At funeral, Pavarotti's voice brings tears and an ovation

MODENA, Italy - Luciano Pavarotti received a final, tearful standing ovation after a recording of the great Italian tenor singing a duet of "Panis Angelicus" with his father was played during a somber funeral service yesterday in his hometown cathedral.

Many of the mourners cried as the tenor's unmistakable voice filled the cathedral, a poignant reminder of the talent lost with his death Thursday at age 71 after a yearlong battle with cancer.

Pavarotti and his father had sung the duet in 1978 in the same cathedral - an event Archbishop Benito Cocchi said was described by someone who attended it as "a weaving of two tenors."

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 Premier Romano Prodi of Italy, U2 lead singer Bono, U2 guitarist The Edge, movie director Franco Zeffirelli, and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan. Also sitting in the front row were Pavarotti's first wife, Adua, his three grown daughters, and his sister.

The 90-minute service was filled with music, from Bulgarian-born soprano Raina Kabaivanska, who cried as she sang the opening hymn, Verdi's "Ave Maria," to tenor Andrea Bocelli's "Ave Verum" during the Communion. Flutist Andrea Griminelli played a solo.

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.

Modena's streets were filled with admirers who applauded as a black hearse bearing Pavarotti's body went by. The tenor was buried at Montale Rangone cemetery, where members of his family, including his parents and stillborn son Riccardo, are also interred.

In his homily, 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."

Pope Benedict XVI sent a telegram, saying Pavarotti had "honored the divine gift of music through his extraordinary interpretative talent."

Pavarotti was beloved by generations of opera-goers and pop fans alike for his breathtaking high Cs, hearty renditions of popular folk songs like "O Sole Mio," and collaborations with singers such as Bono, with whom he recorded "Miss Sarajevo" in 1995 to raise money to help rebuild Bosnia.

Pavarotti was the world's best-selling classical artist, with more than 100 million records sold since the 1960s, and he had the first classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts.

During a public viewing period that began Thursday night and continued until hours before the funeral, more than 100,000 people had filed past Pavarotti's casket and filled condolence books.