Tributes to Luciano Pavarotti.
Film director Franco Zeffirelli:"There were tenors, and then there was Pavarotti."
Tenor José Carreras:"It's a great loss, not just of one of the best voices ever, but of a close friend . . . He was without doubt one of the most important tenors of all time. He was a wonderful man, a charismatic person. And a good poker player."
Bono:"Some can sing opera, Luciano Pavarotti was an opera. He lived the songs, his opera was a great mash of joy and sadness; surreal and earthy at the same time; a great volcano of a man who sang fire but spilled over with a love of life in all its complexity, a great and generous friend. Great, great fun, 'The Pavlova', we used to call him. I spoke to him last week . . . the voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper."
Music director of Metropolitan Opera in New York, James Levine:"Luciano's voice was so extraordinarily beautiful and his delivery so natural and direct, that his singing spoke right to the hearts of listeners whether they knew anything about opera or not."
Soprano Joan Sutherland:"The quality of the sound was so different. You knew immediately that it was Luciano."
Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe:"He was a soul mate, a fantastic person. I sang very, very many times with him and recorded a lot with him. I loved him a lot, and admired him even more. He was a marvellous human being. I feel his loss in my soul. I spoke to him so recently that it seems incredible that he's left us."
Elton John:"It is a sad day for music and a sad day for the world."
President George Bush:"Pavarotti was . . . a great humanitarian, using his magnificent talent to rally tremendous levels of support for victims of tragedies around the globe. His international vocal competition in Philadelphia and his school in Modena have encouraged and inspired generations of young artists to pursue their dreams."
Royal Opera House at Covent Garden:"He had a unique ability to touch people with the emotional and brilliant quality of his voice. He was a man with the common touch and the most extraordinary gift."
Italian prime minister Romano Prodi:"With the death of the maestro Luciano Pavarotti we lose a very great voice of Italian music. He showed the world the most authentic artistic image of our country, arousing emotions and spreading passion and culture."
Tenor Andrea Bocelli:"The pain in my heart is only alleviated by the thought that his art will remain with us."