Pavarotti's appearance will be first since surgery

Luciano Pavarotti will make his first public appearance since undergoing surgery for pancreatic cancer last summer to receive a prize Dec. 6 at a music festival in the northern Italian city of Bergamo.

The 71-year-old tenor will accept the Donizetti Prize during the last performance of the Bergamo Musical Festival, Raffaella Valsecchi, a spokeswoman for the Donizetti Theater, said Thursday.

"His health has improved, aside from some problems walking. He uses a small cane," Valsecchi said.