Pavarotti admitted to hospital

ROME (Reuters) - Opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, who was diagnosed with cancer last year, has been admitted to hospital in northern Italy and is in a satisfactory condition, a hospital spokesman said on Thursday.

Pavarotti was hospitalized with a fever in his home town of Modena on Wednesday, the spokesman said. He is likely to be discharged in the next few days.

The singer, who had surgery to remove a pancreatic tumor in July 2006, was suffering from pneumonia, a newspaper reported.

The cancer surgery forced Pavarotti, regarded by many as the greatest tenor of his generation, to cancel the remaining dates of his 2006 farewell opera tour.

The 71-year-old had vowed to return to the stage this year, but he has not been seen in public since the operation and called off a number of appearances in the past few months.

Il Resto del Carlino, a daily newspaper serving the region around Modena, wrote on Thursday that Pavarotti's condition had deteriorated in the past few days and he was suffering from a bout of pneumonia.

Since his operatic debut in 1961, the rotund, black-bearded tenor has become one of the most recognized classical musicians in the world, regularly gracing the stage at New York's Metropolitan Opera, London's Covent Garden and Milan's La Scala.

His fame grew when he sang Puccini's aria "Nessun Dorma" at the soccer World Cup in Italy in 1990 alongside Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.

Pavarotti's London-based manager, Terri Robson, last month denied his condition had worsened. He said he was working on a recording of sacred songs and also teaching students daily.