Opera star Luciano Pavarotti has received a new government award for his work in promoting Italian culture in Italy and abroad, officials said.

The 71-year-old tenor, who has been fighting pancreatic cancer, is the first recipient of the Excellence in Italian Culture Award, the Culture Ministry said in a statement Tuesday evening. No date has been set for the award ceremony.

Last month, Pavarotti was hospitalized for two weeks in his hometown of Modena with high fever. He had surgery for the cancer in July 2006 in a New York hospital, and has made no public appearances since then.

Milan’s La Scala opera house, where Pavarotti first performed more than 40 years ago, said it would join a Modena theater in organizing a singing contest dedicated to the Italian maestro.

“It is a precious chance to pay homage to the career of Luciano Pavarotti, a symbol of Italian music in the world,” La Scala said in a statement.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.