Pavarotti stars again

A giant 150ft mural of tenor has appeared on a N.Wales hillside

- By ANDREW FORGRAVE Countryside and Tourism Editor

THE widow of the great Luciano Pavarotti has given her seal of approval to a massive 150ft mural of her late husband. The chalk profile was created in just 24 hours on a hillside in North Wales.

The artwork was create to celebrate Pavarotti’s first appearance 70 years ago at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, Denbighshire. To mark the anniversary, his widow Nicoletta Mantovani was a guest of honour at this year’s festival.

She attended the mural’s unveiling alongside members of the Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir - the choir that first hosted Luciano and his father Fernando in 1955. She arrived in the town on board a vintage steam train from Corwen where the choir serenaded her with a Welsh song special to her late husband. Nicoletta said she shed a tear when she heard the world-famous choir perform.

The 45-metre by 30-metre artwork is visible from the eisteddfod pavilion below and from Castell Dinas Bran above - a ruined medieval castle built by the Welsh Princes. It’s hosted by Wern Isaf campsite on Donkey Hill overlooking the eisteddfod grounds.