The passing away of Italian opera's golden child has sent waves of grief through China's music industry. Pavarotti, a huge, seminal influence on Chinese opera and classical music, was as admired and revered for his warmth and generosity of spirit as for his magnificent operatic skills. Various prominent Chinese artists expressed their sorrow and shock upon hearing of his demise.

On a High C

Born into an ordinary family in 1935, Pavarotti displayed his prodigious gifts early on as a child. He went on to receive professional voice training in 1955 and won his first singing prize in 1961.

For serious aficionados, the unforced beauty and thrilling urgency of Pavarotti's voice made him the ideal interpreter of the Italian lyric repertory, especially in the 1960s and '70s when he first achieved stardom. For millions more, his charismatic performances of standard arias such as Nessun Dorma from Puccini's Turandot came to represent what opera was all about. In 1972, he was baptized the "King of Hi-C" for his marvelous talent for hitting the high notes.

In the 1990s, Pavarotti's teaming with Domingo and Carreras became a music business phenomenon and spawned copycats such as the Three Irish Tenors. In the annals of that rare and coddled breed, the operatic tenor, it may well be said the 20th century began with Enrico Caruso and ended with Pavarotti. Other tenors -- Domingo included -- may have drawn more praise from critics for their artistic range and insights, but none could equal the combination of natural talent and personal charm that so endeared Pavarotti to audiences.

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 the malignant cancer. He underwent surgery in a New York hospital and was forced to cancel his remaining concerts.