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Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti (R) with his
second wife Nicoletta Mantovani. | Opera
star Pavarotti's former agent has painted his ex-client as "petulant" and "demanding" in a biography due out in October, says the Washington
Post.
Herbert Breslin was Pavarotti's manager for over 30 years before they
parted company in January 2003.
He says the book is "the story of a beautiful, simple, lovely guy who
turned into a very determined, aggressive and... unhappy superstar."
The Washington Post got an advance copy of the book ahead of its
publication.
The book is titled The King and I: The Uncensored Tale of Luciano
Pavarotti's Rise to Fame by His Manager, Friend and Sometime Adversary.
Mr Breslin wrote in the book that Pavarotti, 68, criticised fellow
singer Placido Domingo, saying: "In his dreams, Placido never had a voice
like (Pavarotti)."
The newspaper also said Mr Breslin claimed Pavarotti called his
associates "stupido" as a term of endearment and insisted on being
chauffeured a block from his
New York apartment to his dentist.
He also wrote that the opera star was so fearful of food on a tour of
China that he took an entire restaurant along with him.
Mr Breslin states that Pavarotti was so concerned with decorum while making romantic comedy film
Yes Giorgio in 1982, that he "wouldn't do anything that could make people
laugh at him".
Curiously, the book ends with an interview with Pavarotti himself, in
which the Post states he says affectionate things about his former agent.
Mr Breslin is credited with
helping Pavarotti build-up a following outside of the classical music
world, with sell-out arena concerts and television appearances.
Mr Breslin said at the time of the split last year: "We've had enough.
I've had enough."
(Agencies)
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