Leone Magiera, the maestro who conducted the aria at the opening ceremony of the Turin Olympics in 2006, which marked the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti’s last performance, reveals in a recently published book that Pavarotti had pre-recorded his part.

Conductor Leone Magiera reveals in “Pavarotti Visto Da Vicino” (“Pavarotti Seen From Close Up”), published last month by Ricordi, that the renowned Italian tenor, who was ill and already in pain, months before being diagnosed with cancer, lip-synched his last performance at the opening ceremony of the Turin Olympics in 2006.

Magiera writes that Pavarotti pre-recorded his rendition of the famed aria “Nessun Dorma,” from Puccini’s “Turandot,” because “it would have been too dangerous for him to give a live performance in that physical condition.”

The celebrated tenor recorded the aria in a studio in his hometown of Modena a few days before his February appearance in Turin, Magiera said. The orchestra pre-recorded its part separately.

“The orchestra pretended to play for the public there, I pretended to conduct and Luciano pretended to sing,” Magiera writes. “It came off beautifully, no one was aware of the technical tricks.”

The conductor said the tenor was suffering from sharp pains months before being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was using a wheelchair but did not explain why he was using a wheelchair. Pavarotti stood during the performance.

Magiera writes that Pavarotti’s voice was “nearly intact” and that he “found the strength to repeat it until he was completely satisfied. Then, he fell back on his wheelchair and closed his eyes, exhausted.”

The late tenor’s manager, Terri Robson, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the decision to lip-synch was made because of the cold during the outdoor evening event.

Robson said the tenor’s voice was “in great shape ... but because of the extreme late-night temperature in Turin in February, for both him and the orchestra, it was decided that the only way to make it work was for him to pre-record.”

Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2006. He underwent surgery in New York in early July and cancelled the remaining concerts scheduled for 2006 in order to recover.

Pavarotti died in September 2007. He was 71. His death was a great loss for all. The mayor of Modena announced at the time that the town’s theater would be named after Luciano Pavarotti. “A great artist has left us, a good man. Luciano Pavarotti brought glamour to Modena,” Giorgio Pighi said.