Arrivederci, Luciano

For almost all of his 40-year opera career, Luciano Pavarotti has defined the golden sound that seems exclusively the birthright of Italian tenors -- a bright, ringing, full, free and seemingly effortless sound. He zoomed to fame at Covent Garden in 1966 singing the nine successive high C’s in an aria in Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment” with an insouciance that astonished the audience. It was as if he were saying to all other tenors, “This is how you do it, boys.” No wonder he’s been the darling of opera lovers ever since, even though in recent years his voice has lost some of that sheen. Now he’s making, he says, his farewell tour. Well, it just may be. He has health problems and even the great Pavarotti cannot go on forever.

Luciano Pavarotti, Hollywood Bowl, 2301 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. 8 p.m. Saturday. Sold out. (213) 480-3232 or www.HollywoodBowl.com.