Luciano Pavarotti Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (/?pæv?'r?ti/, also US: /?p??v-/, Italian: [lu't?a?no pava'r?tti]; 12 October 1935 – 6 September 2007) was an Italian operatic tenor who also crossed over into popular music, eventually becoming one of the most commercially successful tenors of all time. He made numerous recordings of complete operas and individual arias, gaining worldwide fame for the quality of his tone, and eventually established himself as one of the finest tenors of the 20th century, achieving the honorific title "king of the high C's"