There was nearly a riot at the Taipei World Trade Center 2 building before the gig started, however, as thousands tried to get tickets on the door for the sold-out event. Fortunately, it turned out to be a good-natured crowd and there was no serious trouble or arrests.
Pavarotti takes on Taichung
(Dec. 14)
Taichung out maneuvered Taipei in mid-December when it joined Buenos Aires, London, Paris and New York as one of only 40 cities worldwide lucky enough to have been chosen by Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti to host his farewell tour.
Having arrived in Taichung in his private 10-seater aircraft, the hugely popular opera star went to what he no doubt thought would be yet another drab press conference. An over zealous fan of the Italian tenor interrupted the maestro with a version of O Sole Mio, however, and then asked if Pavarotti would accept him as his student.
The singer, a Taiwanese national who had flown in from Canada to attend the concert, was ushered out of earshot of the famed tenor by event organizers within 30 seconds. Pavarotti kept his cool and didn't respond.
Unfazed by the events, Pavarotti took to the stage of Taichung Stadium (台中體育場) and burst into a set packed with both well-known and lesser-known operatic arias.
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