November 26, 2007 19:21

Pavarotti widow sues late husband's friends for $44 million

Nicoletta Mantovani says she is being defamed

Nicoletta Mantovani, the widow of late tenor Luciano Pavarotti, is suing two women for $22 million each in a defamation suit.

Mantovani maintains that Franca Corfini Strata and Lidia La Marca’s comments that the tenor was unhappy in his marriage are defamatory, and that Mantovani was just concerned with money. They also said the tenor complained that Mantovani threatened to stop him from seeing their four year-old daughter Alice if he did not sign financial papers she took to his hospital bed.

Franca Corfini Strata is the wife of the late tenor’s dietician, while Lidia La Marca is the wife of conductor Leone Magiera. Neither women have commented on the suit since it was filed.

They pair previously appeared on Italian public TV show ‘Porta a Porta’ to reiterate their claims.

As previously reported, speculation that the singer was not lucid when he signed his will was denounced by his manager Terri Robson.

Pavarotti died in September after a battle with cancer. He was 71.

--By our New York staff.
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