World pays tribute

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 unmistakeable timbre and complete vocal range. I loved his wonderful sense of humour. Sometimes in our concerts with José Carreras we forgot we were performing before a paying audience, because the three of us were having so much fun."

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

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

London's Royal Opera House at Covent Garden: "He had a unique ability to touch people with the emotional and brilliant quality of his voice. He was a man with the common touch and the most extraordinary gift."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy: "Luciano Pavarotti was the best known classical singer in the world, the best incarnation of the great popular tenor since Enrico Caruso. His artistic qualities, and his warmth and his charisma seduced the whole world."

British tenor Russell Watson: "He was a complete tour de force, he was incredible, he lived life to the full. His voice was so distinctive you only needed to listen to a couple of bars and you knew it was him, he had incredible power and control."

Japanese conductor Seiji Ozawa: "His voice was instantly recognisable when it was playing in restaurants. He was a distinct tenor."

Hugh Canning, Sunday Times critic: "He was one of the greatest voices that has ever recorded for the gramophone. The sheer colour of the voice and the emotion that he was able to bring, but also with his innate musicianship and wonderful diction."

Piero Ferrari, son of the founder of the sports car firm: "This is very hard, very sad. I have so many memories, but above all that voice that will no longer be with us."

Venusta Nascetti, 71, who used to serve Mr Pavarotti coffee in a bar in his hometown, Modena, when he was a teenager: "He was full of joy, he had a happy spirit. He always loved us just like we loved him."

Opera fan Romolo Franchi in Rome: "He was a man who did a lot to promote opera in Italy. And he did a lot to promote Italy in the world."

Moments from Luciano Pavarotti's life in pictures.