Today's Date:

Luciano Pavarotti was the most well known classical singer in the world, the best incarnation of a great popular tenor since Enrico Caruso. His artistic qualities, warmth and charisma captivated the whole world.

After his stage successes in the Italian repertoire, from Covent Garden to New York, including La Scala, it was soon necessary to push back the walls of the greatest opera houses so that the tenor from Modena could satisfy ever-larger audiences. And we remember his major Verdi roles as much as his "star” turns at open-air concerts and stadia, alongside Placido Domingo and José Carreras, but also in the company of popular-music artists, Elton John, Sting, Bono... Some purists may deem risky these forays outside the closed, reverential world of classical music, but I believe that the bridges built between these different worlds and the marriage of styles enabled the great tenor to bring classical music to an increasingly wider public by introducing them to the joys of the greatest works.

Luciano Pavarotti passed away during the night: I want to pay a final tribute to him on behalf of the French Republic./.