According to his birth certificate, he was born on October 12, 1935, at 1:40 AM in Modena, Italy.
He was born under the Full Moon, the luminaries being in Virgo-Pisces and closely opposed while trine-sextile Mars - indications of his charisma, showmanship, vitality, and raw physical energy. Mars is also square Neptune (add much the same as just listed, plus emotional and dramatic power). Jupiter square the Ascendant (i.e., conjunct the Nadir) is consistent with his conviviality and, well, his girth!
[EDIT: Zubin Mehta is quoted in Thursday's LA Times as saying that whatever Pavarotti did, he did "always with a great joy."]Astrological theory is mixed on zodiacal rulership of the pancreas. I've tended to associate it (but not with any final sense of commitment) to the Virgo-Pisces axis, which matches one group of astrologers assigning it to Virgo and another assigning it to Jupiter. If this is a correct assignment, then Pavarotti's background yet close Full Moon certainly marked his final area of physical vulnerability. (Close hard aspects in the background regions of the horoscope are the first place I look for health matters.)
Progressed Moon was partile trine progressed Pluto. What really intrigues me though (considering the above analysis of the astrological signature of his pancreatic problems) is that progressed Ascendant at 22°29' Virgo is splitting his natal Sun-Moon aspect - their midpoint being 22°45'.
Transitting Uranus opposed his Neptune (21' separating) - I've been seeing more of these basic "shift of consciousness" transits in death from slow causes. The trigger was likely transitting Mars at 23° Taurus exactly opposite his natal Mars.
His final Demi-SSR, shown here for place of death, had a partile Moon-Pluto conjunction straddling the Ascendant (among other features).
