Luciano Pavarotti, one of the most iconic and remarkable tenor voices of his generation, died Thursday in his hometown of Modena, Italy. The 71-year-old opera superstar had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year, for which he underwent surgery.

"In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive until finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness," Pavarotti's manager, Terri Robson, said in a statement.

Pavarotti, who first became a star of the opera world in the mid-1960s, can be considered with little argument the most important male vocalist of his time. After a long and illustrious career, which took him through countless roles and made him a global ambassador for opera, he had embarked upon a farewell tour in 2004, which was interrupted by his cancer diagnosis. Pavarotti was also known worldwide as one of the original Three Tenors, with Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras, who toured and recorded under that name in the 1990s.

"I always admired the God-given glory of his voice -- that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range," Domingo said in a statement. "I also loved his wonderful sense of humor and on several occasions of our concerts with Jose Carreras -- the so-called Three Tenors concerts -- we had trouble remembering that we were giving a concert before a paying audience, because we had so much fun between ourselves," he said.

The funeral will be held on Saturday at Modena's cathedral.

Watch Pavarotti's live performance from AOL Sessions