Crying into our pasta

In the scheme of enjoyable outings, Shanghaiist rates a night at the opera fairly high. Not as high as the time we saw Fugazi at Metropolis in Brisbane, but certainly higher than a night on the couch watching Average Joe.

So it’s more than likely that we’ll be lining up for tickets to see the performance by famed Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who hits the Shanghai Grand Stage on December 6 as part of his farewell world tour.

According to Shanghai Daily, the Italian superstar has warm memories of China:

China is special to me. My first concert in China in 1986 was a good memory. I felt great honor to be the first vocal artist to perform at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Shanghaiist is hardly surprised that Pavarotti feels good about this place, because it’s clear that the people hold him in great esteem. Chinese CD manufacturers like him so much that they went to the trouble of including six bonus tracks at the back end of his recent recording, Ti Adoro -- tracks which were never found on the initial release overseas! We discovered this after purchasing the CD from our little guy around the corner. Mysteriously, the sleeve fails to mention the existence of these tracks. A bit like that Oasis CD of ours which ends with the first four tracks from Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers ...

Pavarotti plans to hang up the vocal chords after a 44-year career on the stage. But not without belting out a few numbers for loving audiences around the world -- including Shanghai. We just hope that the opera star will have a bit of time to explore the city and enjoy a few meals.

Stock up, Da Marco, you’ve been warned.