farewell to London. The venue is likely to be the
Royal Albert Hall or the Royal Opera House.

The schedule has not yet been finalised and Pavarotti only signed the
deal with the promoter Harvey Goldsmith this week.

Although demand for tickets is expected to be huge, Pavarotti has
insisted that a high proportion of prices are kept at sensible
levels. "Although there will obviously be prestige packages
available, Pavarotti has always been insistent that there are always
adequate supplies of low-priced tickets," his manager, Terri Robson,
said last night. British tickets are expected to cost between £40 and
£85.

Although Pavarotti has previously said he intended to sing his last
note in public on his 70th birthday, 12 October 2005, the tour's
itinerary will take him into 2006, climaxing in three final concerts
in London, New York and Italy.

"Pavarotti has always considered London to be extremely important to
him, so it is appropriate that one of the very last concerts will be
held here," said Ms Robson, adding: "But he is not like a rock star
[who] performs every night. He does maybe three or four a month,
which is why the tour will take so long."

The tour will be filmed for a documentary and be followed by the
singer's autobiography. "We are in discussion with several
international publishing houses in order to secure the right deal,"
she said.

With sales of more than 100 million albums, Pavarotti is the most
successful classical artist in the recording industry and popularised
opera in the Three Tenors concerts with Placido Domingo and José
Carreras.

His final opera performance was Puccini's Tosca in March at the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York, where he received an 11-minute
ovation.

Yesterday, Pavarotti said: "It is exactly 43 years that I have been
going around here and there. Sometimes I don't know which bed I am
waking up in."

Asked which song would be his final performance, he said: "If you end
like you begin, then I would say 'La Bohème'. It is my first love.
But there is 'Nessun Dorma' which is almost a trademark. I was very
lucky in my life. I always chose masterpieces." He added: "I would
like to be remembered as a very serious opera singer."