THE celebrated tenor Luciano Pavarotti, 68, will tomorrow marry his 34-year-old former secretary in a wedding billed as a private ceremony that is turning into an on-stage celebrity extravaganza.

Pavarotti divorced his wife Adua two years ago after a settlement was finally agreed, his affair with Nicoletta Mantovani having come to light in 1995 when paparazzi photographed them kissing on a beach while on holiday together.

Invitations to tomorrow’s wedding have been issued in the name of the couple’s baby daughter and read: “Alice Pavarotti invites you with joy to the marriage of Papa Luciano and Mamma Nicoletta”.

The wedding vows will be exchanged not in the town hall of Modena, Pavarotti’s home town, but on the stage of its neo-Classical 19th-century Teatro Comunale, amid glittering chandeliers, 116 boxes and four tiers of plush seating. Streets around the theatre are being blocked off for the ceremony, to be conducted by the Mayor, Giuliano Barbolini.

Officials in Modena said that although the tenor had said he wanted a private occasion it was “a civil marriage in a public place from which no one can be excluded”.

Signora Mantovani said that she would wear a white dress designed by Giorgio Armani, which would be “discreetly elegant” rather than “showy”. Baby Alice will also appear in an outfit designed by Armani.

Pavarotti, whose career is nearing its end, is not scheduled to sing himself. Instead the popular young Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli will sing Ave Maria.

The 1,200 guests include opera stars such as José Carreras and Plácido Domingo, Pavarotti’s partners in “The Three Tenors”, the sopranos Mirella Freni and Raina Kabaivanska, and the bassbaritone Ruggero Raimondi.

Pavarotti has also invited pop stars who have appeared alongside him in his annual “Pavarotti and Friends” charity shows. They include Sting (who has a villa in Tuscany), Bono, Lou Reed, and Sir Elton John (who next week will give a concert at the newly rebuilt La Fenice Opera House in Venice).

Also on hand will be Pavarotti’s favourite football team, Juventus. Officials in Modena said they “hoped” that Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, would attend, being “a friend and admirer” of the tenor. The reception will be held in the Modena park where “Pavarotti and Friends” is staged, with a tent covering 1,500 square metres and a crè che and entertainers for guests’ children. Oggi magazine said that “pastry chefs and dress designers from Milan to New York” had been planning the event for a year.

Signora Mantovani’s parents, Gianna and Gianni, will be present. Pavarotti, whose divorce from his manager Adua Veroni was bitter and costly, has three daughters from that marriage — Lorenza, 40, Cristina, 38, and Giuliana, 35. It was not clear yesterday whether they would attend the wedding, although reports in Modena said places had been reserved for them in the front row.

The tenor also has an 18 month old granddaughter, Caterina, the daughter of Cristina. Pavarotti, who made his opera debut in 1961 and will be remembered as a great Italian tenor in the tradition of Caruso and Gigli, recently announced that he intended to retire in 2005, when he turns 70. He has already scaled down his appearances after adverse comment about his failing powers.

He vowed that after retiring he would “never sing again, not even in the bathroom”.

Two years ago Pavarotti went on trial in Italy for alleged tax evasion, but agreed to pay back taxes of 12 million euros (more than £8 million) and the case was dropped.

He and Signora Mantovani have asked guests to give money to charity rather than buy a wedding present.

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