Pavarotti

He was the greatest tenor of the times.

And like many a "big" man, he was an enigma and a walking contradiction.

He seemed to me to have fallen prey to that strange, rare disease that afflicts only a few in every era: the Mega-SuperStar Syndrome. In our recent lifetime, Liz Taylor, Michael Jackson and maybe Liza Minelli fit this category. The person is so famous, so waited on, so adored, so wealthy that he/she becomes delusional, insane, filled with a repetoire of fake and inhuman gestures.

I was the M.C. at the Three Tenors concert here at B.C. Place. The night was a fiasco, and Pavarotti was crazy and utterly selfish and completely disdaining of the public that gave him a one million dollar take home for that one night.

Now...lest we speak too harshly of the diseased...he was an awesomely great, great singer. His La Boheme performance played on PBS brought millions of new fans to the world of Opera. He was a teacher and in many ways gave of himself, especially to young musicians.

We have all been blessed to have been around to hear him and watch him.

For the best and most comprehensive coverage of his life and death, including a video of his singing Nessum Dorma, click here to the NY Times link.