Modena, Italy — Luciano Pavarotti received a final, tearful standing ovation at his somber funeral Saturday after a recording of the Italian tenor and his father singing “Panis Angelicus” filled his hometown cathedral.
Many of the mourners cried upon hearing Pavarotti’s unmistakable voice, a poignant reminder of the talent lost with his death Thursday at age 71 after a year-long battle with cancer.
In a series of eulogies, Pavarotti was remembered as one of the world’s greatest singers, a symbol of Italy, a humanitarian and — in a message from his 4-year-old daughter, Alice — a father.
“Papa, you have loved me so much. I know you will always protect me,” his daughter said in a message read during the service, while her mother, Nicoletta Mantovani, sobbed in the front row.
Among the 700 guests were Italian Premier Romano Prodi, U2 members Bono and The Edge, movie director Franco Zeffirelli and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Also sitting in the front row were Pavarotti’s first wife, Adua, his three grown daughters and his sister.
The service was filled with music, from soprano Raina Kabaivanska, who cried as she sang the opening hymn, Verdi’s “Ave Maria,” to tenor Andrea Bocelli’s “Ave Verum” during Communion.
Thousands of admirers filled the piazza outside the cathedral watching the service on a big screen. The crowd erupted in applause when the white, maple casket covered with flowers – including Pavarotti’s favorite, sunflowers – was carried outside by 11 pallbearers. At the same instant, the Italian air force’s precision flying team roared overhead, trailing vapors of green, red and white – the colors of the Italian flag.
In his homily, Archbishop Benito Cocchi said the presence of so many dignitaries was a sign “of the esteem, the affection and the gratitude that universally surrounds the great artist.”
