Submitted by Gregg Ruoti, Sep 6, 2007 11:17

My father had come out to visit me in Los Angeles in the early 1990's. I knew he had been a huge Pavarotti fan ever since I could remember, but he never saw him perform in person. I really wanted to do something extremely special for him, something I knew he wouldn't do for himself. Bringing him to see Pavarotti perform live would be the ultimate way of me communicating to my father how much I appreciated him.

That warm evening, seeing my father come to tears of joy as Luciano sang an Italian song (that my father said he had not heard since his mother sang it to him as a child) is today my fondest memory of my father.

I was already a huge classical music fan by then, but having grown up with my Italian speaking father constantly playing Pavarotti & Callas (between Copland pieces) in our home, I never quite "got" opera. That evening under the stars in LA changed that forever. I was so moved by an aria he was singing, I discovered tears of streaming down my own face. It was as if a door had just opened inside me that I wasn't aware was there. That exact moment and the exhilarating feeling I will never forget to this day. I went on to see 10's of operas at the Los Angeles Opera and now personally own at least 100 operas. La Fille Du Régiment is still one of my favorites and my 7 year old daughter enjoys it too.

I tied so much of my memories of my father to his love for Luciano Pavarotti, so today's news was a particular blow. Thank God we were left with so many recordings of what may have been the best tenor that ever lived. And a big "thanks" to Luciano Pavarotti for bringing opera to billions in only the way he could deliver it.

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