LONDON (Reuters) -
Luciano Pavarotti, the world's most famous tenor, makes a long-awaited return to London's Royal Opera House on Friday amid mounting speculation it could be his swan song at a theater he sees as a spiritual home.
With full opera appearances increasingly rare and mobility impaired by his large frame and hip and knee replacements, the 66-year-old's four-night run in Giacomo Puccini's "Tosca" sold out virtually overnight. It has been seven years since he appeared at Covent Garden, and British fans do not want to miss an outing which is more about catching a glimpse of Pavarotti than Puccini -- many have paid 175 pounds ($250) for the privilege.
The Italian widely credited with bringing opera to the masses through popular recordings and stadium extravaganzas refuses to concede that the end of his career is nigh. "I will know when my voice is ready to retire and will not go on beyond that time," Pavarotti told Reuters on Wednesday. "As far as the last appearance at Covent Garden goes, I really can't say. I'm just going to enjoy singing Cavaradossi."
LONDON LAUNCHED INTERNATIONAL CAREER
It was at Covent Garden in 1963 that the Italian superstar made his international breakthrough, filling in for a sick Giuseppe di Stefano to sing Rodolfo in Puccini's "La Boheme." "This is where the international career really began," he said by e-mail in response to questions. "I will forever be indebted to Giuseppe di Stefano. He cancelled Boheme at Covent Garden because of illness...and I was rushed to London to stand in for him."
Ironically, it was di Stefano who talked Pavarotti out of performing the role of Cavaradossi in 1963, saying that the fledgling tenor's voice was not ready. He took the advice and did not sing "Tosca" until over a decade later.
Now the debate is whether Pavarotti is too old, not too young, for the part. Pavarotti accepts that he may not cut as dashing a figure as other tenors. "Obviously I am chubby and physically I am as I am. If an audience wants to go to hear a tenor who is more mobile than me -- because they are more mobile than me -- then that is their decision."
He believes it is the voice which counts. "I cannot think of many opera singers who would get a knighthood for acting abilities alone."
Pavarotti has scheduled over 25 performances during the next six months, including a run of "Tosca" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in May. When he does finally retire, he plans to build an opera complex in his home town of Modena.
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