Pavarotti postpones all 2006 dates

Opera great Luciano Pavarotti has postponed his remaining 2006 concerts as he recovers from cancer surgery.

The larger-than-life tenor underwent treatment for pancreatic cancer last month and has been forced to postpone his farewell dates for a second time.

Illness prompted him to reschedule shows planned for last year and he was working his way through them when he was diagnosed with cancer recently.

The postponed concerts will be rescheduled for 2007, with an announcement of dates expected in September.

In a statement issued by Pavarotti's longtime manager Terri Robson she says: "Just as Mr Pavarotti was preparing to leave New York to recommence his performance schedule in the UK, doctors, concerned with results from a routine medical test, readmitted Mr Pavarotti to the hospital for assessment.

"Mr Pavarotti underwent a diagnostic evaluation and a malignant pancreatic mass was identified. Fortunately, the mass was able to be completely removed at surgery."

Robson insists the tenor is on his way to a full recovery: "Mr Pavarotti is recovering well and his physicians are encouraged by the physical and emotional resilience of their patient."