http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g5ZHTDAt7CARlvzf1ldk_lR2F5nw One of, if not the greatest tenor of all time Luciano Pavarotti died yesterday after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer in his hometown of Modena. RIP [youtube]RdTBml4oOZ8[/youtube]
RIP. Just to make it a little bit football related, the opening for the 1990 World Cup with Pavarotti shown on BBC. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugGRe83ihis
He was a Juventus fan, and also a Modena fan (his hometown team). Also in his youth he was a promising goalkeeper.
He was also a tax evading cheat, I feel for his family and relatives but let's not pretend he was an outstanding person. There is no excusing that behavior especially when he had so much.
I never really said anything about him as a person, I just mentioned that he was a great tenor and a football fan.
I know, I just wanted to say that because when celebrities pass away people start talking about what a great loss it is and this and that. It normally ends with them being made out to be saints. In the case of Pavarotti, yes an amazing talent but not a good human being in my opinion.
Riposi In Pace, Pavarotti! ItalianMike, show some respect for the dead. He only just died and you start with this shit?
The guy made millions and continuously cheated on his taxes. Having already been caught, he actually did it again and had the nerve to fight the case. He basically relied on his wealth and celebrity status to let him off the the hook, which I find appalling. If any of your relatives were caught doing the same they would not be getting any favors or slaps on the wrists based on who they are. Also if my mother, who has so much less, can pay her taxes and not rip off the government then I fail to see why a man with enough money to satisfy his every desire needs to be cheating. So to sum it up, Pavarotti was greedy, a liar, and a cheat. He was also very talented, but hardly a saint. People should snap out of this habit of making people out to be saints when they pass away.
I cringe when people say "tax" cheats. I think of it like a guy who "cheats" the mafia, if he can get away with it, then all the best. especially if the italian government is anywhere near as corrupt as the american government. If only i could "cheat" the government without going to jail, I would in a heartbeat. If someone else can, for whatever reason, then more power to him/her I say. I certainly don't think it makes them a bad person. beating one's wife, a rapist, a violent thug, etc. makes one a bad person, but not a tax evader, imho.
He also did a lot of work for charity, which benfited others, so it evens itself out. Its not like he was Anna Nicole Smith or something. Humanitarian work Pavarotti annually hosted the "Pavarotti and Friends" charity concerts in his home town of Modena in Italy, joining with singers from all parts of the music industry to raise money for several UN causes. Concerts were held for War Child, and victims of war and civil unrest in Bosnia, Guatemala, Kosovo and Iraq. After the war in Bosnia, he financed and established the Pavarotti Music Center in the southern city of Mostar to offer Bosnia's artists the opportunity to develop their skills. For these contributions, the city of Sarajevo named him an honorary citizen in 2006.[18] He performed at benefit concerts to raise money for victims of tragedies such as an earthquake in December 1988 that killed 25,000 people in northern Armenia.[19] He was a close friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. They raised money for the elimination of land mines worldwide. He was invited to sing at her funeral service, but declined, as he felt he could not sing well "with his grief in his throat". He nonetheless attended the service. In 1998, he was appointed the United Nation's Messenger of Peace, using his fame to raise awareness of UN issues, including the Millennium Development Goals, HIV/AIDS, child rights, urban slums and poverty.[20] In 2001, Pavarotti received the Nansen Medal from the UN High Commission for Refugees for his efforts raising money on behalf of refugees worldwide. Through benefit concerts and volunteer work, he has raised more than US$1.5 million, more than any other individual.[21] Other awards he received for charity work include the Freedom of London Award and The Red Cross Award for Services to Humanity, for his work in raising money for that organization, and the 1998 MusiCares Person Of The Year, given to humanitarian heroes by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.[22][23]
That's awful. Tax evasion is what increases taxes for the honest payers. DUH! That being said - Pavarotti was a great man. May he rest in peace.
yeah, but it is blaming the wrong person. house alarms increase the chances for those without alarms of getting robbed, is that the fault of the people with alarms, or those who are doing the robbing? that is what I am saying. just reeks of propaganda to me, where we immediately use words like "honest" with respect to those who pay taxes, and "cheats" for those who don't. I think the real cheats are the sheisters in office personally.
I'm from Modena. He was fom Modena. When he was alive here nobody talked well about him in his ( and my ) hometown. Everybody except for his close friends and for opera fanatics hated and despised him. Now I'm witnessing the worst 3 days of hypocrisy I've ever seen. Everyone is going to the Duomo, everyone saying how a good man he was. I bitterly dispised him for years. In his dead I won't say anything bad about him but surely I won't go seeing his coffin.
Cracking, you just reminded me of the moment i fell in love with Calcio. RIP Big Man. Let's stop talking of tax laws as every one of them screws somebody, but that's life...
Maybe, a bit. But it would require a sociological essay on the "Italian Northern Provinces" to really explain the deep nature of the feelings of Modena citizens towards Pavarotti. It can't be just jealousy: nobody ever had any hard feelings toward Enzo Ferrari when he was alive. And he was much, much much more than Pavarotti. He was and still is an unmatched legend in his field. Pavarotti always had good company ( Caruso, Gigli... ). So it's not jealousy, although it's obvious there have always been envious people.
You would have better understanding on this than I since you are from Modena. I was just trying to relate some of my experiences and the enviornment that I grew up in in a predominately Italian neighborhood in Philadelphia. It is just an ugly trait that we have. Italians being jealous of one another.
yeah. That's true. A bunch of individualists. And in fact I didn't rule out jealousy at all. But it's just a part of it. But I think that most of the "unjustified" hate came from the normal widespread provincial feeling that singing is not a proper job. A feeling common to factory workers and industrials in these lands: "Singing is a fatuous way of making money". Apart from that there is the FACT that he didn't pay taxes. The feeling that all the shows that he had in Modena were just a late a move to gain some long lost simpathy in his city. Then the divorce: he made a fool of himself and nobody here appreciate a fool. The money squandering in absurd activities. His obesity ( for many obesity is still a vice, as an indication of greed ). His egocentric character. His complaisant glances. All of his eccentricities ( from the "foulard" to the horses ). But most of all it was his ( apparent... or not? ) lack of modesty that was despised. Also when spending money for benefic purposes he had this terrible way to advertise it...