The statue of Luciano Pavarotti. Photo / 123RF
The widow of Luciano Pavarotti has accused an Italian city of “ridiculing” her late husband by building an ice rink around his statue and encouraging skaters to high-five it.
Nicoletta Mantovani said she was “angry and upset” after the life-size bronze statue of the tenor was surrounded by an ice rink that has been set up in Pesaro for the festive season.
The statue of Pavarotti has stood in a central piazza in Pesaro since it was unveiled in April last year. The opera singer had a villa in the city and spent summers there with his family before his death in 2007.
Mantovani, who was married to the tenor for five years, said: “I’m sorry the city allowed something like this, because it affects Luciano’s image and the respect he deserves.”
Speaking from London, she told the newspaper Il Resto del Carlino: “I had no idea about it. I have seen photos and it seems to me that it has been poorly done.
“It’s an absurd decision by the council. On the one hand they say they want to honour Pavarotti, on the other they are ridiculing him. It’s not right.”
The mayor of the city rubbed salt into the wound when he published a manipulated image of the statue skating on the ice rink while holding a hockey stick.
Andrea Biancani suggested that skaters should “high five” the life-size bronze statue of the opera legend in a post on Facebook, which was poorly received by some residents.
Some pointed out that having the statue poking out of the rink was dangerous. “What happens if a child bashes into it – who will pay the medical bills?” one woman asked on social media.
But others said the tenor, regarded as one of the best opera singers of the 20th century, would have enjoyed the absurdity of the situation.
“Luciano had a great sense of humour and zest for life. He would have been happy to know that his statue would be surrounded by laughing children, rather than stuck in a dusty museum,” said one local man.
The mayor was forced to issue an apology, insisting that there had been “no intention to disrespect” Pavarotti.
He said he was surprised to see that the statue had been entrapped in the ice rink.
“Such a solution was not envisioned initially. I was assured that Pavarotti wouldn’t be touched or incorporated into the ice rink floor.”
It was impossible to reverse the situation, however, because the ice rink was about to open for the Christmas period.
“At that point, there was no turning back – cancelling everything made no sense.”
He said he had made the quip about high-fiving the statue as a way of defusing the row.
“It was an attempt to play down the situation. Pavarotti was a person who loved life. But that doesn’t mean there was no mistake, and it’s right to apologise. I didn’t mean to offend anyone,” he told Il Resto del Carlino.
On the city council’s website he posted a statement in which he said he wished to “apologise to the maestro’s family”.
Pavarotti made his debut in 1961 and went on to become one of the opera world’s biggest stars.
He toured the world, both as a solo performer and as one of the Three Tenors, with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras.
His final public appearance was during the opening ceremony at the Winter Olympics in Italy in 2006.
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