Liquid Gold

This was an especially sad week with the loss of Luciano Pavarotti. Reading some of the many news articles on his death I was surprised to read that outside of his home town in Italy, the rest of Italy did not have the same appreciation for the maestro that we here in America had. True, he was divorced and in all likelihood cheated on his wife beforehand with his mistress and he fathered a child out of wedlock. The Italians also felt he was too much of a showman. Citing what they feel is the austere dignity of the opera he played with celebrities too much for the liking of the opera aristocracy. What the Italians fail to mention however is that he was a very philanthropic man. Each year he put together concerts with famous names and faces and donated the proceeds to charities. He also did many concerts for our troops overseas and helped many many charitable causes.

Pavarotti's voice was liquid gold. His renditions of the opera greats was unprecedented and as an artist and humanitarian he should be highly revered.

Yes, I thought some of his theatrics a bit over the top, but his heart always seemed to be in the right place.
May he rest in peace.