Pavarotti's Last Performance Was A Complete Fake

Pavarotti was so ill that it was thought dangerous that he should go live in his performance in Turin in 2006 at the opening of the Turin Olympics. That was his last performance and it was completely faked.

This has been revealed in a book by Leone Magiera, who was the conductor. Everyone faked it - Magiera pretended to conduct, Pavarotti mimed the singing, and even the orchestra was just pretending to play. Everything was pre-recorded. And it seems no one noticed anything.

One reason to do it that way was that it was going to be a late-night outdoor performance in the cold.