World pays tribute to Pavarotti, singer and man

ROME (Reuters) - Here are some tributes to Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who died on Thursday aged 71:

Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli:

"There were tenors, and then there was Pavarotti."

Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, who teamed up with Pavarotti and Jose Carreras for the "Three Tenors" performance in 1990:

"I always admired his divine voice, with its unmistakable timbre and complete vocal range. I loved his wonderful sense of humor. Sometimes in our concerts with Jose Carreras we forgot we were performing before a paying audience, because the three of us were having so much fun."

Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, the third in the trio:

"It's a great loss, not just of one of the best voices ever, but of a close friend. We always had a good relationship. I am happy to have known him. He was without doubt one of the most important tenors of all time. He was a wonderful man, a charismatic person. And a good poker player."

Irish pop star Bono, who sang "Miss Sarajevo" with him:

"Some can sing opera, Luciano Pavarotti was an opera. He lived the songs, his opera was a great mash of joy and sadness; surreal and earthy at the same time; a great volcano of a man who sang fire but spilled over with a love of life in all its complexity, a great and generous friend.

"Great, great fun, 'The Pavlova' we used to call him.

"I spoke to him last week ... the voice that was louder than any rock band was a whisper."

Metropolitan Opera in New York, where Pavarotti brought the house down by hitting nine 'high C's' in "La Fille du Regiment" in 1972. Music Director James Levine said:

"Luciano's voice was so extraordinarily beautiful and his delivery so natural and direct that his singing spoke right to the hearts of listeners whether they knew anything about opera or not."

Soprano Joan Sutherland, whose artistic partnership with Pavarotti began with his American debut in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" in 1965:

"The quality of the sound was so different. You knew immediately that it was Luciano."

Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe: