Remembering Pavarotti

Remembering Pavarotti

ROME — Italy will mark the death of tenor Luciano Pavarotti with a series of concerts, film screenings, photographic retrospectives and other commemorative events at its cultural centers around the globe, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. The events begin the week of Oct. 6, a month after Pavarotti’s death from pancreatic cancer. They include video clips of Pavarotti interviews screened at the Italian cultural institute in Lima, Peru; concerts in Budapest, Hungary; Copenhagen, Denmark and Lyon, France; a viewing of a “Traviata” performance in Montevideo, Uruguay, and a series of Saturday screenings of Pavarotti operas in New Delhi. In New York, a photographic exhibition and a series of concerts is planned, while in Seoul, South Korea, the National Opera is planning a commemorative evening, the ministry said in a statement. Pavarotti, who died at age 71, was beloved by generations of opera-goers and pop fans alike for his breathtaking high Cs, hearty renditions of popular folk songs like “O Sole Mio” and collaborations with pop singers.

Eagles to play at CMAs

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Eagles will perform during this fall’s Country Music Association Awards for the first time, a nod to the success of their new single, “How Long,” on country radio. The song is from the group’s first new studio album in 28 years, “Long Road out of Eden,” which will be released next month. The single is No. 26 and rising on the Billboard country chart. “From the early ’70s this group has defined country rock, and more than three decades later they are still creating music that resonates with our audience,” said CMA chief operating officer Tammy Genovese. The 41st annual awards show airs Nov. 7 from Nashville on ABC.

Paris will go to Rwanda

NEW YORK — Paris Hilton plans to visit Rwanda as part of her post-jail commitment to use her celebrity status to bring attention to social causes. “I’ll be going in November, after I get back from filming my movie,” she tells E! Online in a story posted Tuesday on the Web site. “There’s so much need in that area, and I feel like if I go, it will bring more attention to what people can do to help,” Hilton says. The 26-year-old hotel heiress-actress vowed to use her fame to bring attention to social causes after serving a 23-day jail sentence earlier this year for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. “I want to visit more countries where poverty and children’s issues are a big concern,” she says. “I know there’s a lot of good I can do just by getting involved and bringing attention to these issues.”

Marcel Marceau buried

PARIS — French mime Marcel Marceau was buried in a simple ceremony Wednesday in Paris, taking his place alongside other giants of the arts also interred at Pere Lachaise cemetery. Rabbi Rene-Samuel Sirat read an homage to Marceau, noting that he died on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. A French Jew, Marceau escaped deportation to a Nazi death camp during World War II; his father died in Auschwitz. The floppy top hat with a red flower worn by Marceau’s best-known character, Bip, was placed on a stand next to the mime’s coffin and later in front of his open grave. Marceau died Saturday at age 84. At Pere Lachaise, he joined a host of other famous performers and artists, including composer Frederic Chopin, writer Oscar Wilde, painter Eugene Delacroix and rocker Jim Morrison.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Wilford Brimley is 73. Producer Don Cornelius (“Soul Train”) is 71. Singer-musician Randy Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 64. Actress Liz Torres is 60. Rock singer Meat Loaf is 56. Singer Shaun Cassidy is 49. Rock singer Stephan Jenkins (Third Eye Blind) is 43. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is 35. Rock singer Brad Arnold (3 Doors Down) is 29. Rapper Lil’ Wayne is 25. Singer Avril Lavigne is 23.