THE ARTSPavarotti’s Swan Song: On 70th Birthday,...

THE ARTS

Pavarotti’s Swan Song: On 70th Birthday, 2005

Luciano Pavarotti’s retirement has long been a subject of speculation. And the buzz heated up in May when the tenor canceled two concerts at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House due to illness.

On Tuesday’s edition of CNN’s “Connie Chung Tonight,” Pavarotti finally played his hand. His last note will be sung on his 70th birthday--Oct. 12, 2005--the operatic legend said.

“I am busy for two or three years more and then I will retire... ,” said Pavarotti, 66. He maintained that he would not sing after that time, “not even when I’m taking the shower.”

The singer didn’t say whether he’s already retired from the opera stage. Some wonder whether his January performance at London’s Royal Opera and the recent Met commitment were his swan songs at those venues. Though a Three Tenors World Cup concert (in which he’ll sing with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras) is scheduled for today in Japan, no opera is on his itinerary. According to CNN, he currently schedules about 40 dates a year--mostly arena performances--that bring him about $35 million.

Chung asked whether his decision to retire is linked to a decline in voice quality or poor health. Negative, the tenor replied. Maybe it’s a matter of priorities: He plans to marry Nicoletta Mantovani, 32, his companion of six years, before 2003, he told Chung. And they’re thinking about having children, he said--”one or two or 10.”

Madrid Police, FBI Recover Stolen Art

A police sting in Madrid recovered 10 works of art, collectively said to be worth an estimated $50 million. They were stolen last year from the private collection of Spanish billionaire Esther Koplowitz--listed by Forbes as the 445th richest person in the world.

The loot was seized after Spanish police officers posed as Americans interested in buying Pieter Brueghel’s “The Temptation of St. Antonio,” the BBC reports. The painting’s identity was confirmed by an FBI agent posing as an art expert (the agency has a team devoted to Eurasian organized crime). Three men were arrested.

Nine other paintings, including pieces by Camille Pissarro and Goya, were found in a car parked near a football stadium, but a handful are still missing.

“It’s the most important art seizure in the last decade internationally, both for its artistic and economic value,” said Madrid Police Chief Juan Cotino.

QUICK TAKES

Grammy-winning R&B; singer R. Kelly pleaded innocent to charges of child pornography Wednesday. He’s due back in the Chicago courtroom on Aug. 7.... India.Arie was named best female R&B; artist at Tuesday night’s Black Entertainment Television Awards. Usher was chosen top male R&B; performer.... A Picasso portrait of his mistress fetched $23.9 million--almost double the estimate--at Christie’s auction house in London.... Luisa Cariaga, managing director of Deaf West Theatre, has been appointed executive director of Los Angeles’ American Youth Symphony.... Bass Samuel Ramey, 60, star of the Los Angeles Opera production of “Duke Bluebeard’s Castle” and “Gianni Schicchi,” will marry soprano Lindsey Larson, 38, on Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D. Ramey and Frederica von Stade will sing at the wedding.... Metropolitan Opera board member Lewis S. Ranieri has been appointed board chairman of American Ballet Theatre, succeeding Gerry Grinberg.... Antonio Banderas will star in HBO’s “Pancho Villa as Himself,” playing the Mexican revolutionary.