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Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and recently hospitalized with a fever, died at his native Modena home on Thursday. With him were his wife Nicoletta, four daughters, and his sister. He was 71.
Friends and family had hoped for a miracle for Pavarotti. Sadly, this was not possible. Though to have survived pancreatic cancer for more than one year is quite amazing. The disease is deadly in most cases and most survive for only months.
Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer just before he was set to resume a farewell tour in July 2006. Instead, he headed for surgery. He never again performed publicly.
Italian opera great Luciano Pavarotti, in the midst of a battle with pancreatic cancer that began in July 2006, was released from the hospital Saturday after two weeks of hospitalization due to a high fever.
The 71-year-old Pavarotti is now at home where he will be closely monitored by doctors.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer, often detected in its latest stages and affording patients only months of survival. Pavarotti has survived the disease for more than one year.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, who had surgery for pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and then was hospitalized this August 8 due to a high fever, will stay in the hospital for further testing related to his disease.
Pavarotti, 71, is now fever-free. Still, he will remain hospitalized so his cancer can be fully investigated.
At the time of Pavarotti's surgery, he had been planning to resume his farewell tour. But he has made no public appearances since this time.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, hospitalized on Wednesday with a fever, is doing better and should be discharged within the next few days, according to his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani.
The 71-year-old tenor underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer one year ago and has since endured at least five rounds of chemotherapy. Although not confirmed, some sources say Pavarotti has pneumonia.
I wrote on June 29 about the serious health condition of Opera singer Beverly Sills. At the time, Sills -- sick with cancer -- was in a Manhattan hospital, gravely ill, with her daughter by her side. I didn't name her cancer because I didn't know of her specific condition. Now, as I've just learned of her death, I know more about her illness.
Sills, described in this news story as "the Brooklyn-born opera diva who was a global icon of can-do American culture with her dazzling voice, bubbly personality and management moxie in the arts world," died on Monday of inoperable lung cancer at the age of 78. She died at her Manhattan home with her family and doctor by her side. She was a non-smoker.
Opera singer Beverly Sills is reportedly at a Manhattan hospital, gravely ill with cancer and with her daughter by her side. This comes from the Associated Press and while those who know her best neither confirm nor deny the news, Sills did cite health and family reasons when she resigned as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera two years ago.
Cancer first struck Sills in 1974. She underwent successful surgery and went on to make her Met singing debut in 1975.
Sills, 78, first hit the opera circuit in 1947 in Philadelphia. She had a bit role in Carmen and later became a star with the smaller New York City Opera and was acclaimed for performances in Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe, Massenet's Manon, and Handel's Guilio Cesare. Known by the nickname Bubbles -- which some say matches her personality perfectly -- the red-haired diva made many appearances on The Tonight Show and The Muppet Show. She also sang often with her friend Carol Burnett.
Soap opera actress Darlene Conley, best known for playing Sally Spectra for the past 20 years on The Bold and the Beautiful, lost her battle with cancer over the weekend. She was 72.
Conley, who was diagnosed with stomach cancer just three months ago, also played characters on Days of our Lives and General Hospital -- and many knew her as black market baby broker Rose DeVille onThe Young and the Restless.
Before embarking on a daytime career, Conley made appearances in movies The Birds and Valley of the Dolls and on television shows such as Murder, She Wrote, Cagney & Lacey, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Beginning next week, lyric soprano Ruth Ann Swenson will begin treatment for breast cancer.
In a release issued today, Swenson stated, "While my prognosis is excellent, I know that this will be a difficult time, so I welcome the support of family, friends, colleagues and fans, and I look forward to returning to the Met in the spring."
Swenson will return as Marguerite in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Faust. In April she will sing Cleopatra in the Met's Giulio Cesare.
In 1983, Swenson made her professional debut in San Francisco. Since then, she has performed in national and international opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, L'Opéra National de Paris, Royal Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera.
She is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. In 1993, she given the Richard Tucker Award by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation. We wish her a speedy recovery.
In July, opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer. Although reported to have come through the operation well, all 2006 concerts were cancelled. At the time, he remained positive that he would return to performing.
However, less than a month later, cancer seems to be taking a terrible toll on Pavarotti's spirit. Recently, in an interview with an Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, he is quoted as saying he believes cancer was punishment for his good fortune. In the interview, he goes on to say he cannot stand to hear his own singing voice.
"I don't want to hear myself. If you invite me to dinner, and to please me, you put on one of my own recordings, I would walk out on you," Pavarotti said.
Who can pass judgment on another for what they believe or how they choose to handle the struggle with cancer? No one. Too, we cannot be certain these are actual statements he made without speaking to him directly -- the press has been known to exaggerate information.
Cancer is not a punishment. Throughout history, both saints and sinners have been victims of cancer. Although Pavarotti states he will remain optimistic until his death, it seems in direct conflict to the other statements he makes in the same interview, and I hope that those close to Pavarotti can intervene to bring more clarity to his thoughts about cancer and the fortunes of life.
According to a news report, last October, Grammy Award-winning opera singer Sylvia McNair had a mammogram that did not indicate the presence of breast cancer. However, within less than a year, McNair went on to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and is currently recovering from a radical mastectomy and chemotherapy.
With more chemotherapy ahead of her, and a new position as a voice instructor at Indiana University, she stated, ""My future is going to be a hybrid combination of teaching and continuing to sing concerts and productions of musical theater pieces. But obviously, my near future is going to involve winning over cancer, which will happen. If cancer has taught me one thing, it's that life is a puzzle with many pieces, and cancer is one of the pieces of life."
McNair, who performed for Pope John Paul II and has sung at the U.S. Supreme Court, won two Grammy Awards - in 1994 for Handel's Semele and in 1996 for The Echoing Air: The Music of Henry Purcell.
In 2002, Sylvia McNair acted as the evening's narrator for Sing for the Cure in a tribute to Kenda Webb, who lost her battle with cancer the year before after serving as co-honorary chairperson for the Sing for the Cure event. Accompanied by Charles Webb on piano, McNair performed a selection of American Songs from Broadway and Bernstein. Slyvia McNair is considered one of the world's greatest living sopranos.
70 year old tenor Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and is "recovering well" said his manager in a report today. He remains in a New York hospital not yet named. The mass was completely removed but all remaining 2006 concerts have been canceled as he starts treatments. Tour plans will resume in early 2007.
Pavarotti retired from opera two years ago, saying his weight problem and bad knee prevented him from moving comfortably around stages. But he kept up with his concert career. He first reached stardom in the U.S. in 1965 opposite Joan Sutherland in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor". He has performed over 350 times at the world famous Met along with hundreds of performances at Milan's Teatro all La Scala, London's Royal Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Francisco Opera, and at the Opera de Paris and 45 at the Vienna State Opera. Pavrotti was also part of The Three Tenors joining Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras. The trio sang together for thirteen years.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and recently hospitalized with a fever, died at his native Modena home on Thursday. With him were his wife Nicoletta, four daughters, and his sister. He was 71.
Italian opera great Luciano Pavarotti, in the midst of a battle with pancreatic cancer that began in July 2006, was released from the hospital Saturday after two weeks of hospitalization due to a high fever.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, who had surgery for pancreatic cancer in July 2006 and then was hospitalized this August 8 due to a high fever, will stay in the hospital for further testing related to his disease.
Italian opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, hospitalized on Wednesday with a fever, is doing better and should be discharged within the next few days, according to his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani.
I wrote on June 29 about the 
Opera singer Beverly Sills is reportedly at a Manhattan hospital, gravely ill with cancer and with her daughter by her side. This comes from the Associated Press and while those who know her best neither confirm nor deny the news, Sills did cite health and family reasons when she resigned as chairwoman of the Metropolitan Opera two years ago.
Soap opera actress Darlene Conley, best known for playing Sally Spectra for the past 20 years on The Bold and the Beautiful, lost her battle with cancer over the weekend. She was 72.
Beginning next week, lyric soprano Ruth Ann Swenson will begin treatment for breast cancer. 
In July, opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti 
According to a 
70 year old tenor Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer and is "recovering well" said his manager in a report today. He remains in a New York hospital not yet named. The mass was completely removed but all remaining 2006 concerts have been canceled as he starts treatments. Tour plans will resume in early 2007.
