The Opera Festival of the Arena of Verona celebrates its centenary this year and marks the occasion with the opening of a museum dedicated to opera and a special exhibition dedicated to the great Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti. Amo Pavarotti (I love Pavarotti) occupies nine rooms on the ground floor of Palazzo Forti. Among the rarities made available to visitors is an unpublished recording of the 1997 rehearsal for the performance of Turandot at the Metropolitan, New York.

Pavarotti's widow Nicoletta Mantovani, who inaugurated the exhibition, declared that she was especially proud of this tribute paid to Maestro Pavarotti who dedicated his life with passion, simplicity and spontaneity to opera, making it loved all over the world.

Francesco Girondini, the Superintendent of the Arena of Verona Foundation, said that the opening of the Opera Museum had been timed to coincide with the Arena Festival centenary. Who better than Pavarotti can represent the world of opera? he said, adding that the maestro had sung seven seasons in the Verona Arena during his career

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