Frozen-in tenor: Italian mayor apologises over Pavarotti statue stuck in ice rink

Original article by Angela Giuffrida in Rome

An Italian mayor has apologised to the family of Luciano Pavarotti after a Christmas ice rink entrapped a statue of the legendary opera singer – and skaters were invited to “give [him] a high five”.

The lifesize bronze, featuring Pavarotti wearing a tuxedo with his arms outstretched and holding a handkerchief in one hand, was unveiled to much fanfare last year in a square in the centre of Pesaro, a coastal city in the Marche region.

The statue was intended as a tribute to the late tenor, who had a home and honorary citizenship in Pesaro, also the birthplace of the Italian composer Gioachino Rossini.

But instead, surrounding Pavarotti with “a very ugly” ice rink had “ridiculed” his memory, Nicoletta Mantovani, the tenor’s widow, said after images of the statue “trapped” up to its knees were circulated online.

Mantovani told the local newspaper Il Resto del Carlino that she was “disappointed, angry and upset”.

“It was like a bolt out of the blue,” she said after the newspaper sent her the images. “I’m sorry the city allowed something like this, because it affects Luciano’s image and the respect he deserves. It’s just not right.”

Andrea Biancini, the mayor of Pesaro, appeared to aggravate the issue by sharing an image of the statue in the ice rink alongside a hashtag encouraging skaters to “give Pavarotti a high five”.

He later apologised, admitting that the local council had “made a mistake”.

“There was no intention of disrespect,” he told Il Resto del Carlino. “I was assured that Pavarotti wouldn’t be touched or incorporated into the ice rink floor.”

But with the festive feature due to open in the city’s Piazzale Lazzarini this weekend, he said it was not possible for it to be dismantled, and that trying to move the statue would be costly and could cause damage.

Describing the scene, Il Resto del Carlino said the tribute to Pavarotti, who died in 2007, aged 71, has “ended up stuck between the guardrails and Christmas lights, like a stage character who fell into the wrong place and now finds himself directing the traffic of skaters”.