The Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti (born October 12, 1935), is one of the most famous living opera singers. Luciano Pavarotti was born in Modena, Italy. Pavarotti made his operatic debut on April 29, 1961, as Rodolfo in La bohème, at the opera house in Reggio Emilia. This is his signature role. His American debut came in February 1965, in Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland in Miami. His major breakthrough, however, came on February 17, 1972, in a production of Donizetti's La fille du régiment at New York's Metropolitan Opera, in which he drove the crowd into a frenzy with his nine effortless high Cs in the signature aria. Pavarotti became a household name through frequent television performances, such Rodolfo in the first Live from the Met telecast in March of 1977, which attracted one of the largest audiences ever for a televised opera. He has many Grammys and platinum and gold recordings to his credit. He made his farewell tour in 2004 at the age of 69.