Luciano Pavarotti, 1935

Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti whose vibrant high C's and ebullient showmanship made him one the world's most beloved tenors, died early Thursday Sept. 6, 2007. He was 71. Here Pavarotti sings during a concert in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Aug. 21, 2004.

Pavarotti, who for almost a half century had been known first and foremost for "The Voice," was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2006. "Now I only need God's help, and it really seems to me that he is giving it to me," the famed singer said in an interview on Aug. 15, 2006.

Luciano Pavarotti gave a "Worldwide Farewell Celebration Tour" in 2005, including a performance in Beijing. The man celebrated as a world-class talent was going out with a bang, and many arias.

But Luciano Pavarotti was appreciated for much more than just his singing. He was a man of many gestures and expressions, an outsized personality to fit his outsized body.

Pavarotti was not the only star in opera. But he was the best known and helped to popularize a musical form that began as popular but had become seen as elite. He was one-third of the "Three Tenors" who gave concerts throughout the world, including one in 2001 at Chamsil Olympic stadium in Seoul. From left: Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Pavarotti.

But Pavarotti was just as likely to associate with pop singers such as Ricky Martin ...

... or Stevie Wonder, who teamed with him in 1998 to raise money for a children's project in war-torn Liberia, ...

... or with Bono, during rehearsal in 2003 for the Pavarotti & Friends annual charity concert at the Novi Sad Park in Pavarotti's hometown of Modena, Italy.

...or with another singer who knows her way around the higher octaves, Mariah Carey. Carey sang her hit "Hero" during the "Pavarotti & Friends" concert in Modena's Novi Sad park Tuesday, June 1, 1999.

...or Michael Jackson in 1997.

The son of a baker and a cigar factory worker, Luciano Pavarotti made his opera debut at the age of 25 on April 29, 1961. He played the role of Rodolfo in "La Boh

Here he is with second wife Nicoletta Mantovani, his former assistant whom he wed in 2003, and their daughter Alice. He has three daughers with his first wife, Adua.

Pavarotti, left, is shown here with his fellow opera star Placido Domingo at a Met Opera rehearsal in 1991.

Even in this still photo, Luciano Pavarotti's larger-than-life personality shines through. He's shown here performing in the Italian comic opera "L'Elisir d'Amore" by Gaetano Donizetti in 1998.

Pavarotti performs as Rodolfo during the dress rehearsal of Giacomo Puccini's "La Boheme" at the Regia Theatre in Turin on Jan. 30, 1996. He made his debut at London's Covent Garden in the role in 1963.

Pavarotti as Cavaradossi and Carol Vaness as Tosca perform during a final dress rehearsal for "Tosca" at the German Opera in Berlin on June 26, 2003.

Pavarotti poses in New York City, on Feb. 8, 1973. The native of Modena, Italy, started made his American debut in 1965, four years after his first professional "La Boheme."

Pavarotti and soprano Jane Eaglen perform in the third act of Puccini's "Turandot" during a rehearsal for the Metropolitan Opera's Millennium Gala benefit at New York's Lincoln Center, in this May 9, 2000 file photo. Pavarotti, as Prince Calaf, sings his signature aria "Nessun Dorma" (None Shall Sleep) in this opera.

Pavarotti kisses the hand of Britain's Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, following a gala performance of "L'elisir d'amore" at the Royal Opera House in London in March 1990.

Pavarotti sings June 12, 1999, before 18,000 spectators in Beirut City stadium, a wartime landmark which became a prominent symbol of postwar reconstruction in Lebanon.
To Luciano Pavarotti, opera was something that anybody -- even any animal could appreciate. "They play opera in barns so the cows will give more milk," he once said. "Even cows like opera."