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September, 2007:

Luciano Pavarotti passing

Growing up I never had much interest in opera. As much as I loved music and dancing, it never did anything for me, except turn me off from it. Yes, I know it was a bit narrow minded, but alas, how I felt.

Then one day I caught a program about tenor voices and what made them different. It was a very technical study of their unique voices. Being an engineer I could easily follow and appreciate this approach to music.

I was immediately struck by the beauty in these tenors voices, especially Pavarotti!

Not long after there was a program about Pavarotti and I paid very close attention to his singing and before I knew it I had fallen in love with opera. Pavarotti was not just a voice, as PJ (of Groklaw fame) and others have pointed out. He clearly was in love with opera and people.

By now I eagerly followed everything that I noticed which included Pavarotti. Observing him on stage and interacting with the audience I noticed something else. He was singing _to_ people. Of course you may say, every singer does. Which is actually not entirely true. If you pay close attention, you can see how many sing to their piano, or some point immediately in front of them. I had seen another top artist do just this, and as seasoned as he was (a 30 year hit maker) he sang to his piano. But not Pavarotti, he was so much in communication with people around him you could not but feel included.

Pavarotti clearly loved singing, but he clearly also loved people. Much like Pope John Paul II he was on a mission to bring people together. Some months ago he had announced his world wide farewell tour. In spite of bad health and the trouble he had traveling, it was going to be his thank you to all his fans. As usual he was thinking more of others than himself.

For all of you who wish to find out more about this great man, I suggest getting Three Tenor. You get to see three great tenors interact and give you an insight into this man doing what he did best — Make you feel good!

With all my love,

Thank you, Luciano Pavarotti!

Steve Szmidt