Baby gives Pavarotti new faith

Luciano Pavarotti has endured 18 months of tragedy. Since the beginning of last year he has suffered the deaths of both his mother and father - and, six months ago, his son Riccardo died at birth.

Now, however, the great tenor has spoken for the first time about his renewed joy in life thanks to his daughter Alice, the twin sister who survived Riccardo.

Pavarotti, 67, spoke as he cradled Alice on the terrace of the summer home, a converted farmhouse in Pesaro, overlooking the Adriatic, that he shares with his partner Nicoletta Mantovani, 34.

The opera singer, who will be performing at the Royal Albert Hall this autumn, already has three daughters by his ex-wife Adua. But he told the Standard how bringing up Alice had revealed a whole new dimension of fatherhood.

Being a parent this time round was "something else", he said: "When I had my first three the feelings of being a father were of course the same - but then I was too busy to realise how beautiful it is to see the child grow up.

"Now I have the time to see Alice every day. I see how beautiful she is, and every day I see the little improvements she makes. She smiles all the time - she smiles at everybody she sees."

Nicoletta gave birth to Alice in January when she was only seven months pregnant. Doctors had discovered her twin brother was being starved of oxygen in his mother's womb and, as Pavarotti waited in a room next to the surgery, performed an emergency caesarean in an attempt to save the boy's life. Tragically, their efforts failed. The following month Pavarotti said: "Confronted with the death of a son, the greatest of pain, not even faith can help the feeling of desperation."

Riccardo's death came a year after that of Pavarotti's mother, Adele, and eight months after that of his father, Fernando.

But now his obvious delight in Alice has rekindled that faith. The opera maestro told how his famous voice came in useful when Alice started crying. He said: "When she screams, that is when I sing to her. First she tries to scream even louder - but then she shuts up."

He is fiercely protective of her, and she has yet to be photographed.

There is more behind Pavarotti's new found optimism: he is a grandfather. Christina, one of his three other daughters, gave birth to Catarina a year ago. "So my daughter is the aunt of my granddaughter," said Pavarotti. "But Alice is six months younger. I hope they will grow up to be friends."

Despite the acrimonious divorce from his wife, Christina and Pavarotti's other two daughters, Lorenza and Guiliana, are regular visitors to the farmhouse.

Pavarotti also spoke about his forthcoming Royal Albert Hall appearance, announced yesterday. The October show will be his first at the venue since 1996, when he sang for Princess Diana. He said: "It will be a concert with soprano, with operatic arias and songs. I was first at the Albert Hall in 1964 and I have been back three or four times since. I am looking forward to it very much."

An album will also be released later this year - and it will be the first featuring new songs written especially for Pavarotti. One is dedicated to Alice. He said: "When I sang it to her she was acting like a prima donna. It was like she was saying, 'Yes I know, I know you love me'." Next year he will begin his world "farewell" tour, due to end before his 70th birthday in 2005.

But he has revealed that, even if he retires, he will continue to perform at his charity concerts in his home town of Modena. Over the years he has been joined on stage by Sting, Elton John, Eric Clapton and Liza Minnelli. He said: "I certainly will sing my benefit show in Modena, always - but nothing else. Except for my daughter."