Very early
in his career, on 23 February, 1963, he debuted at the Vienna State Opera with
the same role. In March and April 1963 Vienna saw Pavarotti again as Rodolfo
and as Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto. The same year saw his Royal Opera House
debut, where he replaced an indisposed Giuseppe di Stefano as Rodolfo.

 Pavarotti's concert at Covent Garden, London, England, in the fall of 1963
also resulted from an indirect invitation. Giuseppe di Stefano had been
scheduled for a series of performances, but the management was aware that he
frequently canceled on short notice. They needed someone whose quality matched
the rest of the production, yet who would learn the role without any assurance
that he would get to sing it. Pavarotti agreed. When di Stefano canceled after
one and a half performances, Pavarotti stepped in for the remainder of the
series with great success.

Pavarotti's debut in 1965 at
La Scala, in Milan, Italy, again as Rodolfo, came at the suggestion of Herbert
von Karajan, who had been conducting La Bohème there for two years and
had, as Pavarotti said, "run out of tenors." Pavarotti was somewhat
resentful that the invitation did not come directly from the La Scala
management. Also in 1965 Pavarotti made his American debut in Miami, Florida,
as Edgardo in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor. Illness troubled him
during his New York City debut at the Metropolitan Opera in November 1968 and
compelled him to cancel after the second act of the second performance.

 Very few opera singers are convincing actors and Pavarotti is not among
them. However, by the middle 80s he spent nearly as much time on practicing his
acting as on his singing. In 1972 he starred in a commercial film "Yes,
Giorgio". His solo album of Neapolitan songs, "O Sole Mio,"
outsold any other record by a classical singer.

Throughout the 1980s Pavarotti strengthened his status as one of the opera
world's leading figures. Televised performances of Pavarotti in many of his
greatest and favorite roles helped him broaden his appeal. He was able to reach
millions of viewers each time one of his opera performances or solo concerts
was seen. He also began to show increasing flexibility as a recording artist.
He recorded classical operas and Italian folk songs. He also recorded
contemporary popular songs with composer and conductor Henry Mancini
(1924–1994). He became the world's third-highest top-selling musician, right
behind Madonna and Elton John.

 By the time Pavarotti proposed and staged the first "Three
Tenors" concert in Rome, he was unabashedly thrilled with his immense popularity. "I want to be famous
everywhere," he told Newsweek.