“New Pavarotti” Salvatore Licitra Dies in Italy

Italian tenor Salvatore Licitra, who was widely known as the “new Pavarotti” in Italy, passed away on Monday after being in coma for the past nine days.

He was involved in a motor bike accident on August 27, in which he suffered serious head and chest injuries. According to Catania, Sicily’s Garibaldi Hospital where Licitra was being treated, he never came out of coma. The doctors said that the accident happened after he suffered an interruption of blood to the brain and lost control of his motor bike, which subsequently crashed into a wall.

The tenor’s family has told the press that his organs will be donated according to his wishes.

One of Licitra’s colleagues, soprano Deborah Voight posted a message on her Facebook account, stating, “So very sad to say goodbye to Salvatore Licitra. I will miss you.”

The La Scala opera house also released a statement in recognition of Licitra’s work. It read, “Licitra represented the school and tradition of Italian song, in his natural relationships to words. A decade of his personal history was interwoven with our theater.”

Metropolitan Opera’s GM Peter Gelb described Licitra as “one of the greatest natural tenor talents of his generation. His premature death is tragic for his family, friends and loved ones, and his legions of admirers around the world, which include his many fans at the Met.”

The deceased tenor had started his career in 1998 with a scintillating performance in Parma.

Source: [latimes.com]

Image Source: [billboard.com]