Passing of a Legend

Saw this item on Drudge that Pavarotti was nearing the end.

Pavarotti unconscious, family gathers: report

Wed Sep 5, 3:35 PM ET

Luciano Pavarotti's health has deteriorated sharply and the 71-year-old tenor is at home, unconscious and suffering from kidney failure, a television station reported on Wednesday.

Family and friends went to Pavarotti's home to be near the singer, considered one of the greatest tenors of his generation, E' TV Antenna Uno television station in Modena, the tenor's home town, reported.

In July 2006 Pavarotti underwent surgery in New York for pancreatic cancer and retreated to his villa in Modena. He had to cancel his first planned public reappearance a few months later.

Taken to hospital with a fever last month, Pavarotti was released from hospital in Modena on August 25 after undergoing more than two weeks of tests and treatment. Italy's AGI news agency said cancer specialists were treating Pavarotti at home, and described his condition as "very serious."

One of Pavarotti's friends contacted by Reuters said she had also heard the singer was in "serious" condition.

A spokesman at the Modena hospital declined to comment.

What an incredible singer -- he was the most talented singer of this era. I had the chance to see him when the Three Tenors came to Chicago in 2000. My wife freaked when she heard how much the tickets cost. But I told her that seeing Pavarotti, Domingo and Carerras was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

It was.