1955: Makes his first appearance outside Italy at the Llangollen International Singing Competition, in north Wales. Pavarotti travelled with a choir from his home town of Modena which won first prize

April 29 1961: Operatic debut as Rodolfo in a production of Puccini's La Bohème in Reggio Emilia. Later that year he made his international operatic debut in Belgrade in La Traviata

1961: Married his first wife Adua, with whom he has three daughters

February 17, 1972: The Pavarotti phenomenon is born, during a production of La Fille du Regiment at Covent Garden and later at New York's Metropolitan Opera, when he achieved a record 17 curtain calls

March 1977: Attracts one of the largest ever audiences for a televised opera when he plays Rodolfo in the first Live From The Met telecast in March of 1977

1989: Becomes known as “The King of Cancellations" for frequently backing out of performances, his relationship was severed by the Lyric Opera of Chicago as his career hit a lull. Pavarotti had cancelled 26 out of 41 scheduled appearances at the theatre

June 1990: Becomes an internationally known celebrity when his rendition of Giacomo Puccini's aria, "Nessun Dorma" from Turandot, became the theme song of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. That year “The Essential Pavarotti” was the first ever classical album to hit the No 1 spot in the UK pop charts

July 1990: Begins his collaboration with Plácido Domingo and José Carreras with a Three Tenors concert in Rome on the eve of the World Cup final. The trio gave 34 concerts from 1990 to 2003

July 1991: 150,000 people, including Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, stand enthralled in pouring rain in Hyde Park to hear Pavarotti perform 20 arias by Verdi, Puccini, Bizet and Wagner

1992: He was sued by the BBC for selling the network a lip-synched concert. After being booed at La Scala during a performance of Don Carlo, he cancelled tours and took several months rest

June 1993: He performed to over half a million people in Central Park, New York

1996: He left his wife after being photographed on a beach with his secretary Nicoletta Mantovani, who at 30 years his junior was younger than his youngest daughter

1998: Presented with the Grammy Legend Award

2000: Prosecutors in Bologna, Italy, asked an investigating magistrate to rule that Pavarotti be tried on tax fraud charges for claiming that his primary residence is Monte Carlo. He is accused of owing the government nearly £5 million

2002: Nicoletta gives birth to the maestro's fourth daughter, Alice

2003: The couple marry

2004: Started his farewell tour at the age of 69

July 2006: Forced to cancel his final concert tour after being admitted to hospital for emergency cancer surgery

September 2007: The singer dies at his home in Modena.

Sources: Official Pavarotti website www.lucianopavarotti.com, www.biography.com, Times database

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