Before being admitted to hospital, Pavarotti was staying at his villa in Modena in north-central Italy with his wife Nicoletta Mantovani and their four-year-old daughter Alice. He had been preparing to leave New York in July 2006 to resume a farewell tour, when doctors discovered a malignant pancreatic cancer. He underwent surgery in a New York hospital and was forced to cancel his remaining concerts.

Pavarotti gave his last performance at the New York Metropolitan Opera on March 13, 2004. In February 2006, at the opening ceremony for the Winter Olympics in Turin, he brought the house down with his trademark Nessun Dorma aria.

A great friend of China

Pavarotti came to China for the first time in June 1986, leading a cast of Italian opera artists in a performance of Puccini's La Bohème. He also made a solo appearance at the Great Hall of the People, winning high accolades from the Chinese audience. With his two top tenor partners, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, Pavarotti staged a performance in the Forbidden City in 2001 to support Beijing's bid for the 2008 Olympic Games. The third and last time Pavarotti performed in China was during his Worldwide Farewell Celebration Tour in Shanghai and Beijing in December 2005.

"Chinese audiences are great and I'd like to come back to China sometime in the future," he said.

Ding Yi, one of the three top Chinese tenors, paid homage to the Italian legend.

"I'm now preparing the Worldwide Three Chinese Tenors Concert, scheduled on October 24 in Beijing, with Dai Yuqiang and Fan Jingma," said Ding. "We plan to sing one of Pavarotti's songs, although which one is yet to be decided. Maybe an aria, maybe an Italian folk song."