History suggests that the Pavarotti phenomenon began in earnest on February 17, 1972 during a performance of La Fille du Regiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera; after his effortless completion of an aria containing nine high Cs, the audience erupted in prolonged applause, and his stardom was assured. In the years to follow, Pavarotti essayed the roles of Arturo, Massenet's Des Grieux, Alfredo, the Duke, and Nemorino; as his voice darkened and grew, he also appeared as Manrico, Ernani, Radames, Calaf, and Otello. In 1977, Pavarotti reprised the role of Rodolfo for the premiere episode of the long-running #Live at the Met television series, going on to appear in over a dozen broadcasts from Lincoln Center; his entire stage repertory eventually reached record, and he also sold millions of copies of his solo albums of opera arias, traditional music, and holiday favorites. Pavarotti's live performances included many stadium dates, as well as numerous other attention-grabbing spectacles; additionally, some of his greatest success was achieved in the company of Placido Domingo and José Carreras, performing together as the Three Tenors. Pavarotti's last performance came at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, where he sang a typically poignant and powerful rendition of Nessun Dorma to an adoring crowd. On 6 September 2007, the world lost one of the greatest voices of all-time as Luciano Pavarotti lost his battle with pancreatic cancer and passed away at the age of 71. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi